NASCAR: Two teams won't compete in the 2024 Daytona 500

Entering Wednesday night's qualifying session for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, there were 42 cars on the entry list. With just 40 cars able to compete in the "Great American Race", it was known that two drivers would end up on the outside looking in.

With the 36 charter cars all guaranteed spots in the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval, there were six drivers going for four spots.

Those six drivers each represented different teams, and three of those teams were only fielding a single non-charter entry, meaning that they risked missing the race entirely.

Two of those teams will indeed miss the Daytona 500.

Beard Motorsports solidified their spot in the race when Anthony Alfredo, along with RFK Racing's David Ragan, locked in on speed in Wednesday night's session.

That set up a situation in which four drivers -- in order of qualifying speed, Legacy Motor Club's Jimmie Johnson, Live Fast Motorsports' B.J. McLeod, NY Racing Team's J.J. Yeley, and Front Row Motorsports' Kaz Grala -- were battling for the final two spots.

The first of the two 60-lap Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night featured Alfredo, Johnson, and Yeley. Yeley could not fall back on his qualifying speed, having been fifth fastest of the six drivers, meaning that he needed to beat both Alfredo and Johnson to get in the race.

He was unable to do that, as Johnson finished four spots ahead of him in 12th place to secure his spot in the 40-car field, thus eliminating Yeley.

The second of the two Duels featured Ragan, McLeod, and Grala. McLeod simply needed Grala to not be the highest finisher of the three, since that would have meant that Grala got in and Ragan fell back on his qualifying speed. But Grala did indeed end up being the highest finisher of the three, eliminating McLeod.

McLeod had run as high as third place and at one point looked to be a contender for the win, but he ultimately placed 14th, two spots behind Grala.

As a result, neither NY Racing Team nor Live Fast Motorsports, two popular picks to miss the race, will be a part of this year's Daytona 500. Beard Motorsports are the only single-car non-charter team set to compete, with Alfredo behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet that had missed two of the last three Daytona 500s.

Fox is set to provide live coverage of the 66th annual Daytona 500 from the "World Center of Racing" beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, February 18. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!