For simply the third time this yr, a NASCAR Cup Sequence race will characteristic a full area of vehicles. The Daytona 500 and the spring Talladega race are the one different races this yr that featured DNQ(s).
Daytona Worldwide Speedway will host the common season finale, with the 2026 Chase grid set on Saturday evening.
Commercial
Together with the anticipated 36 chartered entries, there are 5 open groups displaying up as nicely. The slowest amongst them can be despatched dwelling after Friday qualifying.
Here is a have a look at the 5 drivers and groups:
No. 44 NY Racing Workforce Chevrolet
No. 44 NY Racing Workforce Chevrolet
Driver: The 33-year-old Gase has 94 earlier Cup begins since 2014, and is making an attempt to make his second begin of the 2026 season. His greatest displaying on the Cup stage got here at Talladega, incomes a career-best end of seventeenth in 2020. His career-best Cup end at Daytona is twentieth.
Commercial
Workforce: NY Racing Workforce did not qualify for the 2026 Daytona 500 with JJ Yeley, however made the present at Talladega within the spring with Gase after qualifying was rained out. Ought to they make this weekend’s race, it will likely be their fifth look of the yr.
Casey Mears, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
Casey Mears, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
Driver: Mears is by far essentially the most skilled driver among the many open entries. The 48-year-old has 497 profession begins with one Cup win (2007 Coke 600). That is all a part of his mission to succeed in 500 profession begins. Mears completed second within the 2006 Daytona 500, and positioned as excessive as fourth in the summertime Daytona race in 2014.
Commercial
Workforce: The crew has an alliance with RCR and has entered dozens of Cup races up to now decade, primarily specializing in superspeedways. They’ve positioned as excessive as fifth at Daytona and sixth at Talladega, however did not qualify for each races that featured go-or-go-homers this yr. They’ve managed to begin two different races this yr, each with Mears.
Storage 66 Ford
Driver: Gaulding, 28, is making an attempt to make his first Cup begin in simply over three years. He has 60 profession begins on the prime stage of the game, putting as excessive as ninth at Talladega in 2019. At Daytona, his greatest Cup displaying is twentieth within the 2018 Daytona 500. This yr, he has only one begin in any of the three nationwide divisions, ending twenty eighth in a NASCAR O’Reilly race at Bristol.
Commercial
Workforce: The Carl Lengthy-owned crew is the one open entry representing Ford, and they’re making an attempt to make their twelfth begin of the yr. Gaulding would be the crew’s fifth completely different driver this season as nicely. They raced their manner into the 2026 Daytona 500 with Mears, ending thirty second.
Corey Heim — No. 67 23XI Racing ToyotaCorey Heim, 23XI Racing
Driver: Heim, 24, has had fairly the yr as a part-time driver, breaking data and gorgeous the storage as he claimed his first-career win on the San Diego Avenue Course. However he wasn’t completed, additionally successful the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just a few weeks later. If he makes the race, this can be Heim’s ninth begin of the 2026 season.
Commercial
Workforce: 23XI is the strongest of all of the open groups on this listing, and in contrast to the opposite 4 single-car operations, this automobile is a part of a mega group that options three full-time and chartered entries. The No. 67 entry hasn’t did not qualify because the 2025 Chicago Avenue Course race.
Daniel Dye, Dwell Quick Motorsports Chevrolet
Daniel Dye, Dwell Quick Motorsports Chevrolet
Driver: Dye, 22, signed a four-race take care of the Dwell Quick Motorsports crew earlier within the yr. He started the yr as a full-time NASCAR Truck Sequence driver for Kaulig and Ram, however they parted methods after his suspension for distasteful feedback he made on a livestream. He has since accomplished sensitivity coaching and returned to competitors elsewhere. Dye remains to be pretty new to the Cup Sequence, making his debut at Talladega within the spring. If he makes the present, Daytona can be simply his fourth profession begin — all this yr.
Commercial
Workforce: The BJ McLeod-owned crew has made eight begins this season, with McLeod himself driving the automobile together with Dye and Katherine Legge. As soon as a full-time entry earlier than promoting its constitution for round $40 million, the crew now seems in a handful of races yearly, and it has simply two prime ten finishes — each at Daytona (ninth in 2021 summer season race and seventh in 2022 summer season race).
2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 — NASCAR Cup Daytona entry listing
No.
Driver
Workforce
Producer
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
2
Austin Cindric
Workforce Penske
Ford
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
4
Noah Gragson
Entrance Row Motorsports
Ford
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
Ford
7
Daniel Suarez
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
12
Ryan Blaney
Workforce Penske
Ford
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
Ford
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
21
Josh Berry
Wooden Brothers Racing
Ford
22
Joey Logano
Workforce Penske
Ford
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
Toyota
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
33
Austin Hill
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
34
Todd Gilliland
Entrance Row Motorsports
Ford
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
Toyota
38
Zane Smith
Entrance Row Motorsports
Ford
41
Cole Custer
Haas Manufacturing unit Workforce
Chevrolet
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Membership
Toyota
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Membership
Toyota
44
Joey Gase
NY Racing Workforce
Chevrolet
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
62
Casey Mears
Beard Motorsports
Chevrolet
66
Grey Gaulding
Storage 66
Ford
67
Corey Heim
23XI Racing
Toyota
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
78
Daniel Dye
Dwell Quick Motorsports
Chevrolet
88
Connor Zilisch
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
97
Shane van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
Open entries italicized
Commercial
To learn extra Motorsport.com articles go to our web site.
