David Starr made his first NASCAR Cup Series start in more than a year this past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he did so for Garage 66 (formerly MBM Motorsports).
The Carl Long-owned team are set to return for this coming Sunday afternoon's race at the Chicago Street Course, this time with Josh Bilicki behind the wheel. Bilicki drove the No. 66 Ford for the team in the races at Bristol Motor Speedway in April and Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
But unlike those two races, Bilicki is not guaranteed to qualify for this Sunday's 75-lap Grant Park 165 around the 12-turn, 2.2-mile (3.541-kilometer) temporary street circuit in Chicago, Illinois.
Josh Bilicki facing uphill battle to run Chicago race
For the first time in nearly seven years, a non-Daytona 500 entry list has more cars than there are spots in the field. There are 41 cars on the entry list at the Chicago Street Course, and only 40 cars can compete. There are effectively five non-chartered (open) cars going for four spots, since the 36 chartered cars are locked into the race.
This is not something the Cup Series has seen since November 2018, when MBM Motorsports and Timmy Hill failed to qualify for the race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Unsurprisingly, of the five possibilities, Bilicki and the No. 66 team are largely viewed as most likely to miss Sunday's race.
Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and 23XI Racing, which all run multiple chartered cars, have each added a car for Will Brown, Austin Hill, and Corey Heim, respectively.
The only other part-time team set to field a car is Live Fast Motorsports, which are set to enter the No. 78 Chevrolet for Katherine Legge. It is likely that the battle for the 40th and final spot in the race will come down to Bilicki and Legge.
Tune in to TNT Sports at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 6 for the live broadcast of the Grant Park 165 from the Chicago Street Course.