A NASCAR Cup Series driver will miss out on racing at Talladega this weekend for the first time since 2018.
The official entry list for Sunday's Cup race has 41 names on it, meaning that one of the five Open entries will have to be cut after qualifying to get the race down to a 40-car field.
The Open entry drivers are Jesse Love (No. 33, Richard Childress Racing), Joey Gase (No. 44, NY Racing Team), Casey Mears (No. 62, Beard Motorsports), Chad Finchum (No. 66, Garage 66) and Daniel Dye (No. 78, Live Fast Motorsports).
One of those five will fail to make the field for Sunday's race – and if Saturday's forecast rain does arrive and disrupt proceedings so much that qualifying can't be held, that unlucky driver will be Mears thanks to the No. 62's disqualification in the second Daytona duel in February.
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First Talladega bump day since 2018
This weekend will (per Seth Eggert) be the first time that a (non-Daytona 500) Cup Series superspeedway race has cut a driver from the field after qualifying since the 2018 fall race at Talladega, when David Starr (No. 97, Obaika Racing) was the slowest of seven Open entries attempting to join the then-34 charter teams in the race.
That race ended up being dominated by Stewart-Haas Racing cars, with the team taking the top four spots in both of the first two stages before Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick fell back through the pack – only for the organization to take a 1-2 finish through Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer anyway.
2026 NASCAR Cup Series Talladega Spring Race entry list
| Car No. | Driver | Team (Manufacturer) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske (Ford) |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing (Ford) |
| 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske (Ford) |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing (Ford) |
| 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing (Ford) |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske (Ford) |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing (Toyota) |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 33 | Jesse Love (i) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing (Toyota) |
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team (Chevrolet) |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Toyota) |
| 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (Toyota) |
| 44 | Joey Gase (i) | NY Racing Team (Chevrolet) |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing (Toyota) |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) |
| 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing (Ford) |
| 62 | Casey Mears | Beard Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 66 | Chad Finchum (i) | Garage 66 (Ford) |
| 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 78 | Daniel Dye (i) | Live Fast Motorsports (Chevrolet) |
| 88 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) |
| 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) |
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