As a part of NASCAR's new charter agreement, teams are allowed to apply for a "world-class driver" provisional, should they choose to enter a non-chartered (open) entry for a driver who primarily competes in another form of motorsport and/or is no longer a full-time Cup Series driver. That application must be made at least 90 days in advance.
When it was announced that Helio Castroneves had signed with Trackhouse Racing to pilot a non-chartered No. 91 Chevrolet during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, the logical assumption was that he, along with the other drivers of open entries, would be vying for the final four spots in the 40-car field.
It then came to light that this little-known part of the new agreement was indeed well-known to the Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned team, which had already applied for the "world-class driver" provisional for the four-time Indy 500 winner and been approved.
So while Castroneves is set to drive an open entry, that entry, like the 36 chartered entries, is locked into the race.
But this doesn't necessarily mean that there are only three open spots, which could result in the largest Daytona 500 field since 2015. There might still be four.
NASCAR Cup Series fields have been limited to 40 cars since 2016, which was the start of the previous charter agreement. Before that, there were 43 spots available in each event, including the "Great American Race".
There are nine open cars on this year's Daytona 500 entry list.
Corey LaJoie is set to drive the No. 01 Ford for Rick Ware Racing, Justin Allgaier is set to drive the No. 40 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, J.J. Yeley is set to drive the No. 44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team, Martin Truex Jr. is set to drive the No. 56 Toyota for Tricon Garage, Anthony Alfredo is set to drive the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports, Chandler Smith is set to drive the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66, B.J. McLeod is set to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson is set to drive the No. 84 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club, and Castroneves is set to drive the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.
The fastest two of those nine drivers in the single-car qualifying session are set to lock into the race. Additionally, the top finishes in their respective 60-lap Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval are set to do the same.
Should someone lock in twice, the next fastest driver from the single-car session would be in.
Castroneves could very well take one of those four open spots, in which case the field would still be capped at 40 cars and five of the nine open entries would be left on the outside looking in.
But if four other drivers take those four spots, Castroneves would still be guaranteed a fifth, which would produce a 41-car field and leave only four open entries out of the race.
No Daytona 500 has featured exactly 41 cars since 1993.
Daytona 500 single-car qualifying is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 12, and it is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET. The two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races are scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 13, and they are set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The 67th annual Daytona 500 itself is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 16, and it is set to be shown live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action!