2022 Daytona 500: How the lineup is set

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR’s biggest race also has the most complicated process to determine who gets in and how they line up.

Of the 40 drivers who will compete in the Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, 36 are locked in because they drive for teams with charters (NASCAR’s version of a franchise), which leaves four spots available to non-chartered cars, typically referred to as "open" cars.

The six drivers in open cars vying for the four open spots are Greg Biffle (NY Racing), Noah Gragson (Beard Motorsports), Kaz Grala (The Money Team Racing), Timmy Hill (Motorsports Business Management), Jacques Villeneuve (Team Hezeberg) and JJ Yeley (MBM).

They can get into the Daytona 500 in one of two ways: by qualifying speed from single-car qualifying Wednesday or by racing their way in with the qualifying races Thursday.

The top-finishing open car in each qualifying race Thursday (there will be three open cars among the 21 cars in each race) will make the Daytona 500, and the final two spots will be determined based on single-car qualifying results.

The top two drivers among those six in single-car qualifying results — Gragson and Villeneuve — know they are locked after in Wednesday night. Those who are third and fourth in single-car qualifying — Grala and Biffle — could get in based on their speed Wednesday, but that will depend on which open car finishes best in their qualifying races, given that the top "open" driver in one duel could be slower than some of the top "open" drivers in the other duel but would still get in by virtue of finishing best in the duel.

For example: If the two fastest open cars are in each of the two duels, third and fourth get in by virtue of being the fastest remaining cars. If, however, the fastest open car in one duel is fifth-fastest overall, then fourth would lose out; first would be in, as would fifth by "winning" its duel, with the other two spots going to second and third overall.

Here's how the Daytona 500 starting lineup is set:

On Wednesday, drivers made single-car runs to set the front row of the Daytona 500, as well as the lineups for the qualifying races (commonly called "the duels") Thursday night. Single-car qualifying consists of two rounds, with all drivers making a lap in the first round and the top 10 in the first round advancing to the second round.

The fastest driver in the second round — Kyle Larson — will be on the pole for the Daytona 500. The second-fastest driver — Alex Bowman — will line up beside him on the front row.

Based on single-car qualifying results (the top 10 drivers’ qualifying results are based on their second-round results; the remainder of the drivers' are based on their first-round results), the drivers are split evenly for the two qualifying races. Both duels will have 18 chartered cars and three open cars, with starting position based on qualifying results.

The first duel will feature those charter cars whose qualifying results are "odd" (first, third, fifth, etc.) in relation to the other charter cars and the first, third and fifth open cars from qualifying results (Gragson, Grala and Yeley). The second race will consist of those charter cars whose qualifying results are "even" (second, fourth, sixth, etc.) in relation to the other charter cars and the second, fourth and sixth qualifiers among the open cars (Villeneuve, Biffle and Hill).

The Daytona 500 lineup will then be set based on the qualifying races, which determine spots Nos. 3-38 in the field. Except for the already established Daytona 500 front row, charter drivers and the top open driver will line up in Rows 2-19 based on their finish in the qualifying race, with those in the first race making up the inside row and those in the second race making up the outside row based on finishing position.

The final two Daytona 500 spots (Row 20, 39th and 40th) will go to the open drivers who get in based on qualifying speed (unless those drivers qualified for the front row). 

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!