Austin Dillon won the 2018 Daytona 500. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) The 2019 NASCAR season is getting closer and closer. NASCAR released the entry list for the Daytona 500 Wednesday night. On the lists are 42 cars for 40 spots, meaning at least two cars will fail to qualify for the Feb. 17 race. That’s significant after the 2018 Daytona 500 had just 40 cars entered for 40 spots. Thirty-six of the 42 cars currently entered into the race are guaranteed starting spots in the 500 because of NASCAR’s charter system. That means at least six cars will be racing for four available spots. Casey Mears, Tyler Reddick, Parker Kligerman, Brendan Gaughan, Joey Gase and Ryan Truex are the six drivers who aren’t guaranteed spots in the field. More cars could attempt the race as well. That includes the No. 97 car of Obaika Racing, which announced its Daytona 500 sponsor at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday. But NASCAR’s entry list for the 500 came hours after Obaika’s announcement and the team was nowhere to be found on it. How can you plan an announcement about your attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 but not enter yourself in the race in time to be on the first entry list? The No. 7 car with J.J. Yeley could also be entered into the race. Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 begins at noon ET on Sunday. The top two qualifiers will start on the front row for the race while spots Nos. 3-40 will be determined Feb. 14 in the traditional two pre-qualifying races. Drivers locked into the Daytona 500 No. 00 Landon Cassill No. 1 Kurt Busch No. 2 Brad Keselowski No. 3 Austin Dillon No. 4 Kevin Harvick No. 6 Ryan Newman No. 8 Daniel Hemric No. 9 Chase Elliott No. 10 Aric Almirola No. 11 Denny Hamlin No. 12 Ryan Blaney No. 13 Ty Dillon No. 14 Clint Bowyer No. 15 Ross Chastain No. 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. No. 18 Kyle Busch No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. No. 20 Erik Jones No. 21 Paul Menard No. 22 Joey Logano No. 24 William Byron No. 32 Corey LaJoie No. 34 Michael McDowell No. 36 Matt Tifft No. 37 Chris Buescher No. 38 David Ragan No. 40 Jamie McMurray No. 41 Daniel Suarez No. 42 Kyle Larson No. 43 Bubba Wallace No. 47 Ryan Preece No. 48 Jimmie Johnson No. 51 Cody Ware No. 52 BJ McLeod No. 88 Alex Bowman No. 95 Matt DiBenedetto Story continues Drivers not locked in No. 27 Casey Mears No. 31 Tyler Reddick No. 62 Brendan Gaughan No. 66 Joey Gase No. 71 Ryan Truex No. 96 Parker Kligerman – – – – – – – Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. More from Yahoo Sports: • Brady had to convince Belichick to kick late FG • Smith: 76ers’ trade for Harris has a lot of factors • No shirts, plenty of bling on Patriots parade route • Thamel: NBA scouts break down Duke phenom’s game<doc-sep>SPARTA, KY - JULY 14: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, leads the field past the green flag to start the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 14, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Obaika Racing’s withdrawal from the Daytona 500 means that only 32 drivers are set to compete full-time in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season. Heading into this week, the full-time driver lineup for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season appeared to be set. A total of 34 drivers were set to compete in each of the season’s 36 races from February to November. Of these 34 drivers, 33 were set to compete for points, as Premium Motorsports’ Ross Chastain was set to drive full-time in the Cup Series, but he was not compete for points as a result of the fact that he is set to drive full-time and compete for points in the Xfinity Series for the fifth consecutive season this year. Now just 32 drivers are set to compete on a full-time basis in the 2019 Cup Series season with the opportunity to earn points. After competing in the Cup Series for the first time last season by fielding the #97 Toyota in each of the season’s final three races, Obaika Racing were set to field the #97 Toyota on a full-time basis throughout the 2019 season. Rookie Tanner Berryhill, who drove for the team in two of their three races last season, was set to be their full-time driver. However, the team announced Friday that they have withdrawn their entry from the season opener, the 61st annual Daytona 500, as they did not feel confident about their odds to qualify for the 40-car race. As a result, Berryhill no longer has the option to compete in all 36 races throughout the season. Of the 33 drivers who were set to compete on a full-time basis in the 2019 season with the opportunity to earn points, Berryhill was the only one who was set to drive full-time for a non-chartered team, meaning that he was not guaranteed a starting spot in any of the 36 races on this year’s schedule anyway. That said, this news is still a major disappointment for the 25-year-old Bixby, Oklahoma native and the Victor Obaika-owned team, and the fact that the full-time entry list for the 2019 season has already been reduced to 32 drivers before the season has even begun is also a disappointment. Want your voice heard? Join the Beyond The Flag team! Write for us! In how many races will Tanner Berryhill drive the #97 Obaika Racing Toyota throughout the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? Will he make his season debut in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is the second race on the schedule and is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 24? There are still several questions left unanswered about this situation, and they may not all be answered in the near future.