Which Drivers Will Attempt to Make the 2026 Daytona 500 Field?

The preliminary entry list for the 2026 Daytona 500 became available on Monday afternoon, and it featured 45 cars, which will fight for the 41 spots in the starting field. 37 drivers already know they'll start the race, while eight others are still looking to secure their spot.

45 cars are entered into the 2026 Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. | Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Monday, NASCAR officially dropped the preliminary entry list for the NASCAR Cup Series season-opening event, the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Contained on the entry list are the 36 Chartered entries and one Open Exemption Provisional entry. These 37 cars are guaranteed to start in The Great American Race, while eight "Open" entries will fight for the remaining four slots in the starting grid for the race.

Here are the 36 Chartered drivers and teams that are locked into the field for the 2026 Daytona 500, but will battle for their starting spots in Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday, February 11, and America 250 Duel Qualifier Races on Thursday, February 12.

Car	Driver	Team	Make
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
4	Noah Gragson	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford
7	Daniel Suarez	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
9	Chase Elliiott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
10	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford
16	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford
19	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing	Ford
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
21	Josh Berry	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
34	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
35	Riley Herbst	23XI Racing	Toyota
38	Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
41	Cole Custer	Haas Factory Team	Chevrolet
42	John Hunter Nemechek	LEGACY MOTOR CLUB	Toyota
43	Erik Jones	LEGACY MOTOR CLUB	Toyota
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Hyak Motorsports	Chevrolet
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
60	Ryan Preece	RFK Racing	Ford
71	Michael McDowell	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
88	Connor Zilisch (R)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
97	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet

Open Exemption Provisional

Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, is also guaranteed a starting spot in the 2026 Daytona 500 by way of the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP), which his No. 84 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team applied for in the offseason for this event.

Johnson, who drives an "Open" entry, will not have to worry about not making the field for the Daytona 500, but his No. 84 car will not score any points and will not receive any of the prize money for the event.

Car	Driver	Team	Make
84	Jimmie Johnson	LEGACY MOTOR CLUB	Toyota

Open Entries Fighting For Final Four Spots in Field

This leaves eight drivers and teams to duke it out for the final four qualifying spots in the Daytona 500 field, and there is a mixture of youthful exuberance and established veterans in the group of "Open" entries that have yet to secure their spots in the field for the Daytona 500.

Car	Driver	Team	Make
36	Chandler Smith**	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
40	Justin Allgaier*	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet
44	JJ Yeley**	NY Racing	Chevrolet
62	Anthony Alfredo**	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet
66	TBA	Garage 66	Ford
67	Corey Heim+	23XI Racing	Toyota
78	BJ McLeod**	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet
99	Corey LaJoie*	RFK Racing	Ford

* made the field for the 2025 Daytona 500
** missed the field for the 2025 Daytona 500
+ will make first career attempt at Daytona 500 in 2026

How does Daytona 500 qualifying work?

45 cars will vie for the 41 (field extended from 40 with Johnson's OEP) spots in the Daytona 500 field. The pole position and second qualifying position will be secured in Wednesday's Daytona 500 qualifying session, while the remainder of the field will be determined by finishing positions in Thursday's Duel Qualifier races.

Drivers in the first of two Duels will secure the odd-numbered starting spots in the field, while the second Duel will have the even-numbered starting spots up for grabs.

New for this year, the two fastest "Open" cars in Daytona 500 qualifying automatically lock their positions in the Daytona 500 field, but unlike in previous seasons, those drivers will not compete for improved starting spots through the Duels.

Previously, the two-fastest "Open" entries in Daytona 500 qualifying were guaranteed a starting spot in the Daytona 500 field regardless of where they finished in the Duels, but the finishing results of the Duels could change which "Open" entries would be able to take advantage of the two positions for fastest qualified "Open" entries.