The Daytona 500 officially has 42 cars entered for 40 spots on the grid. That means that 2 drivers will go home without qualifying for the “Great American Race”. While the 36 chartered teams are locked into the race no matter what, any 2 of the 6 “Open” entries may be left out. What could go wrong for any of these drivers to miss the biggest race of the NASCAR season?
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Why He Will Make the Race
This will be Kaz Grala’s third attempt at the Daytona 500, and he is doing it with Front Row Motorsports, who won the race with Michael McDowell in 2021. Grala has experience being in this position, and both times he made the Daytona 500 despite not having a guaranteed starting spot. Having teammates like McDowell or Todd Gilliland potentially in the Duel races could be a huge help as well. Drivers who have others to draft with have a big advantage.
Why He Will Miss the Race
The biggest drawback with Grala is how long it has been since he’s been in a Cup Series car. His last start came in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte with The Money Team. It’s been a while, but, at least he has experience in the Next-Gen car.
Why He Will Make the Race
J.J. Yeley has quietly been very solid at Daytona. In 16 career races at the beach, he has 8 top-20 finishes, including 1 top-10 and 4 top-15s. That’s pretty good when considering he’s been doing it primarily in underfunded equipment. It’s tough to envision Yeley making the race on speed, but in the Duels, watch out for him.
Why He Will Miss the Race
It’s safe to assume that NY Racing’s entry may be the slowest in the field given how late the entry came together. While Yeley is a solid superspeedway racer, if the car cannot keep up with the pack, it’s game over for this race team. Then again, this team did make the race in their last attempt in 2022.
Why He Will Make the Race
David Ragan is a two-time Cup Series superspeedway winner, and he is in arguably the best equipment of all open entries. RFK Racing combined to lead 74 laps in the 2023 Daytona 500, and both Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher finished in the top 8 in the final Cup Series standings. Ragan is joining a team that not only expects to make the race, but they expect to compete for the win.
Why He Will Miss the Race
Like Grala, Ragan has not made a Cup Series start since 2022. In fairness, his last start was at Daytona, and he finished 9th. Still, it’s been a while, and Ragan is racing for a new team. While it is RFK equipment, it’s a new race team, and RFK has not started a 3rd car in a race since 2016.
Why He Will Make the Race
Whenever Beard Motorsports comes out of the woodwork to make sporadic Cup Series starts, they generally compete well. In 26 races, the team has 5 top-10s including a best finish of 5th with Noah Gragson in the summer race at Daytona in 2022. This equipment is far better than people may think.
Why He Will Miss The Race
While Beard Motorsports has made some good efforts, they missed the race in 2023. Now, they were in line to likely make the race before Austin Hill was caught up in an accident in the Duels, but, it proves that anything can happen at Daytona. If a driver is in the wrong place at the wrong time, that could be all.
Why He Will Make the Race
B.J. McLeod’s Live Fast Motorsports #78 car has a larger notebook with more on the next-gen car than any race team on this list. The team ran full-time in 2022 and 2023 before selling their charter to Spire Motorsports. They are used to competing full-time, and they have experience.
Why He Will Miss the Race
McLeod was woefully slow in last year’s Daytona 500. He finished 30th, 8 laps down purely based on speed. He wasn’t involved in any accidents, he was just plain slow. If he unloads that way this season, it may be an uphill battle.
Why He Will Make the Race
Jimmie Johnson will drive a Toyota for Legacy Motor Club in his Daytona 500 attempt, and he has teammates along with the deepest resume of anyone on this list. He has 83 wins, 7 Championships, and 2 Daytona 500 wins. The talent is absolutely there, and Johnson was fairly competitive as a Daytona 500 open entry in 2023.
Why He Will Miss the Race
Legacy Motor Club is in a major transition. It’s their first race with Toyota, and that might mean some struggles out the gate. Erik Jones missed the Clash main event last Saturday, so LMC may have to go through some growing pains. Johnson cannot afford too many of those if he wants to make the field.
Each of these drivers will hang their hopes on racing their way in or qualifying their way into the Daytona 500. However, one will be left out.
