Only 36 cars entered for NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta

As expected, not all of the cars that took part in the Daytona 500 are going to follow it up with a run at Atlanta next weekend.

A full field in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is 40 cars. We got one, barely, for the 2018 Daytona 500. We won’t for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

That’s not a shock, as there were cars in the Daytona field like the No. 62 driven by Brendan Gaughan that are, as a co-worker used to like to say, part-time part-timers. However, it’s a sign of the times at the Cup Series level that only 36 cars are on the Atlanta entry list, down from 39 last season.

Missing this year from the 2017 field are the second BK Racing car (No. 83), the second Premium Motorsports car (No. 55), and the second Furniture Row Racing car (No. 77). The 33 car driven last year by Jeffrey Earnhardt is also gone this year, but Earnhardt is in the 00 StarCom Racing car instead.

Having a field that is down a few cars isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it reduces the number of so-called “start and park” participants that were a big topic of conversation earlier in the decade. But it’s also hard to shake the idea that it’s bad optics for NASCAR, and the trend is definitely going in the wrong direction.

In any case, 36 cars will take the track at Atlanta, so let’s run them down.

2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 entry list – Atlanta Motor Speedway

• 00 – Jeffrey Earnhardt – VRX Simulators Chevrolet
• 1 – Jamie McMurray – McDonald’s Chevrolet
• 2 – Brad Keselowski – Autotrader Ford
• 3 – Austin Dillon – TBD Chevrolet
• 4 – Kevin Harvick – Jimmy John’s Ford
• 6 – Trevor Bayne – AdvoCare Ford
• 9 – Chase Elliott – NAPA Auto parts Chevrolet
• 10 – Aric Almirola – Smithfield Ford
• 11 – Denny Hamlin – FedEx Ground Toyota
• 12 – Ryan Blaney – DEX Imaging Ford
• 13 – Ty Dillon – GEICO Chevrolet
• 14 – Clint Bowyer – Haas Automation Ford
• 15 – TBA – TBD Chevrolet
• 17 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Ford Ford
• 18 – Kyle Busch – Snickers Almond Toyota
• 19 – Daniel Suarez – ARRIS Toyota
• 20 – Erik Jones – DeWalt Toyota
• 21 – Paul Menard – Menards/Moen Ford
• 22 – Joey Logano – Shell Pennzoil Ford
• 23 – Gray Gaulding – TBD Toyota
• 24 – William Byron – Liberty University Chevrolet
• 31 – Ryan Newman – Liberty National Chevrolet
• 32 – Matt DiBenedetto – Can-Am/Wholey Ford
• 34 – Michael McDowell – Love’s Travel Stops Ford
• 37 – Chris Buescher – Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet
• 38 – David Ragan – Fr8 Auctions Ford
• 41 – Kurt Busch – Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
• 42 – Kyle Larson – First Data Chevrolet
• 43 – Bubba Wallace – NASCAR Racing Experience Chevrolet
• 47 – AJ Allmendinger – Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
• 48 – Jimmie Johnson – Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
• 51 – Justin Marks – Harry’s Chevrolet (may be driven by Harrison Rhodes)
• 72 – Corey LaJoie – Schluter Systems Chevrolet
• 78 – Martin Truex Jr. – Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota
• 88 – Alex Bowman – Axalta Chevrolet
• 95 – Kasey Kahne – Procore Habitat for Humanity Chevrolet

Next: 5 saddest drivers after the Daytona 500

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is scheduled to have the green flag drop at approximately 2:16 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 25. Race coverage begins at 2:00 p.m. on FOX.