NASCAR team eyeing Daytona 500 return, but not locked in

The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-owned The Money Team Racing are once again looking to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Their entry has not yet been confirmed, nor has a driver been named, but the addition of the No. 50 Chevrolet for this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval would mark the team's third "Great American Race" attempt in a row.

Should it be confirmed, it would be the fourth confirmed non-chartered car on the entry list, bringing the total to 40. With the field size capped at 40 cars for all Cup Series races, any further confirmations would ensure that not all of the non-chartered entries get into the race.

The three non-chartered cars currently on the entry list are the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford for David Ragan, the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet for Anthony Alfredo, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod.

It is widely believed that Legacy Motor Club will field the No. 84 Toyota for Jimmie Johnson as well, and there are a number of other two-car teams (including Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing Team, 23XI Racing, and Rick Ware Racing) that could very well expand to three cars like they have done in the past.

The Money Team Racing have not had it easy in NASCAR, Daytona 500

In both 2022 and 2023, The Money Team Racing faced somewhat long odds to qualify for the season opener after missing out on doing so in the single-car qualifying session, but they managed to pull off major upsets both times in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.

In 2022, Kaz Grala pulled off a heroic last-lap pass to secure his spot, and in 2023, Conor Daly capitalized on an incident involving multiple other non-chartered entries to overcome after persevering through an early issue with his No. 50 Chevrolet.

The team have made only four non-Daytona 500 starts in the Cup Series, three in 2022 and one in 2023. Grala competed in two of those other three races in 2022, while Daly competed in the other. Daly has been the team's driver in three straight races. They have not competed since March 2023 at Circuit of the Americas.

The single-car qualifying session for the 66th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to take place Wednesday, February 14. The Bluegreen Vacations Duels are scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 15. The main event is scheduled to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 18. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!