<doc-sep>Tanner Berryhill (97) during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) If you’re going to have an event to say you’re going to the Daytona 500, you should probably show up for the race. Especially if that event is less than 48 hours before when you’re supposed to be in Daytona. Obaika Racing held an event at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday to announce its sponsor for the Daytona 500. The team had a black No. 97 car at the Hall of Fame and proudly displayed the company that was set to be on the car in the team’s attempt to make the Feb. 17 race. Yet when the Daytona 500 entry list came out Wednesday evening, Obaika Racing’s No. 97 car with driver Tanner Berryhill was nowhere to be found on it. It was a bit odd, but NASCAR entry lists have been amended with late entries before. With haulers heading to Daytona on Thursday evening, there was still time for the team to enter the race. Obaika’s hauler never made it to Daytona. The team wasn’t in the garage when it opened Friday afternoon and issued a statement saying it wasn’t ready to attempt NASCAR’s biggest race. “Due to a variety of circumstances, Obaika Racing will not be entering the No. 97 Toyota Camry in the 2019 Daytona 500. “It is no secret that this is a very small team with limited resources. This is also a very new team to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The No. 97 team has worked very hard through the winter to prepare cars and to secure funding for the 2019 season and things did not come together as quickly as hoped or needed. The odds of making the Daytona 500 did not seem reasonable enough to stretch our resources, so the team feels that our assets can best be put towards a future race.” The limited resources and new team excuses don’t fly too well in the hours after holding an event to announce your Daytona 500 plans. The size and experience of Obaika Racing was the same on Wednesday as it was on Friday. Yet it strung people along – even NASCAR’s official website – into thinking it was attempting the Daytona 500 and then didn’t show up two days later citing a lack of car preparation. How exceptionally lame. Story continues “It’s extremely important to make the 500, we want to make the 500, we need to make the 500,” team owner Victor Obaika told NASCAR.com. “But, if we don’t make the 500, we’ll still be here.” “Here” clearly didn’t mean Daytona. The embarrassment would be limited to Obaika Racing if the team had simply put out a news release announcing its Daytona intentions and then failed to show up to attempt the race. But since the team’s event was at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the series is now tangentially involved. It’s not a good look for NASCAR. And hopefully this mess will be an impetus for the Hall of Fame to add some criteria for teams to meet before the Hall agrees to host an event for the team. Obaika Racing has made it to the track enough times to make 78 starts in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series since the beginning of 2015. None of those starts have resulted in a top-15 finish. Despite that lack of success, the team moved up to the Cup Series for the final three races of the 2018 season. Berryhill caused two significant cautions at Phoenix in November before finishing 31st. – – – – – – – Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. More from Yahoo Sports: • Gronk’s parade ‘injury’ was extremely on-brand • College coaching legend takes first XFL job • Who’s the girl in the NFL 100 Super Bowl ad? • NBA’s most valuable team is one of its worst<doc-sep>In the immortal words of Darrell Waltrip, "Boogity, boogity, boogity — let's go racing boys!" The 2019 NASCAR season is here, cranking up at Daytona International Speedway this weekend. There are familiar faces in new places — Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing(!) — a huge rule change (race winners that fail post-race inspection will be disqualified) and more. Here's a look at the Speedweeks schedule, along with the entry list for the Advance Auto Parts Clash. MORE: Live stream Speedweeks events, including the Daytona 500, on fuboTV (7-day free trial) 2019 Daytona Speedweeks Schedule Saturday Feb. 9 — 10:35 a.m. ET: Advance Auto Parts Clash Final Practice, FS1/fuboTV — 1:05 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 First Practice, FS1/fuboTV — 3:05 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 Second Practice, FS1/fuboTV Sunday Feb. 10 — 12:10 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 Qualifying, Fox/fuboTV — 3 p.m. ET: Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona, FS1/fuboTV Thursday Feb.14 — 7 p.m. ET: Gander RV Duel 1 at Daytona, FS1/fuboTV — 9 p.m. ET: Gander RV Duel 2 at Daytona, FS1/fuboTV Friday Feb. 15 — 1:05 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 Third Practice, FS1/fuboTV — 3:05 p.m. ET Daytona 500 Fourth Practice, FS1/fuboTV — 7:30 p.m. ET: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250, FS1/fuboTV