Two of the six open entries have secured their spots in the 66th running of the Daytona 500.
Anthony Alfredo, driving the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, emerged as the fastest among the open entries, clocking a lap time of 50.098 seconds on the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Expressing his elation to Fox Sports 1, Alfredo exclaimed, “This is insane! We were just discussing every possible scenario for today, tomorrow, and of course, Sunday. Making it to Sunday is quite a challenge, given the competitive field of open cars and drivers. I’m immensely grateful to the Beard family for entrusting me with this opportunity.”
“We clearly have a fast Chevrolet Camaro. We’ve outpaced many prominent teams so far. While there are still numerous cars to contend with, securing our spot means we can bypass tomorrow’s race, avoiding some risky situations, and focus solely on Sunday, which feels amazing.”
Veteran driver David Ragan, driving the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang, trailed Alfredo by over a tenth of a second but secured his place in the field as well.
“It’s always significant to qualify for the Daytona 500, and throughout the week, my focus has been on avoiding mistakes,” said Ragan, set for his 17th start in the 500 on Sunday. “I was optimistic about our chances for a top-ten or top-12 starting position, which underscores the hard work put in by this Ford team.”
“Derrick Finley, our crew chief, invests a tremendous amount of effort into RFK Racing. Having worked with him before, I know how much this means to him. I’m proud of Derrick and all the RFK guys. I’m thankful to Brad Keselowski and Jack Roush for giving me this opportunity to compete for a Daytona 500 victory.”
The remaining two spots in the Daytona 500 field are still up for grabs. Jimmie Johnson claimed the third-fastest time among the open entries, a potentially crucial advantage heading into the Duel races. If Alfredo or Ragan emerge as the highest-finishing open driver in their respective Duel races, Johnson’s qualifying time will suffice to secure his place.
In Duel #1, Alfredo, Johnson, and J.J. Yeley will compete, while Duel #2 will feature Ragan, B.J. McLeod, and Kaz Grala.
McLeod could also rely on his qualifying time, but only if both Alfredo and Ragan outperform the other open cars in their Duel races.
As for Grala and Yeley, their only path to the Daytona 500 is to race their way in. Unfortunately, Grala faced a setback when he encountered a mechanical issue on his No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford, preventing him from completing a qualifying lap.