Lineup to include 25 cars for Saturday, Feb. 14 race at Daytona
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RELATED: Entry list for Sprint Unlimited
Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Casey Mears and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. weren’t planning to compete in next weekend’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway.
But the four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will be in the 25-car lineup after all when the 75-lap, non-points event kicks off the 2015 season under the lights.
To be eligible for a starting berth in the Unlimited, a driver had to win at least one pole in 2014, be a former winner of the event, a former Daytona 500 pole winner or one of the 16 drivers that qualified for last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Should any driver and team elect not to compete, the position or positions would be awarded to those not currently in the field, based on the final 2014 championship driver points standings.
Bowyer (Michael Waltrip Racing), Menard (Richard Childress Racing), Mears (Germain Racing) and Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing) were added to the lineup in place of Brian Scott (RCR), Brian Vickers (MWR), AJ Allmendinger (JTG Daugherty Racing) and David Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports).
Bowyer finished 19th in points, Menard 21st, Mears 26th and Stenhouse Jr. 27th.
Officials with MWR, RCR and Germain Racing confirmed their driver’s participation.
Scott, a full-time driver in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, was one of 15 drivers to capture a pole last year but made only a handful of Sprint Cup starts for Circle Sport Racing through its affiliation with RCR. His No. 1 qualifying run came in the spring event at Talladega Superspeedway. RCR officials said there were no plans to field an entry for Scott in the event.
MWR announced earlier this month that Vickers would miss the season’s first two points races, at Daytona and Atlanta, due to health issues. The 31-year-old qualified for the Sprint Unlimited when he captured the pole for the fall race at Talladega.
Allmendinger, who was eligible for an Unlimited starting spot based on his ’14 Chase status, will not compete in the race, according to the team, due to the timing of the eligibility requirements which did not allow adequate time to secure sponsorship for the additional event.
Gilliland was eligible for the field with his Coors Light Pole Award from the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. However, the team ultimately decided not to field a car for the event.
With the roster changes, the starting field for this year’s race will now consist of 12 drivers that qualified based on winning poles last season — Austin Dillon (Daytona), Brad Keselowski (Phoenix), Joey Logano (Las Vegas), Denny Hamlin (Bristol), Matt Kenseth (Auto Club), Kyle Busch (Martinsville), Tony Stewart (Texas), Kevin Harvick (Darlington), Jimmie Johnson (Charlotte), Jamie McMurray (Sonoma), Kyle Larson (Pocono) and Jeff Gordon (Watkins Glen).
Qualifying as previous Sprint Unlimited winners are Kurt Busch (2011) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (’03, ’08).
Those who are in the field as former Daytona 500 pole winners are Danica Patrick (’13), Carl Edwards (’12), Martin Truex Jr. (’09) and Greg Biffle (’04).
Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are in the field based on making the Chase last year, while Bowyer, Menard, Mears and Stenhouse Jr. round out the lineup.
The Sprint Unlimited is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 14 (FOX, 8 p.m. ET). Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) is the defending winner of the event.
This year’s race will consist of two segments, 25 and 50 laps, with a competition caution coming after Lap 25.
A random draw done by fans paired with eligible crew chiefs is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET to determine starting and pit road positions.
MORE: New Sprint Unlimited format