Indy 500 - 35 Starters?

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway traditionally allows thirty-three cars and drivers to compete in the Memorial Day weekend classic. Based purely on the official entries, that should happen again in 2004. However, when looking more carefully at the final entry list, who will drive the thirty-three cars is far less certain.

In fact, there is no guarantee that the 300,000 plus fans gathered on May 30, 2004 will really see 33 cars take the green flag. Officially, there are thirty-five entries filed, but several of those have the driver listed as To Be Announced, though it is more accurate if the teams just admitted they do not yet have a driver selected. At this point, there are ten entries filed with as yet unnamed racers (#23, #21, #41, #17, #18, #66, #91, #41, #54 and #TBA). Of course some of these applications will have drivers announced in the near future, while a couple of these cars will never turn a lap in Speedway, in this May.

Before a dissection of the 2004 entry list can take place, it is important to define just what an Indy 500 “entry” is. Like most details surrounding the Indianapolis 500, the process of entering the great race is surrounded with traditions and peculiarities. First a team must be invited, although this is merely a formality. In reality, an invitation is sent to the owner of every legal chassis in existence as well as potential owners who have indicated an interest in entering. The next step would seem simple; the teams that own Indy Racing League approved racecars would merely fill-out the entry form, and send it along with a check for the entry fee. The Super Aguri Fernandez race team actually walked their completed entry blank into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway office on March 4 and became the first team entered this year.

While SAF made the seemingly simple decision of entering their regular driver Kosuke Matsuura and naming both a primary and back-up car, other teams wrestled with their entry decisions. Teams like Pennzoil Panther Racing and Red Bull Team Cheever had to decide if they would enter just their regular pair of drivers or add an additional team for the 500.

For regular IRL competitors, this can be an expensive decision. Not only does each entry cost the team $8500, but the organization must be able to properly fund the extra car and driver. And they must do all this without causing distraction to their full season efforts. Separate support crews must be hired, and all the equipment gathered. It is estimated that the budget to properly run the Indy 500 is around $1million per entry.

Granted, it can be done for much less than that, and race teams will always spend as much money as there is available. Start out with chassis costs at $300,000 each, and toss in an Indy only engine lease for approximately $475,000 and it easy to see that the first order of business for a race team is to find proper sponsorship. For established teams that have a good relationship with their engine manufacturer, adding an entry for the 500 can be negotiated as part of their season long engine package thus reducing the additional cost. The manufacturer may even want the team to run an extra car in the race to boost their chances of being the winning nameplate when the checkered flag falls.

Of course this gets us back to the idiosyncrasies of an Indy 500 entry. Just because a team files an entry and pays the money, does not mean that car is really going to race. The rules are supposed to require that the team identify the chassis serial number thus ensuring the car really exists. But, many of the larger teams own test cars, or previously damaged chassis, and it is quite simple to name one of these cars as the entry merely for the purpose of getting assigned extra garage space for the month of May.

Some of these seats will certainly be filled. The TBA for Rahal/Letterman’s #17 entry will be driven by 1999 Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack should his recuperation from an October crash at Texas Motor Speedway be complete. If Brack is physically unable to drive in the 500, Team Rahal’s temporary driver Vitor Meira could continue in the seat he will occupy at the upcoming Motegi event. Though his current contract is just for the month of April, and a different driver could still be tabbed for the Indy 500. The Newman/Haas Racing entry will certainly run, though much about this team is yet to be announced. The 2nd entry for AJ Foyt Racing will probably be used in this year's 500 as “Super Tex” ALWAYS runs a multiple car team at Indy. Speculation on the driver ranges from Airton Dare who ran for the team in 2003 to Foyt’s godson, John Andretti.

Indy 500 Unofficial Final Entry List:
SAFR -- #55/55T Kosuke Matsuura (G/H)
Fernandez Racing -- #5/5T Adrian Fernandez (G/H)
Roth Racing -- #25 Marty Roth (D/T)
Panther Racing -- #2/2T Mark Taylor (D/C)
Panther Racing -- #4/4T Tomas Scheckter (D/C)
Panther Racing -- #44/44T TBA (D/C)
Patrick Racing -- #20/20T Al Unser, Jr (D/C)
Team Gordon -- #70/70T Robby Gordon (D/C)
Target Chip Ganassi -- #1/#1T Scott Dixon (G/T)
Target Chip Ganassi -- #10/#10T Darren Manning (G/T)
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing -- #24/#24T Robbie Buhl (D/C)
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing -- #23 TBA (D/C)
Kelley Racing -- #8/#8T Scott Sharp (D/T)
Kelley Racing -- #39/#39T Sarah Fisher (D/T)
Mo Nunn Racing -- #12/#12T Tora Takagi (D/T)
Mo Nunn Racing -- #21/#21T TBA (D/T)
AJ Foyt Enterprises -- #14/#14T AJ Foyt, IV (D/T)
AJ Foyt Enterprises -- #41/#41T TBA (D/T)
Marlboro Team Penske -- #3/#3T Helio Castroneves (D/T)
Marlboro Team Penske -- #6/#6T Sam Hornish, Jr (D/T)
Marlboro Team Penske -- #66/#66T TBA (G/T)
Andretti Green Racing -- #7/#7T Bryan Herta(D/H)
Andretti Green Racing -- #26/#26T Dan Wheldon (D/H)
Andretti Green Racing -- #27/#27T Dario Franchitti (D/H)
Andretti Green Racing -- #11/#11T Tony Kanaan (D/H)
Red Bull Cheever Racing -- #51/#51T Alex Barron (D/C)
Red Bull Cheever Racing -- #52/#52T Ed Carpenter (D/C)
Rahal Letterman Racing -- #15/#15T Buddy Rice (G/H)
Rahal Letterman Racing -- #16/#16T Roger Yasukawa (G/H)
Rahal Letterman Racing -- #17/#17T TBA (G/H)
PDM Racing -- #18/#18T TBA (D/C)
Hemelgarn Racing -- #91/#91T TBA (D/C)
Beck Motorsports -- #54/54T TBA (D/C)
Access Motorsports -- #13/#13T Greg Ray (G/H)
Newman/Haas Racing -- TBA/TBAT TBA (TBA/TBA)

IRL