This year’s Daytona 500 entry list includes eight drivers looking to claim one of four spots in the field of 40 cars reserved for non-chartered registrations.
This group has two ways of doing “The Great American Race”: being one of the two fastest non-chartered drivers in qualifying for a lap on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET, FS1) or being the best non-chartered driver result in their respective duel race on Thursday night (19h ET, FS1).
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Among them are the current NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, the last Daytona winners in all three NASCAR national series and the current and recent full-time drivers for the Cup.
Nº 13 – Garrett Smithley, MBM Motorsports
Garrett Smithley hopes to make his first Daytona 500 with MBM Motorsports. The Pennsylvania native has 43 World Cup matches to his credit.
Smithley never raced in the oval at Daytona in Cup, but made seven starts at Xfinity there. He also got his best career result at Xfinity there, an effort for fifth place at the opening of the 2018 season for JD Motorsports.
Nº 16 – Kaz Grala, Kaulig Racing
On January 13, Kaz Grala was confirmed for a Daytona 500 attempt with Kaulig Racing, which plans to run a limited World Cup schedule alongside its full-time Xfinity programs this season.
The 22-year-old from Boston finished seventh on his World Cup debut last season at the Daytona circuit. He drove in place of Austin Dillon, who lost the race after a positive COVID-19 test.
Grala is a previous Daytona winner at Camping World Truck Series. His victory at the opening of the 2017 truck season made him the youngest NASCAR winner in Daytona (18 years, one month, 26 days).
Nº 33 – Austin Cindric, Team Penske
Austin Cindric hopes to make his World Cup debut at this year’s Daytona 500. He is already scheduled to participate in selected World Cup races this year, in addition to his defense of the Xfinity title, before moving to the World Cup in 2022 with the Wood Brothers, aligned with Penske.
Cindric played six Xfinity games at Daytona. Three of them finished in DNFs, but the other three finished in the top 10. His best result was fourth in the July 2019 race.
Nº 36 – David Ragan, Front Row Motorsports
As part of the launch of the Front Row Motorsports driver lineup on January 6, David Ragan was nominated for the team’s third Daytona 500 entry, joining season-long drivers Michael McDowell and rookie Anthony Alfredo.
Ragan stepped away from racing full-time at the end of the 2019 season, but returned to last year’s Daytona 500. He finished fourth.
In addition to his two career World Cup victories, eight of Ragan’s first 16 places in NASCAR’s top five came on superspeedways. He won the July 2011 race in Daytona while driving for Roush Fenway Racing.
Nº 37 – Ryan Preece, JTG Daugherty Racing
A third critical season of the Cup for Ryan Preece begins without a letter to enter the 37th place to secure his place in the Daytona 500. With funding for the entire season still unsecured, Preece cannot miss the biggest race of the year.
A former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, Preece has had modest success in his first two World Cup campaigns. But he showed flashes at super speeds, with three of his five results in the top ten in Daytona or Talladega.
No. 62 – Noah Gragson, Beard Motorsports
Noah Gragson, Xfinity regular, replaces retired Brendan Gaughan at entry 62, who has been seen mostly on superspeedways for the past four seasons at the World Cup.
Gragson, who appears to be fighting for the Xfinity title this season, won his first victory in the series at last year’s season premiere in Daytona.
No. 66 – Timmy Hill, MBM Motorsports
Timmy Hill completed the full MBM World Cup schedule in 2020, finishing in first place in Talladega in October. He made his first two matches in the Daytona Cup, finishing 27th and 24th.
Hill has four career results in the top 10 at Daytona, including a third place finish last season.
Nº 96 – Ty Dillon, Gaunt Brothers Racing
Ty Dillon has competed full-time at the World Cup for the past four years with the now defunct Germain Racing. He will try to place Gaunt Brothers Racing on the Daytona 500 after the team was out last year with Daniel Suarez.
On Monday, Dillon was also confirmed to drive for GBR in the second race of the season at the Daytona circuit.