Saturday Feb. 16 — 12:05 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 Final Practice, FS1/fuboTV — 2:30 p.m. ET: NASCAR XFinity Series NASCAR Racing Experience 300, FS1/fuboTV Sunday Feb. 17 — 2:30 p.m. ET: Daytona 500, Fox/fuboTV Advance Auto Parts Clash Entry List NASCAR released the first entry list of the season Monday, for the 20-car field in the Advance Auto Parts Clash on Feb. 10. Here are the eligible drivers and how they qualified for the non-points race. 2018 Busch Pole Award Winners (13) — Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr. Former Daytona 500 Champions (2) — Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman Former Daytona 500 Busch Pole Award Winners (2) — Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson 2018 Playoff Drivers (3) — Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski<doc-sep>
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, leads the field during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) The offseason between the 2018 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series seasons is almost over. Here is the entry list for the 2019 season opener, the Daytona 500. After nearly three months of waiting since the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season ended, the 2019 season is scheduled to get underway next Sunday, February 17 with the first of 36 races on the schedule, which extends through mid-November. A total of 42 drivers are set to attempt to qualify for the 2019 season opener, the 61st annual Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway. With Cup Series fields being limited to 40 drivers, two of the 42 drivers who are set to attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 will not make the field. Of the 42 drivers who are set to attempt to qualify for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida, 36 are already locked into the field as a result of the fact that they drive for chartered teams. Of the 36 drivers who are already locked into the field, 33 are full-time drivers who are set to compete in all 36 races throughout the 2019 season. Because the 2019 season has not yet begun, this entry list will include all of the drivers as opposed to only the part-time drivers like the entry lists we published ahead of each race last season. Here is a list of the 33 drivers who are set to compete in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 17 as well as in all of the other 35 races on the 2019 schedule. Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer 1 – Landon Cassill – #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet 2 – Kurt Busch – #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet 3 – Brad Keselowski – #2, Team Penske, Ford 4 – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 5 – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford 6 – Ryan Newman – #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 7 – Daniel Hemric – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 8 – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 9 – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford 10 – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 11 – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford 12 – Ty Dillon – #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet 13 – Clint Bowyer – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford 14 – Ross Chastain – #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet 15 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 16 – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 17 – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 18 – Erik Jones – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 19 – Paul Menard – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford 20 – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford 21 – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 22 – Corey Lajoie – #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford 23 – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 24 – Matt Tifft – #36, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 25 – Chris Buescher – #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet 26 – David Ragan – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford 27 – Daniel Suarez – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford 28 – Kyle Larson – #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet 29 – Darrell Wallace Jr. – #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet 30 – Ryan Preece – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet 31 – Jimmie Johnson – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 32 – Alex Bowman – #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 33 – Matt DiBenedetto – #95, Leavine Family Racing, Toyota Here is a list of the three drivers who are set to drive in the Daytona 500 as a result of the fact that they drive for chartered teams. Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer 1 – Jamie McMurray – #40, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet 2 – B.J. McLeod – #51, Petty Ware Racing, Chevrolet 3 – Cody Ware – #52, Rick Ware Racing, Chevrolet Here is a list of the six drivers who are set to attempt to qualify for the 2019 Daytona 500 without the guarantee of getting into the field.