4 Drivers Fail to Make Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Following the completion of the Daytona 500 Duels on Thursday night (Feb. 13), 41 drivers now set their minds to the Great American Race, while four others wonder about what could have been.

With 45 Daytona 500 entries, at least four were destined to get sent home. 36 were guaranteed via the NASCAR Cup Series charters. Two (Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson) locked in their spots via qualifying Wednesday night (Feb. 12). Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves had a guaranteed spot thanks to the new Open Exemption Provisional whether he raced his way in through the Duels or had to use the OEP. Depending on which, the Daytona 500 grid could either have 40 cars or 41.

That meant that six drivers were competing for one or two spots on Thursday. Justin Allgaier and Corey LaJoie each finished the highest of the open teams in their respective Duel races and locked their way into the race. That left Chandler Smith, JJ Yeley, Anthony Alfredo and BJ McLeod as those left out of the Daytona 500 starting lineup.

Smith’s night came to an end just 13 laps into Duel 1. He had actually positioned himself inside the top five and well ahead of the other open drivers, cruising to his first Daytona 500 start, when it all went wrong.

Justin Haley got a run to the inside of the Garage 66 car, and Smith moved down to block, but it was too late. The result was a pileup including both Smith and Haley as well as Castroneves. All three cars were done for the evening.

Big damage for Chandler Smith. pic.twitter.com/4yusjbCdop

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 14, 2025

“Just honestly didn’t know where the [No.] 7 was,” Smith said. “My digital mirror stopped working after we got on the backstretch of the first lap, couldn’t see out of my left-side mirror unless they were 10 feet to my left side. I couldn’t really see where Justin [Haley] was.”

Smith noted he moved down because the two cars in front of him both moved down and he was content riding in line behind them the rest of the race.

“Got all my track position. I was happy with it,” Smith said. “I started fading bottom and didn’t get down quick enough. So it’s on me, and I apologize. There’s a lot of torn up racecars that were good, quality racecars. … Justin [Haley] tried lifting, Justin tried giving me a chance there. … It’s just a crappy racing deal.”

This incident started a debate on social media as to whether Smith’s spotter had told him he was clear low or not.

He was cleared and hesitated.. then was told bumper multiple times.. pic.twitter.com/TGh40HyrYG

— Danny Lowe (@theagentlowe) February 14, 2025

“I didn’t have an inside, for sure,” Smith said. “Last I heard was, ‘Clear, [No.] 7’s about to come back inside,’ something along those lines. I checked my mirror real quick, and from what I could see in my mirror, it looked like I was clear enough to barely squeeze it in there.”

Smith said on the radio after the wreck that it hurt badly. He had X-rays done on his wrist, elbow and back in the infield care center due to the pain, but fortunately, the X-rays came back negative. He confirmed he will still be able to race in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday, Feb. 14.

It marks the second time Smith won’t make the Daytona 500 after failing to make it in 2023 as well. He has no more Cup races planned for now.

With that wreck also eliminating Castroneves, that meant the open-wheel legend would use the OEP and 41 cars would start the Great American Race. That left the battle in Duel 1 between Allgaier and Yeley.

However, Truex was also in the fold, as he could still race his way in and start Sunday’s race better than if he fell back on his qualifying time. And if Truex raced his way in, then Allgaier’s qualifying time would get him in. So Yeley had to beat them both to have any shot to make the race.

And he nearly did just that. Yeley, Allgaier and Truex ended up three-wide in the closing laps, with Allgaier’s JR Motorsports car coming out on top. That meant that was it for Yeley’s and NY Racing’s Daytona 500 bid.

“I was just trying to play a little chess match there,” Yeley said. “If I followed the [No.] 40, I was going to be stuck. With the [No.] 56 going to the back, I thought he was just going to ride. Once he [Truex] pushed to the outside, got three-wide and got clear of the [No.] 40, I just thought I need to go where they’re not.

“The bottom had really good momentum there with five-six [laps] to go, and I thought I was gonna be in really good shape. I just didn’t have quite the pace those guys did. I was stuck going where the guys in front of me were. I couldn’t make anything happen.”

Yeley will still get to race at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, as he will be in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Also, at Media Day Wednesday, Yeley revealed he and NY Racing had “speedway and mile-and-a-half” races sold for Cup this season. Still, not making the Daytona 500 is a big loss for him and the small team.

“It doesn’t pay the same as being in the Daytona 500, and that’s the goal. That’s the effort,” Yeley said. “I knew as soon as we fired off in the first Duel with the cars that were in it, I felt like that was the tougher of the two. … To be there the last five laps, to be able to battle for it …”

In Duel 2, Johnson looked to be the one who was going to race his way in, which would get LaJoie in on speed. But Johnson reportedly had fuel issues and made an unscheduled green-flag pit stop. That left the battle to make the race down to LaJoie and Alfredo.

Alfredo had his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet in position, but following a round of green-flag pit stops, he was passed by not only LaJoie’s Ford but a number of other Fords as well.

“[It got away from me] by just being outnumbered by manufacturer, honestly, because there’s nothing anyone did wrong tonight,” Alfredo told Frontstretch. The car was really strong. … I drove to the front by myself to put myself in position for that green-flag stop, came down with the few Chevy teammates I had out there. … Unfortunately, at the end, where we lined up, even after that wreck, every car in front of me was a Ford.

“So I just had nobody to go with. Every time I made a move, they would do the opposite of me, obviously trying to help out the [No.] 01, which is understandable.”

Stuck two cars in line behind LaJoie with laps running out, Alfredo made a last-ditch effort to pull out and make a move, but no one went with him and he plummeted to the back.

“I was under the impression some people were going to go with me, and they didn’t,” Alfredo said.

To add insult to injury, a last-lap crash caught up the No. 62 so Alfredo left with a broken heart and Beard left with a broken racecar. Like Yeley, Alfredo will get to race in the Xfinity race. As for Beard, the rest of the season is unannounced but it usually runs all the superspeedway races.

The other to fail to make it was McLeod, who was never really in position to make the race. According to McLeod, having too long of a pit stop put him even further back and with no shot at the Daytona 500.

“Once again, fast car,” McLeod said. “I feel like we made our own bed with the pit stop there. I felt like we stayed in our stall too long, because I saved fuel really well and did a better job than last year. … That took our track position away.

McLeod and Live Fast Motorsports will run all the drafting races as well as the Coca-Cola 600.

Michael Massie

Content Director

Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020. Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.