32 drivers have been announced for 33 entries that will take part in the 97th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.
The official entry list, which was released yesterday, features 17 Chevrolet-powered entries and 16 from Honda. Topping the list are Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing/Honda) and Helio Castroneves (Team Penske/Chevrolet), who seek to become the fourth four-time winner of the "500." This year's race will mark the first time since 1987 in which two drivers with three Indy wins seek to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as a "four-timer."
While the entry list can certainly be revised as the month of May goes on, the initial release has only one new arrival: A second Chevy-powered entry from Ed Carpenter Racing, the No. 40.
A report from SPEED.com said that Buddy Rice would drive a third car for Sam Schmidt at Indy, but that is not on the entry list as of now. Other drivers have been rumored for "500" rides including USAC champion Bryan Clauson and both Lazier brothers — 1996 Indy winner Buddy and one-time IndyCar race winner Jaques.
Practice for the "500' will begin this Saturday and feature Rookie Orientation for the four rookies in this year's field: A.J. Allmendinger, Carlos Munoz, Conor Daly and Tristan Vautier.
Here's how the list stacks up. As a reminder, a 'T' car is meant to be a backup for drivers:
IZOD IndyCar Series full-timers
1/1T – Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti/Chevrolet
3/3T – Helio Castroneves, Penske/Chevrolet
4/4T – JR Hildebrand, Panther/Chevrolet
5/5T – E.J. Viso, Andretti+HVM/Chevrolet
6/6T – Sebastian Saavedra, Dragon/Chevrolet
7/7T – Sebastien Bourdais, Dragon/Chevrolet
9/9T – Scott Dixon, Ganassi/Honda
10/10T – Dario Franchitti, Ganassi/Honda
11/11T – Tony Kanaan, KV-SH/Chevrolet
12/12T – Will Power, Penske/Chevrolet
14/14T – Takuma Sato, Foyt/Honda
15/15T – Graham Rahal, RLL/Honda
16/16T – James Jakes, RLL/Honda
19/19T – Justin Wilson, Coyne/Honda
20/20T – Ed Carpenter, ECR/Chevrolet
21/21T – Josef Newgarden, Fisher Hartman/Honda
22/22T – Oriol Servia, Panther DRR/Chevrolet
25/25T – Marco Andretti, Andretti/Chevrolet
27/27T – James Hinchcliffe, Andretti/Chevrolet
55/55T – Tristan Vautier (rookie), Schmidt Peterson/Honda
77/77T – Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Hamilton/Honda
78/78T – Simona de Silvestro, KV/Chevrolet
83/83T – Charlie Kimball, Ganassi/Honda
98/98T – Alex Tagliani, Barracuda/Honda
Part-timers/One-offs
2/2T – AJ Allmendinger (rookie), Penske/Chevrolet
8/8T – Ryan Briscoe, Ganassi/Honda
17/17T – Michel Jourdain Jr., RLL/Honda
18/18T – Ana Beatriz, Coyne/Honda
26/26T – Carlos Munoz (rookie), Andretti/Chevrolet
40/40T – Driver TBA, ECR/Chevrolet
41/41T – Conor Daly (rookie), Foyt/Honda
60/60T – Townsend Bell, Panther/Chevrolet
TBA/TBAt – Pippa Mann, Coyne/Honda
