For just the third time since the November 2018 race at Texas Motor Speedway, there are more than 40 cars on the entry list for a NASCAR Cup Series race other than the Daytona 500, meaning that not everybody who shows up will get to compete.
It happened most recently in April at Talladega Superspeedway, where qualifying was canceled and thus Casey Mears and Beard Motorsports were left on the outside looking in simply due to their metric score.
The No. 62 Chevrolet's only appearance up until that point in the season had come in Daytona 500 qualifying, before they were removed from the field entirely following a post-Duel discovery of a technical violation.
NASCAR Cup driver to miss Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
There are 41 cars on the entry list for this coming Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, meaning that one driver will ultimately fail to qualify.
There are effectively five drivers going for the final four spots in this 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Daytona Beach, Florida oval, since the 36 chartered cars are, as always, locked into the race.
Joey Gase is set to drive the No. 44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team, Mears is set to drive the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports, Gray Gaulding is set to drive the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports), Corey Heim is set to drive the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing, and Daniel Dye is set to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports.
The slowest of those five drivers in the single-car qualifying session will not get to compete on Saturday night. Qualifying is set to consist of two rounds, with the second featuring only the fastest 10 drivers from round one.
If qualifying is canceled, which is always a very real possibility at Daytona due to the persistent threat of rain and thunderstorms in late August, it would once again be Mears and Beard Motorsports left on the outside looking in, thanks to the qualifying metric.
None of those five cars competed in the series' most recent race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, so the owner standings would be the determining factor. The No. 62 team is the lowest of the five in 44th, behind the No. 44 team (41st), the No. 78 team (40th), the No. 66 team (38th), and the No. 67 team (36th) that Heim has led to two victories in only eight starts.
NBC's live coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, August 29. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale action from Daytona International Speedway!
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