Entry list close to 33 for this year's Indy 500

There’s been plenty of movement on the Indy 500 entry list of late, but none of the developments are new or surprising. At present, the same 32 car or driver combinations identified by RACER in February remains unchanged on approach to April.

The ongoing matter to resolve is reaching a tally of at least 33 starters to maintain the traditional 11 rows of three. And if the series and its co-owners at FOX want to have any drama to offer fans with the specter of bumping across the two-day qualifying event on May 16-17, identifying a 34th entry would be an important development to pursue.

Building on the 25 full-time entries, Arrow McLaren confirmed Ryan Hunter-Reay in its fourth car to take the list to 26, and Ed Carpenter is back in ECR’s fourth car to drive the number to 27.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing previously confirmed Jack Harvey as the 28th and recently cemented Conor Daly as the 29th. Meyer Shank Racing represents the 30th with Helio Castroneves, who was confirmed on Tuesday on his ‘Drive For 5’ tour, and Takuma Sato—also confirmed on Tuesday—completes the affirmations with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the 31st entry.

It leaves Andretti Global, which is readying a fourth Indy 500 car, as the sole remaining unconfirmed entry which would take the list to 32 cars. Most of the known drivers searching for rides have contacted Andretti about the car and have been told it’s already taken. Assuming there’s no change coming with Andretti’s plan, the IndyCar Series needs to find one more car to complete the its minimum number.

In an unchanged element from our first entry list update, PREMA Racing continues to seek a new owner to make a return by the Indy 500. The two-car, Chevy-powered outfit took pole position on its Indy debut last year and has the cars and a decent amount of staff that could run one car at a high level if a transaction is completed in a timely manner.

The series and Chevrolet continue to hope for PREMA to make a comeback and are believed to be holding off on making any definitive decisions on who will receive the brand’s prized engines until the situation is resolved. During that ongoing period, other teams anxiously await the news of whether PREMA will take at least one Chevy lease, or if one or more of those motors can be deployed to a different entrant for May.

Simply put, movement on the 33rd entry is at a standstill until a direction emerges with PREMA, be it from the team informing the series and Chevy of its ability to compete or stand down at Indy or, with an impending deadline as the April 28-29 Indy Open Test approaches, the series or Chevy opt to move forward with other field-filling solutions.

The process of getting to 33, at least from the outside, looks like it’s happening in reverse.

Abel Motorsports, which took part in its first Indy 500 with Chevy power in 2023 and fields four cars in the Indy NXT series, wants to return for the month of May and is readying a chassis for Jacob Abel. IndyCar’s 10 full-time teams, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, have already signaled their intentions for the big race; those who are ready to run cars at the Speedway have put the 32 entries in play, which leaves Abel as the only known team with the desire, budget, staff, equipment, and ability to become the 33rd for Indy with no exceptions and no need to wait.

With the provisioning of an engine lease, the series would have its field of 33, and if PREMA can participate, IndyCar and FOX would have the aforementioned 34th car and high stakes for fans to follow during qualifying.

Elsewhere, a limited number of teams are willing or able to prepare an extra car to reach 33 cars. Atop the list of possible solution providers, AJ Foyt Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing lead the options among Chevrolet-powered entrants. Within the Honda camp, every team is running a minimum of three cars at Indy, with the exception of Dale Coyne Racing, which has two.

Speaking with RACER over the last week, Larry Foyt reaffirmed his disinterest in doing more than his two-car effort for Santino Ferrucci and Caio Collet, but also expressed his willingness to step up if there’s a need. Foyt ran three cars at the 500 on a regular basis through 2022 and has the cars and equipment to take on a third in an easier capacity than Juncos Hollinger Racing, which has seen a few of its Dallara DW12s lost to heavy damage in recent years.

In a recent catch-up with JHR team principal Dave O’Neill, he said sourcing a Speedway-ready car from another team is the only feasible way to assist the series with a 33rd entry.

With the technical alliance that exists between Foyt and Team Penske in mind, RACER understands the ability for Foyt to be the answer to the Indy 500’s 33rd entry rests with the Penske organization. Its willingness to dedicate the engineering and staffing resources required to support an expansion to three Foyt cars and six total with Penske’s trio of entries is said to be the trigger point for whether its affiliate gets activated to complete the entry list.

Of interest among the small crop of drivers searching for opportunities to take part in the race, four-time Indy 500 starter Katherine Legge, who made her most recent appearance in 2024 with Dale Coyne, is understood to have drawn the Bowtie’s support. Legge has made inquiries with Chevy-powered teams to try and find a home for herself in May, and she’s joined by others including Stefan Wilson and Devlin DeFrancesco who’ve sought rides for the 110th Indy 500. For PREMA, the Indianapolis-based Callum Ilott remains under contract.