Jimmie Johnson, who retired from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of the 2020 season, is set to enter his fourth year as a part-time driver for Legacy Motor Club, the team he co-owns, this coming February.
After announcing that he plans to compete in the inaugural race at Naval Base Coronado in June, bringing an end to the rumor that he plans to completely retire with exactly 700 starts, he confirmed that he once again plans to compete in the season-opening Daytona 500 as well.
Johnson has run the Daytona 500 every year since 2023, and it is one of just two races he has run in each of the past three years, the other being the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
In 2025, he placed third in the "Great American Race", marking by far his best finish since returning to the series in 2023, and tying his best finish since he scored his 83rd and most recent victory at Dover Motor Speedway in 2017.
Jimmie Johnson at risk of missing the Daytona 500 in 2026?
Johnson's No. 84 Toyota is one of two confirmed non-chartered (open) cars on the entry list for February's 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval; the other is the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by Justin Allgaier.
Two open cars are set to qualify for the race in the single-car qualifying session, and two others are set to qualify in the two Duel races. However, if a world-class provisional is issued, like it was for Trackhouse Racing's Helio Castroneves earlier this year, an extra car could be added to the starting lineup.
There are six other cars expected to be added to the Daytona 500 entry list between now and qualifying: the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet, the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford, the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet.
Confirmations of these six entries would bring the entry list to 44 cars, including eight open cars. Without the world-class provisional, four of these eight cars would qualify, and the other four would fail to do so.
But Johnson is eligible for the world-class provisional, although whether or not NASCAR has issued it has yet to be confirmed. If he gets it, it would mean that, if he isn't one of the two drivers who qualifies for the race on speed in the single-car qualifying session and he also isn't one of the two drivers who qualifies for the race via his Duel result, he would still be added to the field.
It would mean that five open cars, not just four, would get into the race, bringing the car count to exactly 41 for just the second time since 1993, rather than the usual 40.
Trackhouse Racing are not expected to field their PROJECT91 car for Castroneves, or for anybody else, this coming February, so it's hard to imagine that Johnson would not be granted this provisional, especially since so few other open entries have been formally announced thus far.
Daytona 500 single-car qualifying is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 followed by the two Duel races on Thursday, February 12. The 68th annual running of the "Great American Race" itself is set to be shown live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15.