It is the final Sunday before the Daytona 500. Sure the Super Bowl is today, but the more important thing is that there are only 3 Days to Daytona left. In 2 days, the Cup Series haulers will make their way to Daytona One for their showcase. This year, two open teams will be making the trek down to Daytona. Will there be more than two open teams that run in 2024 though?
Open Teams
Similar to yesterday’s article, the open teams will be split between the confirmed (as of today) Daytona 500 entries and the ones who are not.
Daytona 500 Entries
#62 Beard Motorsports
Everyone’s favorite superspeedway racing open team is back in 2024. However, Austin Hill will not be behind the wheel for the team for their first two races. Instead, Anthony Alfredo was tabbed to drive the 62 on the high banks of Daytona. It was a surprising announcement for sure, since the assumption was that Hill would return to Beard Motorsports this season. Afterall, Beard Motorsports ran Hill at Michigan and the ROVAL last year (in addition to the superspeedways). So far, the team has announced a four-race scheduled. Alfredo is running the first Daytona and Talladega races.
Speedweeks Outlook
Despite a spotty record of making the Daytona 500, Beard Motorsports usually brings equipment that is competitive. Unfortunately, bad luck strikes during their duel race. Last year, Austin Hill was almost guaranteed a spot. However, he was caught up in a wreck and The Money Team made it in instead. If Anthony Alfredo can avoid any bad luck, he should be able to qualify for the Great American Race. Under the assumption he makes it, then Alfredo has a chance to put together a solid showing.
#78 Live Fast Motorsports
After three seasons of fulltime competition, Live Fast Motorsports decided to sell their charter to Spire Motorsports. Whether NASCAR would have repossessed their charter anyway is a question they avoided via the charter sale. Unfortunately for the BJ McLeod/Matt Tift led team, they struggled to progress into becoming a competitive team. Now, the team will run part-time with most starts coming at the superspeedways. More than likely, McLeod will be the one to drive the car. Can the money from the sale of the charter translate to better equipment?
Speedweeks Outlook
At the moment, Live Fast looks to be the clear-cut open team to be heading home Thursday night. Now, The Money Team had a car that bounced down pit road to start its duel and they still made the race. Anything can happen in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels. Plus, the team could surprise everyone and unload with surprising speed. While that seems unlikely, part of that charter money surely went to improving the team’s speed.
Other Open Teams
#44 NY Racing
NY Racing has not appeared in a Cup Series race since spring Talladega of 2022. However, they are the only non-confirmed entry that is rumored to be potentially entering the Daytona 500 (according to Bob Pockrass). Who would be the driver? Well, Greg Biffle ran all 5 races the team ran in 2022. However, the team disappeared after Talladega and has yet to return to the track. It is difficult to expect this team to show up to Daytona (or any race) in 2024 after missing all of 2023.
#50 The Money Team
From a team that took 2023 off to one that did compete, The Money Team entered two races last year. Miraculously, the team with the bouncing car made the Daytona 500. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. After the 500, the team entered Connor Daly and the 50 car at COTA. Both races demonstrated The Money Team’s significant disadvantages compared to the regular Cup Series teams. It is a bit surprising how poorly the team ran in 2023 though. With Kaz Grala behind the wheel, The Money Team looked competent in 2022. While the team is not expected to show up to Daytona, there have been rumblings that Las Vegas could be their first race.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
25-21 Days: 25 – #34, 24 – #23, 23 – #54, 22 – #99, & 21 – #48
20-16 Days: 20 – #16, 19 – #10, 18 – #41, 17 – #2, & 16 – #31
15-11 Days: 15 – #7, 14 – #43, 13 – #38, 12 – #3, & 11 – #14
10-6 Days: 10 – #21, 9 – #42, 8 – #77, 7 – #15, & 6 – #51
5-1 Days: 5 – #71, 4 – Non-Chartered
