Travis Pastrana was named as the third driver for the 23XI Racing camp on Tuesday and now Chandler Smith was announced as the driver of the third Kaulig car on Wednesday morning. Two announcements in two day brings us now to 41 cars for the 40-car field for the upcoming and sold-out Daytona 500 next month.

There’s 36 guaranteed spots into the big race for the chartered teams, followed by the final four spots into the race being taken by open cars. Right now, we have a full field with 1 being bumped out.

There’s still a potential for 1-4 more with Helio Castroneves tied to 2 of them. NY Racing Team, Team Hezeberg and MBM each showed up last Speedweeks but there’s been nothing concrete whether each will this year.

So will the Duels mean anything this year? Right now, yes.

In 2018, there were no extra cars with 40 cars showing up for 40 spots. In 2019, we had six open cars meaning two wouldn’t make it. 2020 saw seven open cars and 2021 with eight. Last year we had six again.

2023 Charters

Chevrolet (16)

• Hendrick Motorsports (4) – Kyle Larson (No. 5), Chase Elliott (No. 9), William Byron (No. 24) and Alex Bowman (No. 48)
• Trackhouse Racing (2) – Ross Chastain (No. 1) and Daniel Suarez (No. 99)
• Richard Childress Racing (2) – Austin Dillon (No. 3), Kyle Busch (No. 8)
• Legacy Motor Club (2) – Noah Gragson (No. 42), Erik Jones (No. 43)
• Kaulig Racing (2) – AJ Allmendinger (No. 16), Justin Haley (No. 31)
• Spire Motorsports (2) – Corey LaJoie (No. 7), Ty Dillon (No. 77)
• JTG Daugherty Racing (1) – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47)
• Live Fast Motorsports (1) – BJ McLeod (No. 78)

Ford (14)

• Stewart-Haas Racing (4) – Kevin Harvick (No. 4), Aric Almirola (No. 10), Chase Briscoe (No. 14), Ryan Preece (No. 41).
• Team Penske (3) – Austin Cindric (No. 2), Ryan Blaney (No. 12), Joey Logano (No. 22).
• RFK Racing (2) – Brad Keselowksi (No. 6), Chris Buescher (No. 17)
• Rick Ware Racing (2) – 2 seats are open for 2023.
• Front Row Motorsports (2) – Michael McDowell (No. 34), Todd Gilliland (No. 38)
• Wood Brothers (1) – Harrison Burton is back in 2023.

Toyota (6)

• Joe Gibbs Racing (4) – Denny Hamlin (No. 11), Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19), Christopher Bell (No. 20), Ty Gibbs R (No. 54)
• 23XI Racing (2) – Bubba Wallace (No. 23), Tyler Reddick (No. 45)

Open Cars (5)

• Front Row Motorsports (1) – Zane Smith R (No. 36)
• Beard Motorsports (1) – Austin Hill R (No. 62)
• Legacy Motor Club (1) – Jimmie Johnson (No. 84)
• 23XI Racing (1) – Travis Pastrana (No. 67)
• Kaulig Racing (1) – Chandler Smith (No. 13)

Potentials (4)

• The Money Team (1) – No. 50 Chevrolet
• NY Racing Team (1) – No. 44 Chevrolet
• MBM Motorsports (1) – No. 66 Ford
• Team Hezeberg (1) – No. 27 Ford