The NASCAR Cup Series season begins officially with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway, with 40 spots available.

As of now, 42 entries have been announced or confirmed with a couple more rumored. Jimmie Johnson, in the no. 84 Legacy Motor Club entry, has the open exemption provisional and would be the 41st car in the field if he does not qualify on time via qualifying or in the Daytona Duels.

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All 36 chartered entries are locked into the race.

William Byron is the back-to-back defending champion and would be the first driver to win the 500 three years in a row with a victory in 2026.

Here’s what we know about the 2026 Daytona 500 entry list:

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Daytona 500 preliminary entry list, Who will try to qualify for NASCAR’s biggest race?

The official entry list won’t be released by NASCAR until closer to Speedweeks, but here’s what we know so far.

The initial list includes these full-time drivers plus these other announced open, non-charter entries:

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Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

Chandler Smith, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford (open, non-charter) (announced by team)

Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (open, non-charter) (announced by team)

Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet (open, non-charter) (announced by team)

Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Chevrolet (open, non-charter) (per owner interview on SiriusXM)

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota (open, non-charter, eligible for OEM provisional) (announced by team)

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Corey Lajoie, No. 99 RFK Racing Ford (open, non-charter) (announced by team)

There could be 2-3 more entries announced before Daytona 500 week. The No. 44 NY Racing Team entry and No. 78 LiveFast entry have been reported as expected cars, but not officially announced yet. 23XI Racing could also add a fourth entry.

Daytona 500 qualifying format, explained: How NASCAR fills out the Daytona 500 field

Wednesday’s single-car qualifying session

Single-car qualifying on the Wednesday before the Daytona 500 sets the front row.

The fastest two open cars in qualifying will be locked into the field, should they not finish as the top open car in Thursday’s duel race.

Thursday’s 150-mile qualifying races

Two 150-mile qualifying races set the field for the Daytona 500 on Thursday, Feb. 12. The first duel will set the order of the inside lane behind the pole sitter, while the second duel will set the order of the outside lane. (E.G., Duel No. 1 winner will start third, Duel No. 2 winner will start fourth, etc.)

The 36 charter teams are locked into the field, which leaves four spots in the 40-car field for the open entries. The highest finishing open car in each duel will lock into the field. If that highest finishing car is one of the two that locked into the field on time during qualifying on Wednesday, Feb. 11, the next-best finishing open car will make the field.

The added open exemption provisional can add a 41st car into the field, with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club the only team eligible for the OEP for the 500. Johnson will be the 41st car in the field only if he does not qualify on time or via the duel races.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Daytona 500 entry list, how many cars will attempt to qualify