Who's in the Daytona 500? 42 drivers will contend for 40 spots in NASCAR pole qualifying
Warning: Every driver on this list will not make the 66th Daytona 500.
And that's just one thing that makes the Great American Race different than any other event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
So far, there are 42 official entries for next Sunday's Daytona 500 meaning at least two drivers and team won't earn the right to race in the Super Bowl of stock car racing. And that number could grow if more entrants commit in the coming days.
NY Racing Team was a late entry on Monday afternoon, committing to run the No. 44 Chevrolet with JJ Yeley announced as its driver on Wednesday morning.
Here's what we know: The 36 chartered teams are locked into the race, leaving four spots for six drivers. The six that are not locked in thus far are: the NY Racing Team entry, the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford (Kaz Grala), the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford (David Ragan), the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet (Anthony Alfred), the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet (B.J. McLeod) and the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota (Jimmie Johnson).
NASCAR POWER RANKINGS: A Cup Series champ and the Rodney Dangerfield of NASCAR: Nos. 15-11
Wait, Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner might not qualify? That's right.
Two of those four will earn their spots based on qualifying time
So, while this is all subject to change, here is the current list of drivers and teams that will take part in Daytona Speedweek.
When is pole qualifying for the Daytona 500?
Pole qualifying for the 66th Daytona 500 will be held at 8:15 p.m. and will air on FS1
Daytona 500 entry list, will Jimmie Johnson make the field?
* Denotes driver/team that is not locked into the field
Ross Chastain: No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric: No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon: No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Josh Berry: No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson: No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski: No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie: No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch: No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott: No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Noah Gragson: No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin: No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney: No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe: No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Driver TBA: No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
AJ Allmendinger: No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher: No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr.: No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton: No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano: No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace: No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron: No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Daniel Hemric: No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell: No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Kaz Grala: No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford*
Todd Gilliland: No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece: No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
John Hunter Nemechek: No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Erik Jones: No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
JJ Yeley: No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick: No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet
Alex Bowman: No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley: No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs: No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
David Ragan: No. 60 RFK Racing Ford*
Anthony Alfredo: No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet*
Zane Smith: No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar: No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
BJ McLeod: No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet*
Jimmie Johnson: No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota*
Daniel Suarez: No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500 racers 2024: Drivers entered to run in NASCAR Speedweek