NASCAR: Multiple drivers will miss the 2025 Daytona 500

The entry list for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway continues to grow, and there are now 43 cars on it.

The 36 chartered cars are all locked into the 40-car field for this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval, but the seven non-chartered (open) cars are vying for the four remaining open spots.

Those seven non-chartered cars include the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for Justin Allgaier, the No. 44 NY Racing Team for J.J. Yeley, the No. 56 Tricon Garage Toyota for Martin Truex Jr., 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.

Additional non-chartered cars are still expected to be added.

Rick Ware Racing are expected to enter the No. 15 Ford, and Garage 66 (formerly MBM Motorsports) initially entered the No. 66 Ford before NASCAR ruled that Mike Wallace would not be allowed to drive it. Other possibilities include the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and the No. 50 Team AmeriVet Chevrolet.

As a result, there could be anywhere between seven and 11 cars battling for those four (potentially five, which we'll discuss more below) spots.

The fastest two drivers (among open cars) in the single-car qualifying session lock in, as do 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 get a spot.

The reason why there could be five open entries in the field, rather than just the usual four, is the "world-class driver" provisional given to Castroneves. Castroneves can take one of the four open spots, in which case the field would remain capped at 40 cars. But if he doesn't, he is still locked into the race, in which case the field would be expanded to 41 cars.

Either way, multiple drivers who attempt to qualify for the "Great American Race" will fail to do so in 2025.

The single-car qualifying session for the 67th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 12. The two Bluegreen Vacations Duel races are scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 13, with live coverage set to begin on Fox starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. Fox is then set to broadcast the Daytona 500 itself starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 16.