For only the third time since the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, more cars will enter a non-Daytona 500 Cup race than there are spots in the field. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Raceway will see five open entries battle for four spots.
The first time in that span was the 2025 Chicago Street Race, which saw 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim surprisingly bumped from the field. The second time was at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season, in which a rained-out qualifying sent Beard Motorsports’ Casey Mears back home. Heim and Mears are two of the five drivers fighting to make the field this weekend at Daytona.
Open Entries
NY Racing Team No. 44 – Joey Gase
Joey Gase will return to NY Racing’s No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for the first time since a 30th-place finish at Talladega. The 33-year-old has four starts in the Gen-7 car, and will attempt the summer Daytona race for the third consecutive season. NY Racing is making their sixth entry of the season, with a best finish of 21st with JJ Yeley at Michigan International Raceway.
Daytona has not been kind to NY Racing as of late. Including this yer, they have failed to qualify for three consecutive Daytona 500s. Despite this, the team finished top-20 in the 2024 summer Daytona race with Gase behind the wheel. In their three qualifying sessions this season, they have been several tenths off the next slowest car. They’ll likely be in the thick of the battle to make the race, and will look to Gase’s experience to put them in the field.
Beard Motorsports No. 62 – Casey Mears
Casey Mears will continue his drive for 500 starts with Beard Motorsports. Two of Mears’ eight Gen-7 races have come for the Mooresville-based team, but neither saw a finish under power. In those eight starts, Mears’ best finish is 18th in 2025’s Talladega playoff race. As for Beard Motorsports, they have attempted every Gen 7 Daytona race except for the 2025 summer race with a best finish of seventh with Parker Retzlaff in 2024.
The 2024 event had three part-time teams enter, and Beard qualified the best of the three. The No. 62 Chevrolet is well positioned to be the second-fastest open car entered. That, combined with Mears’ experience, should lead to redemption from their DNQ at Talladega. If they make the field Mears could even earn his first top-10 since the 2015 Daytona 500.
Garage 66 No. 66 – Gray Gaulding
Garage 66 will see their fifth different driver of the season, as Gray Gaudling steps into the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Gaulding is returning to the Cup Series for the first time since 2023, when he finished 29th for Rick Ware Racing at Worldwide Technology Raceway. Garage 66 will attempt their 12th race of the season, seeking to improve on their best finish of 28th.
Like NY Racing, Garage 66 tends to struggle in qualifying. The Statesville-based team typically runs several tenths off the next slowest cars, but they have shown drafting speed in recent seasons. Chad Finchum led laps in the spring Talladega race, and Chandler Smith ran top-five in the 2025 Duel race before wrecking out. It may be a struggle to make the field, but the small team could match their car brand and have a strong run. Gaulding himself has several top-10s in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition at superspeedways.
23XI Racing No. 67 – Corey Heim
Corey Heim’s part-time 2026 season in the No. 67 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing has been a great success so far. This will be the combination’s eighth race of the season, highlighted by two impressive wins at Naval Base Coronado and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In one superspeedway start together, Heim qualified fifth and led laps but ultimately finished 28th.
The No. 67 is the only open entry that will come from a full-time team’s shop. Toyota has been dominant and Heim had an impressive run at Daytona in February, so the No. 67 should easily make the field. If they do, a third win is on the table. Heim has two Truck Series wins at drafting tracks and 23XI Racing won this year’s Daytona 500 with Tyler Reddick.
Live Fast Motorsports No. 78 – Daniel Dye
Rounding out the open cars, Daniel Dye returns to Live Fast Motorsports for his fourth career Cup Sseries start. Dye’s best finish of 24th in his debut at Talladega is the team’s best result of the season. This will be the Mooresville-based operation’s ninth attempt of the season. Driver-owner BJ McLeod drove the car in the other three plate races, but failed to finish all three.
While the No. 78 Chevrolet is not the most competitive entry and Dye is not the most experienced driver, the team tends to be the fastest of the independent teams. If this holds true, then they likely will make the field with little issue. Should they make the race, Dye has several solid runs in the lower series at superspeedways, highlighted by a top-three in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega. Looking at Live Fast, their only top-10s came in this race in 2021 and 2022.
Who Makes the Field?
These five drivers and teams will do battle on Friday, August 28, at 5:00 p.m. If qualifying is rained out, the No. 62 will be sent home as it was at Talladega. Looking at a drafting race with qualifying, all five teams attempted to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500, but all except the No. 67 had different drivers behind the wheel.
Heim qualified fifth for the Daytona 500. It’s a long way to the next entry, as the No. 62 qualified 35th with Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel. The No. 78 was two-tenths quicker than the No. 66 with McLeod behind the wheel, while the No. 66 had two tenths on the No. 44 with Mears and Yeley behind the wheel respectively.
Looking at these results, and their teams’ general struggle for speed, the battle to make the race will likely be between Gaulding and Gase. Gaudling seems to have a slightly faster car, but Gase has the edge in experience. My prediction is that Gaulding will miss the field, but no matter what the battle will be fierce.
