NASCAR: 3 drivers now at risk as Daytona 500 entry list grows

Beard Motorsports have confirmed that they are set to field the No. 62 Chevrolet for Anthony Alfredo in the NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway this coming February.

Beard Motorsports are not a full-time Cup Series team and thus the No. 62 Chevrolet is not a chartered entry, meaning that it is not locked into the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.

The No. 62 Chevrolet is the third non-chartered entry confirmed for next year's Daytona 500. RFK Racing are set to field the No. 60 Ford for David Ragan and Live Fast Motorsports are set to field the No. 78 Chevrolet for team co-owner B.J. McLeod.

With the 36 chartered cars locked into the "Great American Race" and the field size capped at 40, just four non-chartered entries are allowed to compete.

Will any NASCAR drivers miss the Daytona 500?

There are expected to be at least two more non-chartered cars on the entry list by the time February rolls around. If there end up being at least five, then at least one of them will not get to take part in the race. In other words, there is not yet a guarantee that Alfredo, Ragan, and McLeod will actually be in the race, despite recent confirmations.

The fastest two non-chartered cars in the single-car qualifying session lock in on speed, and the highest finishing non-chartered cars in their respective Bluegreen Vacations Duel races also lock in. If a car effectively locks in twice, the next fastest car from the single-car session gets one of the spots, irrespective of the Duel race in which it competed.

Drivers who race their way in via the Duels earn their starting positions based on their Duel results, while drivers who lock in on speed are locked into the 20th and final row -- 39th and 40th place -- for the green flag.

As for potential additional entries to grow the entry list to 40 and perhaps beyond, two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson is likely to drive for the Legacy Motor Club team he co-owns. While the Daytona 500 was not included on AdventHealth's sponsorship schedule for his No. 84 Toyota -- yes, Toyota -- that doesn't mean he won't compete.

There will likely be at least one other two-car team (Kaulig Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, 23XI Racing all possibilities) expand to three cars for this race, and it would not be surprising to see a part-time team such as The Money Team Racing show up and compete again.

As for Beard Motorsports, they also plan to field the No. 62 Chevrolet for Alfredo at Talladega Superspeedway in April. Alfredo is set to compete full-time in the Xfinity Series throughout the 2024 season for Our Motorsports.

The single-car qualifying session for the Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 14. The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 15, and the race itself is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 18. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action!