2025 Daytona 500 Qualification: Briscoe on rod, field to be set by duels

On February 13, 2025By Littum

Bob Pockrass

Fox Nascar Insider

NASCARS DAYONA 500 on FOX has a unique qualifying format. It’s not the simplest to understand.

Adding the complicated qualification procedures is a new rule that can add (but does not guarantee) a 41. Car to what-in in recent years-Normal has been a 40-car field.

We are trying to break down everything here about how the field is set to the February 16th race at Daytona International Speedway.

How does Daytona 500 qualify?

– The 36 drivers of chartered cars are in the race. Here are the list of drivers: AJ Allmender, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Chase Eliott , Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Denny Hamlin, Riley Herbst, Carson Hocervar, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Zane Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Shane Van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace and Cody Ware.

-The remaining stains are then filled with the non-chartered open cars. There are nine open drivers entered: Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Helio Castroneves, Jimmie Johnson, Corey Lajoie, BJ McLeod, Chandler Smith, Martin Truex Jr. and jj yeley.

The open drivers serve their spots in two ways. They can either come in by being the highest finish-open driver in their qualifying races on Thursday. Or if they do not move on through their qualifying race, they can come in by being one of the top-to-two-open cars (not including those who went through the qualifying race) in one-car qualification Wednesday.

– Castroneves is an open car, but is locked into the field through a new rule for 2025, giving NASCAR the opportunity to assign a place to a driver who has elite credentials and will also increase the marketing of the event. His Trackhouse Racing team was the only one to apply before the deadline of this special preliminary, so he was the only one considered by Nascar who received it.

But there is a catch. If he uses the preliminary, his team gets no prize money for the event. So he hopes to qualify naturally. If he qualifies naturally as an open car, it will be a 40-car field and five open cars will miss the race. If he does not qualify naturally and uses the preliminary, it will be a 41-car field and four open cars will miss the race.

-Wednesday evening, qualifying one-car was held. Chase Briscoe won the rod for Daytona 500, and Austin Cindric got somewhere in the front row. Truex and Johnson locked into the Field Daytona 500 as the two fastest open cars – because they can always fall back on their time if they do not move through the races on Thursday night.

-To, 150 km (60-lap) race Thursday evening determines the starting lineup and fills the remaining two spots in the field. The 36 charter teams will be shared evenly between these two races based on their qualifying speed on Wednesday night (the first race that has the first, third, fifth and so on, and the second race that has the second, fourth, sixth and so further). The nine open cars are split – Truex, Allgaier, Castroneves, Chandler Smith and Yeley in the first race; Johnson, Lajoie, Alfredo and McLEOD in the second race – based on their qualification speed in the same way. All cars set up based on their qualification speed.

-The top finish-open driver in each of Thursday night runs earns a place in the Daytona 500 field. Of the seven open drivers who then remain, the two do with the best qualification speed from Wednesday night too. If Castroneves is not one of the open drivers who earn a seat, he gets it 41. And last place in the field (and four open drivers will not qualify for the race). If he is one of these four drivers, it will be a 40-car field (and five open drivers will not qualify for the race).

So here are the scenarios for each of the open drivers:

– Truex and Johnson: They are in Daytona 500 because they can fall back on speed.

– Allgaier: He is in if he is the top open driver in his duel. If Truex is the top open driver in the first duel or if Johnson is the top open driver in his duel, Allgaier will come in.

– Lajoie: He is in if he is the top open driver in his duel. If Truex or Allgaier is the top open driver in the first duel, and Johnson is the top open driver in the second duel, Lajoie comes in.

– Castroneves: He is in the race, either as the top open driver in his duel or with the preliminary.

– Chandler Smith, Yeley, Alfredo and McLEOD must finish as the top open driver in their duel to make Daytona 500.

– The results of the first race determine the interior row for rows 2 to 19, and the results of the second race determine the exterior of rows 2 to 19. The two open drivers who make the race based on qualification speed start in row 20 (stains 39 and 40). If Castroneves comes in with the preliminary, he would start 41 ..

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for Fox Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsport, including over 30 Daytona 500S, with Stints on ESPN, Sporting News, Nascar Scene Magazine and (Daytona Beach) News Journal. Follow him on Twitter @Bobpockkass.