Daly, Johnson, Pastrana vying for 6 openings in Sunday’s Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Conor Daly’s first call after getting offered a chance to race his way into the Daytona 500 was to a guy named AJ.

It was supposed to be Allmendinger. He accidentally dialed up Foyt.

Daly panicked and hung up before the fourtime Indy 500 champion and 1972 Daytona 500 winner could answer.

“It would have been an interesting call,” Daly said.

Probably would have been informative, too, since Foyt is one of two open-wheel regulars (along with Mario Andretti) to win the two most prestigious races in North America – the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500.

Nonetheless, Daly, an IndyCar regular, has been trying to glean knowledge from anyone and everyone (besides Foyt) about how to efficiently and effectively get around Daytona International Speedway.

With 36 drivers already locked into the 40-car field based on NASCAR’s charter system, six others will compete for the final four starting spots in the Daytona 500. Daly, seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, action sports star Travis Pastrana and youngsters Austin Hill, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith will vie for those coveted spots.

Two of them will get in during single-lap qualifying runs Wednesday night. That will leave four guys vying for the final two spots in twin qualifying races Thursday.

Daly considers himself a long shot to make the race on speed in his No. 50 Chevrolet for The Money Team, especially because he has so little experience at Daytona. And he’s right: FanDuel Sportsbook listed his odds at winning the race at 200-1 on Wednesday. He raced go-karts at a smaller track inside Daytona as a teenager and twice ran the road course as part of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

But Daly has yet to turn laps on the high-banked, high-speed superspeedway in a Cup car.

“Spent a lot of time here growing up and just excited for the chance just to take in a lot of learning at a very high rate of speed,” Daly said. “It’s going to be tough. It’s the biggest uphill battle that I’ve ever had to make a race.”

He turned to Allmendinger, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, Corey LaJoie and Chase Briscoe for help. He even listened to three-time Daytona 500 champ Denny Hamlin’s podcast for insight.

“Everyone said the same thing: ‘It’s going to be hard, but why not try?’” Daly said.

Daly spent two hours in Chevy’s NASCAR simulator last week, all of it trying to hone shift points and how to get on and off pit road. As for everything else?

“It’s impossible to simulate,” he said.

Johnson actually might have similar issues even though the two-time Daytona 500 winner knows the track as well as anyone entered in the event. He hasn’t raced in the latest iteration of the Cup Series car but does have two test sessions in it, including one at Daytona.

As co-owner at Legacy Motor Club, Johnson has been peppering both his drivers, Erik Jones and Noah Gragson, with questions about the car. He compared the situation to 2002, when he had to race his way into the Daytona 500 as a rookie at Hendrick Motorsports.

“I think on paper it’s similar,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot at stake here for me, I would say. But personally between (the) two years, man, I’m sitting here with seven championships and 83 wins. Yes, it would absolutely suck to not make the race.

“But the pressure I had on myself in 2002, life would have seemed like it ended if I didn’t make that race. I am in a different place, although this is the first step for me as a part-owner of this car.”

Johnson actually started on the pole for that first Daytona.

“Maybe lightning will strike twice,” he added.

Pastrana might be considered the biggest wild card of the six even though he’s driving for 23XI Racing. He last raced at Daytona a decade ago. But he and Daly have been talking about racing at Daytona for several years.