When Beard Motorsports entered the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway back in April, their No. 62 Chevrolet was one of five non-chartered (open) cars on the entry list, meaning that one would ultimately fail to qualify.
Qualifying ended up being canceled due to rain, and the metric determined the starting lineup. As a result, the No. 62 car, which was supposed to be driven by Casey Mears, ended up failing to qualify.
The team's lack of owner points stemmed from the fact that they were removed from the results of their Daytona 500 Duel qualifying race due to a technical infraction discovered in post-race inspection. Anthony Alfredo had initially qualified the No. 62 car for the "Great American Race", but the last spot ended up going to B.J. McLeod and Live Fast Motorsports.
Casey Mears, Beard Motorsports locked into Talladega race this time
This time around, there will be no failing to qualify for anybody on the entry list.
The No. 62 car is back on the entry list for this Sunday's 188-lap YellaWood 500 around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) oval in Lincoln, Alabama, and it is one of just four open cars set to compete, meaning that all four are locked into the race.
Mears is set to be back behind the wheel for the first time since running the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway in late August. He also competed at Pocono Raceway in June and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. He ran the Daytona 500 as well, but for Garage 66, the team he drove for in the October 2025 Talladega race.
The other open cars on this week's entry list are the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet. Those cars are set to be driven by Joey Gase, Gray Gaulding, and Daniel Dye, respectively.
Sunday's race is set to mark Mears' 499th career Cup Series start, and he's set to hit 500 in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway two weekends later.
NBC's live coverage of the YellaWood 500 is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 25. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss the antepenultimate race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason schedule!
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