Second Thoughts: 33 or 34 Cars for the Indy 500? And Does it Matter?

Less than five weeks from the opening day of practice for the Indianapolis 500, and 31 entries have confirmed their participation. The race traditionally has 33 starters. There should be 33 on the grid come May 24th (10 a.m. ET on FOX). The bigger question is whether there will be 34 entries, leading one driver to be bumped from the field. And does it matter? Bump day is part of the Indianapolis 500 story. The drama of qualifying coming down to the final minutes for that last spot. The format has changed over the years, but when there are drivers scrambling to find those last little bits of speed and avoid the agony of defeat, it is one of the most tense-filled occasions in sports — partly because it can last an excruciating few minutes over the four-lap run. Does the Indy 500 need bump day? It depends on who you ask. It certainly makes for great television and excitement. With the current format of the pole being decided on the same day — typically within an hour or two — the bump drama is only part of the day’s roller coaster when it comes to the emotions. Whether there are 33 or 34 entries won’t matter come race day, other than there could be one driver hanging out at the track with the pain few could relate to when it comes to competing and trying to race in the sport’s biggest event. And that’s why some will argue it’s not that big a deal. And some would argue that with the scrambling to fill 33 spots, why should someone be asked to field a car not knowing whether the money spent (or sponsorship secured) will result in having a spot on the grid? Who wants to go through this last-minute, last-ditch effort in what could be an exhilarating moment in their lives but leaving open the possibility of inflicting pain on themselves when trying to help the sport? So what are the scenarios? There are currently 25 full-time drivers with six Indy 500 rides announced: Jack Harvey and Conor Daly in the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entries plus four teams adding a car to their stables: Ryan Hunter-Reay at Arrow McLaren, Helio Castroneves at Meyer Shank, Takuma Sato at Rahal Letterman Lanigan and Ed Carpenter at his own ECR. There are two Chevrolet engine deals and one Honda deal left that could be used for the 500. The Chevys would have been for Prema, whose driver Callum Ilott was on pit road a couple of weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park with no idea if the team would find funding for Indianapolis. It does not look like that will happen. Abel Motorsports has a car and indications are that Jacob Abel — who was bumped from the Indy 500 last year driving for Dale Coyne Racing — could have an entry ready to go if Chevy designates one of its engines for their ride. That is the most likely one to happen. The other Chevy engine is a little more iffy. McLaren isn’t going to field a fifth car and Penske appears set at three. Penske affiliate A.J. Foyt Racing appears as the most likely option to add a third car to its stable. Who could go in that car? Well that depends on how much funding is needed. If Penske opts to fund part of it, that could increase the options. Linus Lundqvist, the 2024 series rookie of the year, is available but doesn’t have significant funding. Other drivers appear to have some, including Devlin DeFrancesco, Katherine Legge and Sage Karam all poking around to see what’s available. Myles Rowe, who drives for Abel Motorsports in Indy NXT in a ride that is affiliated with Team Penske, would be a longshot. And then there’s the Honda engine that hasn’t been accounted for, at least not 100 percent. That Honda would be in the fourth Andretti Global car for Colton Herta. Except there’s a potential problem — with the Formula 2 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia would not take place as scheduled in April there is a chance that F2 will race Memorial Day weekend in Montreal. If that occurs and the schedule isn’t compatible with Herta’s ability to race the Indy 500, there is a ride that is open. [INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS: Hello, Alex Palou, At No. 1] It doesn’t appear that the Andretti organization has much of a stomach to field the car just for anyone. Chip Ganassi has no interest in a fourth car and Michael Shank doesn’t think he can field a fourth car in what is normally a two-car operation. That leaves only Coyne to field a third car, and that would likely need to be a fully funded program. So that goes back to the names mentioned earlier. Honda and Chevrolet, which just signed extensions to their current deals, will want to be good partners. If Roger Penske and INDYCAR want to get to 34, they likely will ask around, see what all the options are and twist the arms if they can. But it’s getting late in the game. And while some would want 34 cars, beggers can’t be choosers. So 33 Indy 500 entries it very well might be.