After a wet, wild end to the first round of the Chase, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is heading home.
NASCAR released the preliminary entry list for October 10 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The list includes 45 entrants, meaning two will fail to make the race.
Timmy Hill and Michael McDowell enter as the two teams needing to qualify their way into the top 36 to make the race on speed. However, should qualifying for Saturday’s race be rained out, McDowell and Ryan Blaney will be the two drivers to head home due to their team’s vehicles having the fewest starts in the field.
One week removed from a shocking elimination from the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson will return to Charlotte in a special Lowe’s “Red Vest” scheme. Johnson first drove the scheme under similar circumstances in 2014, driving to a win at Texas Motor Speedway after being eliminated from the Chase.
Brad Keselowski will sport a unique sponsor as he looks to avoid the drama that befell him in this stage of the Chase last year. Keselowski, a Michigan native, will race with support from Detroit Genuine Parts, with the company’s logo replacing the No. 2 Ford’s typical Miller Lite logo on the hood.
Continuing his journeyman season, Josh Wise will return to the No. 32 again, driving for Go Green Racing with support from Rimrock Devlin.
The Cup Series will return to action at their 1.5-mile home track on Thursday, October 8, for opening practice at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 7:20 p.m. ET. The field will return on Friday for two practice sessions at 3:30 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET. Coverage of Saturday’s Bank of America 500 will begin at 7 p.m ET on NBC and MRN.
2015 BANK OF AMERICA 500 ENTRY LIST
| Car No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Sponsor | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | McDonald's | Felix Sabates |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (PC3) | Ford | Detroit Genuine Parts | Roger Penske |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | Dow - Great Stuff | Richard Childress |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick (PC1) | Chevy | Jimmy John's / Budweiser | Tony Stewart |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | Hendrickridealong.com | Linda Hendrick |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | AdvoCare | John Henry |
| 7 | Alex Bowman | Chevy | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Tommy Baldwin |
| 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | Lowes Foods | Richard Petty |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | GoDaddy.com | Tony Stewart |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | J.D. Gibbs |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | Bob Germain |
| 14 | Tony Stewart (PC4) | Chevy | Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 | Margaret Haas |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy | Rob Kauffman |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Roush Performance | Jack Roush |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | Juicy Juice | John Henry |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's Pretty in Pink Foundation | Joe Gibbs |
| 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | Stanley | J.D. Gibbs |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth (PC6) | Toyota | Dollar General | Joe Gibbs |
| 21 | Ryan Blaney(i) | Ford | PPG | Glen Wood |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | Walter Czarnecki |
| 23 | Jeb Burton # | Toyota | Dr Pepper | Ron Devine |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (PC7) | Chevy | 3M | Rick Hendrick |
| 26 | J.J. Yeley(i) | Toyota | Maxim | Anthony Marlowe |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Richmond / Menards | Richard Childress |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Caterpillar | Richard Childress |
| 32 | Josh Wise | Ford | Rimrock Devlin | Archie St Hilaire |
| 33 | Alex Kennedy # | Chevy | TBA | Joe Falk |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt # | Ford | Dockside Logistics | Jerry Freeze |
| 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters | Bob Jenkins |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | MDS Transportation | Brad Jenkins |
| 40 | Landon Cassill(i) | Chevy | carsforsale.com | Mike Hillman |
| 41 | Kurt Busch (PC5) | Chevy | State Water Heaters | Gene Haas |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Target Plaid | Chip Ganassi |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Smithfield | Richard Petty |
| 46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Allstate Peterbilt Group | Harry Scott Jr. |
| 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevy | House Autry | Tad Geschickter |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson (PC2) | Chevy | Lowe's Red Vest | Jeff Gordon |
| 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevy | Brandt | Harry Scott Jr. |
| 55 | David Ragan | Toyota | Aaron's Online Dream Machine | Michael Waltrip |
| 62 | Timmy Hill(i) | Chevy | Premium Motorsports | Jay Robinson |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevy | Furniture Row / Visser Precision | Barney Visser |
| 83 | Matt Dibenedetto # | Toyota | Cosmo Motors | Ron Devine |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevy | Nationwide | Rick Hendrick |
| 95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Thrivent Builds | Bob Leavine |
| 98 | Reed Sorenson | Chevy | Premium Motorsports | Mike Curb |
About the author
A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.
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Can’t wait…Mile and a half track, the chase, what could be more exciting……..maybe turn on the close captioning so I don’t miss expert commentary and the status of the chase….sorry I mean Playoffs.