NASCAR: 684-race streak to reach 685 (but only on one condition)

Tricon Garage, with support from Joe Gibbs Racing, have confirmed that they plan to enter the No. 56 Toyota for 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. at Daytona International Speedway for next month's Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.

Truex retired from full-time Cup Series competition at the end of the 2024 season but made clear that he wanted to continue to compete on a part-time basis, and he also indicated fairly early on that he planned to continue pursuing his first victory in the "Great American Race".

Tricon Garage have never before competed in a Cup Series race, and it is worth pointing out that they are not guaranteed to do so next month either.

Martin Truex Jr. not locked into Daytona 500?

Truex has competed in 684 consecutive Cup Series races going back to the start of the 2006 season, the longest active streak in the series. Unlike in past years, when he was locked into the Daytona 500 field, that is not the case in 2025.

The No. 56 Toyota is a non-chartered (open) entry, so it is not locked into the 40-car field like the 36 chartered cars are. And there are well over four cars going for those four open spots.

As of now, there are seven confirmed open cars on the entry list. They include the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for Justin Allgaier, the No. 44 NY Racing Team for J.J. Yeley, the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet for Anthony Alfredo, the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod, the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota for Jimmie Johnson, and the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet for Helio Castroneves.

Likely additions include the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford and the No. 66 Garage 66 (formerly MBM Motorsports) Ford. MBM Motorsports had been on the entry list already before NASCAR ruled that their driver, Mike Wallace, would not be allowed to compete. Other potential additions include the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and the No. 50 Team AmeriVet Chevrolet.

Two open spots go to the top two drivers (among open entries) in the single-car qualifying session, and the other two go to the top finishers (again, among open cars) in each of the two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races. Should somebody "lock in" twice, the next fastest driver from the single-car session would be in.

There is a chance that five open entries will make it in instead of just four, as Castroneves has been granted a "world-class driver" provisional. He can still take one of the four open spots, which would leave the field capped at 40 cars. But if he doesn't, he is still locked in, in which case the field would expand to 41 cars.

Truex, on the other hand, knows that he could have an intense battle on his hands when it comes to extending his consecutive Cup Series starts streak to 685. If it doesn't happen in the single-car qualifying session, it will have to happen in his Duel race.

Truex's 684 consecutive Cup Series starts rank sixth on the all-time list. Even if he does extend the streak to 685, it would likely come to an end the following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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