Daytona 500 Entry List Has 45 Drivers Vying for 40 Or 41 Spots — Here’s Why We Don’t Now Yet
A total of 45 cars will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 this week, but exactly how many will start The Great American Race won’t be known until after qualifying is complete.
That’s because one of the drivers is Indycar star Helio Castroneves, who can take advantage of a new Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) spot in the lineup if he fails to make the top 40 through the traditional qualifying process.
The OEP guarantees a spot in the race for one elite driver from another series, who has been approved by NASCAR well in advance of the event. The hope is that it will attract more entries from top drivers and ensure to their sponsors that they won’t miss the race. Some full-time NASCAR drivers, including Denny Hamlin, have criticized the program and think anyone who wants to race in a marquee event should have to earn the spot like anyone else.
As it stands, if Castroneves qualifies the Trackhouse Racing No. 91 car in the top 40, then 40 cars will start the race. If he doesn’t, then he’ll line up in the 41st position, which would create the biggest field since NASCAR last allowed 43 cars to qualify in 1998.
Among the other open drivers who don’t have this safety net is Corey LaJoie, who will be running in the No. 01 car for Rick Ware Racing, while full-time Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain retains his No. 1.
Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier will also be running in a non-chartered car for JR Motorsports, marking the team’s first Cup Series entry, while Martin Truex Jr (Tricon Garage) will continue his quest for his firsts Daytona 500 win after retiring from full-time driving last year.
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Anthony Alfredo (Beard Motorsports), Chandler Smith (Garage 66), BJ McLeod (Live Fast Motorsports), and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson (Legacy Motor Club) are in the other open cars.
Single-car qualifying is scheduled for Wed, Feb. 12 at 8:15 p.m. ET, which is followed by the field-setting Daytona Duels on Thurs., Feb 13 at 7 p.m. ET and the Daytona 500 on Sun., Feb. 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Here’s the full entry list for the 2025 Daytona 500:
1: 01 Corey LaJoie, Rick Ware Racing
2: 1 Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing
3: 2 Austin Cindric, Team Penske
4: 3 Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Richard
5: 4 Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports
6: 5 Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports
7: 6 Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
8: 7 Justin Haley, Spire Motorsports
9: 8 Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing
10: 9 Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports
11: 10 Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing
12: 11 Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
13: 12 Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
14: 16 AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
15: 17 Chris Buescher, RFK Racing
16: 19 Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
17: 20 Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
18: 21 Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing
19: 22 Joey Logano, Team Penske
20: 23 Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
21: 24 William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
22: 34 Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports
23: 35 Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing
24: 38 Zane Smith, Front Row Motorsports
25: 40 Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports
26: 41 Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team
27: 42 John Hunter Nemechek, Legacy Motor Club
28: 43 Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club
29: 44 JJ Yeley, NY Racing Team
30: 45 Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
31: 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Hyak Motorsports
32: 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports
33: 51 Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing
34: 54 Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
35: 56 Martin Truex, Jr., Tricon Garage
36: 60 Ryan Preece, RFK Racing
37: 62 Anthony Alfredo, Beard Motorsports
38: 66 Chandler Smith, Garage 66
39: 71 Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
40: 77 Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
41: 78 BJ McLeod, Live Fast Motorsports
42: 84 Jimmie Johnson, Legacy Motor Club
43: 88 Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
44: 91 Helio Castroneves, Trackhouse Racing
45: 99 Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing
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