Indy 500 entry update: Abel Motorsports readying to step up again

The IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are gaining clarity on how many cars they will have for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Since RACER’s most recent Indy 500 entry list update was published, more developments have taken place, starting with Abel Motorsports, which filed an entry this week.

RACER understands the team owned by Bill Abel, which fields four cars in the Indy NXT series, is readying one of the Dallara DW12s it owns for Jacob Abel, who was bumped from the Indy 500 field last year while driving for Dale Coyne Racing.

Under the leadership of John Brunner, Abel Motorsports participated in its first Indy 500 in 2023 with a Chevrolet-powered car for RC Enerson (pictured above), and is tipped to receive another Indy-only lease from Chevy to bolster the field and give Jacob Abel another chance to join the field of 33.

The filing of an Indy entry by Abel is the first indication of how the evolving need to fill the 33 starting positions is taking precedence over hoping former entrant PREMA Racing can make a return. Chevy, with a desire to support PREMA upon its potential continuation in 2026, protected the two engine leases that were intended for full-time use, but after PREMA missed the four opening races of the season, the willingness to support others at Indy – at least with one of the motors – appears to have reached a positive outcome.

The embracing of a sure thing with Abel – which has had everything in place to run at the Indy 500 – is moving forward, subject to final confirmation.

As RACER has chronicled since August, the new PREMA team struggled to finish its debut season but managed to get through the final race of 2025 with two Chevy-powered cars before going into an offseason of uncertainty. Efforts led by PREMA IndyCar CEO Piers Phillips to find new investors and buy the team from PREMA’s owners at DC Racing Solutions have been active and ongoing for the last seven months, but the matter also remains unresolved as the calendar has turned over to April.

In combining the full-time and Indy-only entries that have been locked in, the 500 has 31 cars in position, and with Abel, it would reach 32. In previous looks at the entry list, Andretti Global was also considered a sure thing, which would bring the list to 33 cars, but a new question needs to be answered.

Andretti was expected to field an entry for Colton Herta, but with the possibility of replacement Formula 2 races being added to the calendar in May, the team told RACER on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park that it is waiting to receive more information from the FIA on a revised schedule before it can solidify its plans at Indy for the Hitech F2 driver.

Among the options for Andretti, everything from running Herta if he’s free to finding a replacement that would be considered suitable, which is more of a challenge, to simply focusing on its three full-time cars, stand out as the smartest paths to consider.

PREMA is also known to be in the mix as every driver with a budget has contacted the team about running at the 500, but once again, timing is crucial with the Indy Open Test just over three weeks away.

From the paddock chatter last weekend at Barber, Katherine Legge’s name was mentioned most frequently as the driver with greatest momentum to pilot a Chevy-powered car for PREMA. A fallback scenario where Legge could be placed in a Chevy-powered entry from AJ Foyt Racing was also floated.

With Andretti’s fourth car on the entry list, 33 cars are in position. Without it, IndyCar could find itself with a need to work with PREMA or Foyt to complete the field. And with both an Andretti car and one or the other from PREMA or Foyt in play, the 500 would have 34 cars and bumping on the menu for qualifying weekend.