NASCAR might add a 41st car for the Daytona 500, but not necessarily

Helio Castroneves was recently confirmed as the driver of Trackhouse Racing's PROJECT91 entry for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

The No. 91 Chevrolet is not a chartered entry, meaning that it is not technically locked into the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval – under normal circumstances, that is.

But the Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned team knew the rules better than anybody else did, and Castroneves is actually locked into the 67th edition of the "Great American Race" due to a provision in the new charter agreement.

NASCAR has the ability to ensure that a "world-class" driver in a non-chartered (open) car does not miss a race, and Castroneves, a four-time Indy 500 winner and IndyCar legend, certainly qualifies.

But this doesn't necessarily mean that the Daytona 500 starting lineup will feature 41 cars instead of 40.

The 36 chartered cars are all locked in, leaving four open spots in the 40-car field. The fastest two open cars in the single-car qualifying session lock into the race, and the top finishers among the open entries in the two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races do the same.

Castroneves could technically still take one of those four spots, in which case the field would still feature 40 cars. But if four other drivers earn those spots, he would be the 41st driver. No Daytona 500 has featured more than 40 cars since 2015, when field sizes were still capped at 43.

As of now, there are five non-chartered cars on the entry list, and there could be as many as 10 battling for the open spots.

Other confirmed open cars include the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet (presumably for J.J. Yeley), the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet for Anthony Alfredo, the No. 66 MBM Motorsports Ford for Mike Wallace, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod.

Rumored additions include a Tricon Garage Toyota for Martin Truex Jr., the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford, the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, the No. 50 Team AmeriVet Chevrolet, and the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota for team co-owner Jimmie Johnson.

Single-car qualifying for the Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 12, and the two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races are scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 13 (7:00 p.m. ET on Fox). The 67th annual "Great American Race" itself is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 16 (2:30 p.m. ET on Fox).