Photo Credit: Bret Kelley/IndyCar
With the assumption that 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and Lazier Partners Racing will make up the 33rd and presumed final entry, the Indy 500 entry list should be final after months of speculation.
This year’s entry list features several new teams including Juncos Racing, an Indy Lights standout team who purchased most of their equipment from the now defunct KV Racing.
Michael Shank, a name popular with sports car fans, is making his foray into Verizon IndyCar Series team ownership by partnering with Andretti Autosport to field a car for Jack Harvey.
The entry list for the 101st Indianapolis 500 also includes international two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso, who opted to skip the Monaco GP in favor of competing in his first Indy 500. The 35-year-old Spaniard will also run for Andretti Autosport in conjunction with McLaren Honda, his F1 team. Alonso has already completed the rookie orientation program ahead of his debut race on an oval.
Alonso won’t be the only rookie in the race, though. Ed Jones, competing full-time for Dale Coyne Racing, will make his first Indy 500 attempt. The 2016 Indy Lights champion has shown a lot of promise, and a few flashes of brilliance in a short IndyCar stint. Joining them will be other Indy Lights standouts Zach Veach and the aforementioned Harvey.
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, who won earlier this year at Long Beach with James Hinchcliffe, is bringing a third car to Indianapolis for Jay Howard. Howard will race alongside Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin in his first IndyCar race since 2011.
This year’s Memorial Day weekend race will feature drivers from 12 different countries.
101st Indianapolis 500 Projected Entry List
| Team | Driver | Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Andretti Autosport (6) | No. 26 – Takuma Sato  No. 27 – Marco Andretti  No. 28 – Ryan Hunter-Reay No. 29 – Fernando Alonso*  No. 50 – Jack Harvey*  No. 98 – Alexander Rossi |
Honda |
| Team Penske (5) | No. 1 – Simon Pagenaud  No. 2 – Josef Newgarden No. 3 – Helio Castroneves  No. 12 – Will Power  No. 22 – Juan Pablo Montoya  |
Chevrolet |
| Chip Ganassi Racing (4) | No. 8 – Max Chilton No. 9 – Scott Dixon  No. 10 – Tony Kanaan No. 83 – Charlie Kimball |
Honda |
| AJ Foyt Racing (3) | No. 4 – Conor Daly No. 14 – Carlos Munoz No. 40 – Zach Veach* |
Chevrolet |
| Dale Coyne Racing (3) | No. 18 – Sebastien Bourdais No. 19 – Ed Jones*  No. 63 – Pippa Mann |
Honda |
| Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (3) | No. 5 – James Hinchcliffe  No. 7 – Mikhail Aleshin  No. 77 – Jay Howard |
Honda |
| Ed Carpenter Racing (2) | No. 20 – Ed Carpenter No. 21 – J.R. Hildebrand |
Chevrolet |
| Juncos Racing (2) | No. 11 – Spencer Pigot No. 17 – Sebastian Saavedra |
Chevrolet |
| Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2) | No. 15 – Graham Rahal No. 16 – Oriol Servia |
Honda |
| Dreyer & Reinbold/Kingdom Racing (1) | No. 24 – Sage Karam |
Chevrolet |
| Harding Racing (1) | No. 88 – Gabby Chaves |
Chevrolet |
| Lazier Partners Racing (1) | No. ? – Buddy Lazier |
Chevrolet |
