Ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500, it was confirmed that Trackhouse Racing had applied for and received a world class provisional for Helio Castroneves, the four-time Indy 500 winner who was attempting the "Great American Race" for the first time behind the wheel of the No. 91 Chevrolet.
In modern NASCAR, Cup Series fields are limited to 40 cars, and 36 of those spots are guaranteed to go to the chartered entries.
Rarely are there races other than the Daytona 500 for which the entry list exceeds 40 cars. Two of the drivers of non-chartered (open) cars lock in on speed in the single-car qualifying session, while two more lock in via their results in the Duel qualifying races. Everybody else goes home.
In 2025, Castroneves was still allowed to qualify for one of the four open spots, despite having been given a provisional. In essence, him qualifying on speed or Duel result would have left just three open spots for everybody else, rather than four, even though he was always guaranteed to be in.
As it turned out, he failed to qualify. Four other open cars got in, so Castroneves was given a 41st spot, making the race the first Daytona 500 in 32 years to feature exactly 41 cars.
Skip ahead to 2026, and NASCAR has rightfully changed this rule.
Legacy Motor Club and Jimmie Johnson have applied for and received this year's Daytona 500 world class provisional, officially dubbed the Open Exemption Provisional, to lock Johnson and the No. 84 Toyota into the field.
However, for the purpose of being guaranteed a starting position, Johnson's entry is effectively being treated as a 37th chartered car. In other words, there are still set to be four open spots, and Johnson's results in the single-car qualifying session and the Duel races will have absolutely no impact on who gets those four spots and who doesn't.
So yes, even if Johnson beats out all of the other open car drivers, the Daytona 500 field would still have 41 cars, rather than 40.
The only other noteworthy change is the fact that Johnson and the No. 84 team will be ineligible for purse money and points, because they have committed to using the provisional.
Daytona 500 qualifying battle
There are expected to be seven open cars battling for the four open spots. Thus far, confirmed entries include the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for Justin Allgaier, the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford for Casey Mears, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod.
Expected additions include the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for Austin Hill, the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet, the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet, and the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota for Corey Heim.
Trackhouse Racing are not expected to field the No. 91 Chevrolet, and Rick Ware Racing are not expected to field a second entry after doing so a year ago either. Tricon Garage are not expected to return for a second consecutive Daytona 500 attempt, and Team AmeriVet are not expected to return for what would have been their third overall and first since 2023.
Daytona 500 qualifying is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 11, followed by the two America 250 Florida Duel races on Thursday, February 12. The 68th annual running of the race itself is set to be shown live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET!