For the second year in a row, a NASCAR Cup Series driver and team have opted to take advantage of the world class provisional, officially known as the Open Exemption Provisional, to guarantee a non-chartered (open) car a spot in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
After Helio Castroneves and Trackhouse Racing did it a year ago, Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club have done so this time around. This year, however, the rule was slightly altered, and it was altered in a way that Johnson's announcement actually benefits all of the other open entries as well.
In 2025, Castroneves still had the chance to qualify for the race himself, either as one of the two to lock in via speed in the single-car qualifying session, or as one of the two to lock in via the Duel results. He failed to do either, so he was added to the field as a 41st driver.
Jimmie Johnson news is good news for Daytona 500 open cars
In 2026, the field has been expanded to 41 drivers regardless of what Johnson does during Speedweeks; his No. 84 Toyota is effectively being treated as a 37th chartered car, for the purposes of being guaranteed a starting spot.
Like the 36 drivers of the chartered cars, Johnson is not in the battle for the four remaining open spots, but there are still set to be four. In other words, he has no way of taking a spot away from any of the eight open entries that, unlike his car, are not already locked into the field, ensuring an eight-car battle for four spots, rather than an eight-car battle for three.
It may not make any difference; it wouldn't have mattered a year ago, for instance, since four drivers not named Castroneves made it in. But it could very well be the reason why one driver who would have been sent home ultimately gets to compete in the 68th running of the "Great American Race".
Open entries include Front Row Motorsports' No. 36 Ford for Chandler Smith, JR Motorsports' No. 40 Chevrolet for Justin Allgaier, NY Racing Team's No. 44 Chevrolet for J.J. Yeley, Beard Motorsports' No. 62 Chevrolet for Anthony Alfredo, Garage 66's No. 66 Ford for Casey Mears, 23XI Racing's No. 67 Toyota for Corey Heim, Live Fast Motorsports' No. 78 Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod, and RFK Racing's No. 99 Ford for Corey LaJoie.
Which of those four will get in the race, and will one of those four ultimately end up doing so because of NASCAR closing a loophole that arguably never should have existed in the first place?
Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 11 for live coverage of Daytona 500 single-car qualifying, and tune in to Fox Sports 1 again at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 12 for live coverage of the two America 250 Florida Duel races. Fox is then set to provide live coverage of the Daytona 500 itself beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!