Daytona 500 entry list features only 40 cars

There will be little drama and intrigue surrounding who will qualify for the 2018 Daytona 500, with all 40 cars entered for NASCAR’s marquee event guaranteed a starting spot in the Feb.18 race.

The 36 teams that hold charters (the equivalent of a franchise in other sports) are assured a spot in the starting lineup for each Monster Energy Cup Series race, a policy that went into effect prior to the 2016 season when the charter system was instituted. Up to four spots are available to “open” teams that don’t have a charter. And with only four open teams filing an entry for the Daytona 500, all 40 teams entered will participate in the season-opening race regardless of how they qualify in time trials or finish in the twin duels preliminary races that set the starting lineup.

That more teams are not attempting to compete in the Daytona 500 comes amid a period when a predominant number of organizations are lacking full sponsorship and still adjusting to a changing economic climate that has seen many slash budgets. The last time the Daytona 500 did not have a driver/team fail to qualify was in 1969 when 50 drivers started the race and one was listed as not starting.

In 2015, the last season before the current charter system, 49 cars attempted to earn a spot in the 43-car field for the Daytona 500. Ten years ago, 53 drivers posted a qualifying lap.

Brendan Gaughan (Beard Motorsports), David Gilliland (RBR Enterprises), D.J. Kennington (Gaunt Brothers Racing) and Mark Thompson (Phoenix Air Racing) are the four drivers with non-charter teams entered for this year’s Daytona 500. If a team files a last-minute entry, these four would then be at risk of not qualifying. The deadline to file an entry is 8 a.m. ET Saturday, as all cars entered must be presented for technical inspection by that time.

BK Racing, which is a charter team, did have a driver listed for its No. 23 Toyota.