Six teams fielded non-charter entries at Daytona International Speedway last week in an attempt to qualify for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.
Three of those teams, Front Row Motorsports, RFK Racing, and Legacy Motor Club, also field two full-time charter entries, so they were never at risk of missing the "Great American Race". All three teams successfully locked their third cars into the race as well.
But the other three teams, NY Racing Team, Beard Motorsports, and Live Fast Motorsports, fielded only a single entry and thus risked missing the race entirely.
Of the three, only Beard Motorsports managed to qualify for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida, with Anthony Alfredo locking the No. 62 Chevrolet into the field on speed.
J.J. Yeley failed to qualify the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, and B.J. McLeod failed to qualify the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet.
NY Racing Team and Beard Motorsports are not returning for the Atlanta race.
Front Row Motorsports, RFK Racing, and Legacy Motor Club aren't fielding third entries, either. There is just one non-charter car on the entry list for this Sunday afternoon's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and that is the No. 78 Chevrolet. McLeod is set to drive it once again.
Because there are only 37 cars on the entry list, McLeod and the No. 78 Chevrolet are locked into the 260-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia oval.
This marks the team's first ever start without a charter. The team competed with a charter from 2021, when they entered the Cup Series, until the end of the 2023 season, after which they sold their charter to Spire Motorsports for a record amount of roughly $40 million. Spire Motorsports now run three entries.
Atlanta Motor Speedway is scheduled to host the Ambetter Health 400 this Sunday, February 25. Live coverage is set to be provided by Fox beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!