With the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season inching ever closer, one of the sport’s stalwarts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is feeling upbeat about how the racing season this year is seemingly shaping up. While the season officially kicks off with the Clash at Bowman Gray, the regular points-paying season does not until the famed Daytona 500.
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The 67th running of the iconic event has Junior upbeat regarding the interest surrounding the sport, especially from the point of view of the teams and drivers entering the event. In a recent episode of his hugely popular Dale Jr. Download podcast, he elaborated:
“I saw a little social media post a couple days ago about JJ Yeley almost beat Jimmie Johnson for one of the transfer spots and that was the first time in a long time we had genuine drama in the duel.”
Touching on how the number of open entries in the 500-mile-long event often can signify the interest and the sport’s inherent ‘health’, Junior revealed approximately 10 open entries this year. This in turn bodes well for the business side of racing as well as explained by the former racer turned Xfinity team owner:
“Good sign of health but also the economics of it is the car count. If you’re going to start 30 cars and 40 are there, that’s great. If you’re going to start 30 cars and only 228 show up, it’s concerning.”
Building on his point of healthy interest in the sport and the upcoming Daytona 500, Dale Jr. also liked the fact that the Duel races which are used by drivers to qualify for the main event have an increased level of drama and interest as drivers rely on them to enter the race on Sunday. This in turn makes the racing exciting as the stakes are higher for each entrant.
Daytona’s stage is big enough for all the drama, so why not add a few more players? 🎭@DaleJr | @AmyEarnhardt pic.twitter.com/z0Rd6lM2R4
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) January 10, 2025
How many confirmed open entries will be there in the 2025 Daytona 500?
Notable NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass gave an update on the upcoming crown jewel event’s confirmed open entries. Highlighting the list is IndyCar veteran and 4-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves who will be seen piloting the #91 part-time entry by Trackhouse Racing.
Jimmie Johnson could also be another heavyweight who could be participating in the event, however, the same has not been confirmed yet.
The following is a list of confirmed driver entries:
- JJ Yeley (Confirmed)
- Anthony Alfredo (Confirmed)
- Mike Wallace (Confirmed)
- BJ McLeod (Confirmed)
- Helio Castroneves (Confirmed)
With three further tentative entries including that of Johnson’s and the possibility of another open entry being announced at a later date, Junior’s claims of interest in the sport being reflected by the open entries as the regular season opens seems favorable. The event goes live on February 16, 2025, at 2:30 pm ET.
