Of the 42 groups entered, solely the 36 chartered groups are locked into the occasion.
The six ‘open’ groups will battle for the 4 remaining spots on the grid. They’re all part-time efforts and made up of the next drivers: Jimmie Johnson within the No. 84, BJ McLeod within the No. 78, Anthony Alfredo within the No. 62, David Ragan within the No. 60, Kaz Grala within the No. 36 and a but to be introduced driver within the No. 44.
How does qualifying work?
On Tuesday, a random draw takes place to resolve the order automobiles will take to the monitor for Wednesday’s qualifying session.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is a single-car, one-lap format. Every driver will get one flying lap across the 2.5-mile superspeedway and the 2 quickest automobiles will likely be locked into the entrance row for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
The 2 quickest drivers can even begin from pole place of their respective Duel races on Thursday. The lineup for the dual 150-mile Duel races will likely be primarily based on Wednesday’s qualifying outcomes. All drivers who certified in odd-numbered positions will likely be positioned in Duel #1 whereas all even-numbered qualifiers compete in Duel #2.
The 2 highest-qualifying open entries are locked into the five hundred on Wednesday. The very best-finishing open driver in every Duel race will take the ultimate two positions within the Daytona 500. Ought to the highest-finisher be one of many open drivers who locked themselves into the race already, then the next-fastest driver from qualifying is locked in.
Alex Bowman is the defending pole-sitter with Hendrick Motorsports locking out the entrance row in 2023. A non-Chevrolet has not received the pole for the Daytona 500 since Ford did it with Carl Edwards in 2012.
