Fifty drivers will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500, which means seven will go home following the qualifying races Feb. 19 at Daytona International Speedway.
The entry list, released Thursday afternoon, includes 44 anticipated full-time teams for the 2015 season and six part-time teams.
Qualifying for NASCAR’s biggest race starts Sunday, as NASCAR moves to its group qualifying format to determine the Daytona 500 pole.
The 50 drivers will be split into two groups by random draw, and each group will have five minutes to qualify. The top 24 drivers on speed will advance to the next five-minute round, and then the top 12 will advance to the final five-minute round to determine the Daytona 500 front row as well as the lineups for the qualifying races Thursday.
Each of the Daytona 500 front-row drivers will start at the pole of his or her respective qualifying race, with those finishing in the odd positions Sunday in the first race and those in the even positions in the second race.
The top 15 finishers, not including the pole sitter, of each qualifying race Thursday advance to the Daytona 500 and will fill starting spots 3-32.
The next four spots (33-36) will be awarded to the fastest from group qualifying Sunday who did not make the field through the qualifying race. The final seven spots are provisionals based on 2014 car owner points, with one spot open for a past champion.
Technically, only seven drivers are guaranteed spots in the race, based on those owner points and a past champion provisional: Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
