Jimmie Johnson will race in the 2026 Daytona 500 after NASCAR granted him a provisional guaranteeing his entry into the race.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson will race in the 2026 Daytona 500 after NASCAR granted him a provisional guaranteeing his entry into the race.
© Jim Dedmon | 2025 May 24 NASCAR confirmed Johnson received the open exemption provisional, which is given to a "world-class driver" attempting a race with an open team. The sanctioning body introduced the OEP ahead of the 2025 season and granted it to Helio Castroneves for the Daytona 500.
The OEP not only guarantees entry for the recipient but it also means Johnson won't get purse money for the race. It will also expand the Daytona 500 field to 41 cars, allowing five open teams to make the Daytona 500, instead of four.
Justin Allgaier and JR Motorsports are confirmed to vie for one of those four spots in the Daytona 500 with their No. 40 Chevrolet. Here are the other teams they will be going up against:
- Corey Heim: No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing
- Casey Mears: No. 66 Ford for Garage 66/MBM Motorsports
- BJ McLeod: No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports
- J.J. Yeley: No. 44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team
- No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports (driver unknown yet)
- No. 33(?) Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (driver unknown yet)
Last year, Johnson didn't have the OEP and had to race his No. 84 Carvana Toyota Camry XSE into the Daytona 500. Ultimately, he fended off J.J. Yeley in the closing laps of their Duel to make the race.
Johnson has never missed a Daytona 500 in any of his 22 attempts that will soon be 23 in 2026. He has the most Daytona 500 starts of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver but still has 10 starts to go to tie Dave Marcis, who has the most Daytona 500 starts of all-time:
- Dave Marcis: 33 Daytona 500 starts
- Richard Petty, Terry Labonte: 32 starts each
- Michael Waltrip: 30 starts
- Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd: 29 starts each
While Johnson still has a few years to go to crack the top-five all-time for Daytona 500 starts, he will notably tie Jeff Gordon for all-time Daytona 500 starts. In 2002, Gordon selected Johnson to race for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series – kicking off the seven-time champion's legendary win with 83 wins, including two in the Daytona 500 (2006, 2013).
Gordon made 23 Daytona 500 starts and won it three times – 1997, 1999 and 2005. His final Daytona 500 start was in 2015.