NASCAR Cup Series driver will miss the 2024 Daytona 500
By Asher Fair
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway is quickly approaching, and the entry list continues to grow.
Legacy Motor Club recently confirmed that they will be fielding a third entry, the No. 84 Toyota, for two-time "Great American Race" winner Jimmie Johnson, and Front Row Motorsports followed up that announcement by confirming that they too will be fielding a third entry, the No. 36 Ford, for Kaz Grala.
With the addition of these two cars, the entry list for the 66th running of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval now sits at 41 cars, and the field size is capped at 40.
Which NASCAR driver will miss the Daytona 500?
The 36 charter entries are locked into the field, so there are effectively five cars going for four spots. In addition to the No. 84 Toyota and the No. 36 Ford, the confirmed non-charter entries include RFK Racing's No. 60 Ford for David Ragan, Beard Motorsports' No. 62 Chevrolet for Anthony Alfredo, and Live Fast Motorsports' No. 78 Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod.
The fastest two non-charter entries qualify for the race via the single-car qualifying session on Wednesday, February 14, and the highest finishing non-charter entries in each of the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels lock in on Thursday, February 15.
Should an entry effectively lock in twice, the remaining open spot(s) goes to the next fastest non-charter car(s) from the single-car qualifying session.
It is also worth noting that the Daytona 500 entry list is expected to grow beyond its current 41 tally. So while it is already guaranteed that Johnson, Grala, Ragan, Alfredo, and McLeod won't all get to compete in the race, it is possible that more than one of them will fail to qualify.
All 36 charter entries have confirmed drivers following Kaulig Racing's confirmation of A.J. Allmendinger for the No. 16 Chevrolet and Rick Ware Racing's confirmation of Riley Herbst for the No. 15 Ford. The other 34 charter cars are set to be driven by full-time drivers in 2024 (full lineup here).
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Fox is set to air the Daytona 500 live from Daytona International Speedway starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 18. If you have not yet begun a free trial of FuboTV, be sure to do so before race day!
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