With 41 entries, one driver will fail to qualify for the NASCAR Cup race in Chicago

In something that has become increasingly rare in modern NASCAR, there will be a DNQ (did not qualify) in this weekend’s Cup race at the Chicago Street Course.

Along with the 36 full-time chartered teams, five open entries will also show up for the final four spots on the grid. The slowest among them will miss the show and be the first driver and team sent home in qualifying since the season-opening Daytona 500. And according to reporter Seth Eggert, this will be the first non-500 race with a DNQ since 2018 at Texas Motor Speedway!

Here’s a closer look at the five open entries:

Will Brown — No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Kaulig Racing is entering a third car this weekend and while the name ‘Will Brown’ is likely unfamiliar to those who only watch NASCAR, he should be taken very seriously. Brown is the reigning champion of Australian Supercars and currently leads the 2025 championship as well. He was also the driver hired to replace Shane van Gisbergen on the Red Bull Triple Eight team after SVG left Supercars for NASCAR. Brown has one previous Cup start, running the 2024 race at Sonoma with Richard Childress Racing. He qualified 24th and finished 31st.

Austin Hill — No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Austin Hill, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

Hill is a regular in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with plenty of stock car racing experience. Driving a third entry for RCR, Hill will be attempting to make his 12th start at the top level of the sport. He also ran the Chicago Cup race with RCR last year, starting 34th and finishing 31st. In the Xfinity Series, he has 13 career wins and while most of those are on drafting tracks, he has shown speed on road/street courses before. He infamously traded paint with SVG last year at both Sonoma and COTA in the battle for the win.

Josh Bilicki — No. 66 Garage 66 (formerly MBM Motorsports) Ford

Josh Bilicki, DGM Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

A far smaller team than most of the others on this list, the No. 66 is a part-time effort owned by Carl Long. What they do have going for them is the fact that Bilicki is the most experienced Cup driver of these five with 103 starts in the Cup Series. He’s also a  decent road racer with two previous Cup starts on the Chicago Street Course. He started 27th and finished 23rd there in 2023, later qualifying 39th and finishing 28th in the 2024 edition of the race.

Corey Heim — No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota 

Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

23XI is the biggest team on this list and Heim is highly capable racer, as he has proven again and again. As a fourth entry for the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, Heim will be hoping to make his sixth start at the Cup level this weekend. As the championship leader in the NASCAR Truck Series, he is absolutely dominating the 2025 season with five wins, recently leading 99 of 100 laps on his way to capturing the checkered flag at Lime Rock Park. However, this will be his first experience at the Chicago Street Course.

Katherine Legge, Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

Legge is another driver like Bilicki who is trying to get a smaller, single-car team into the race. She is also a very capable road racer with plenty of experience as an IMSA driver, winning four races and placing as high as second in the championship while competing in GTD. The British racer has also started four Indy 500s, competed in DTM, WEC, and even Formula E. While her NASCAR journey has been a rocky one, if she can make the race, it will be her third appearance in the Cup Series this year.

Full NASCAR Cup entry list — Chicago Street Course