2017 Indianapolis 500

I apologize if this is too early to post, but we're starting to get confirmation on who will be in a few of the one-offs, so I thought I'd put them all on here and update the entry list periodically.

Drivers and cars in italics are not confirmed, but have rumored heavily for said car and team. Bold represents confirmed one-offs.

Team Penske (Chevrolet)
-1- Simon Pagenaud (Menards)
-2- Josef Newgarden (Miller Lite)
-3- Helio Castroneves (Shell V-Power)
-12- Will Power (Verizon Wireless)
-22- Juan Pablo Montoya (Penske Truck Rental)

A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Chevrolet)
-4- Conor Daly (ABC Supply Co.)
-14- Carlos Munoz (ABC Supply Co.)
-40- Zach Veach (Alfe Heat Training)

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (Honda)
-5- James Hinchcliffe (Arrow Electronics)
-7- Mikhail Aleshin (SMP Bank)
-77- Jay Howard (Tony Stewart Foundation)

Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet)
-20- Ed Carpenter (Fuzzy's Vodka)
-21- J.R. Hildebrand (Preferred Freezer Service)

Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
-8- Max Chilton (J. Arthur Gallagher & Co.)
-9- Scott Dixon (GE LED Lighting / NTT Data)
-10- Tony Kanaan (NTT Data)
-83- Charlie Kimball (Tresiba)

Juncos Racing (Chevrolet)
-11- Spencer Pigot (TBA)
-17- Sebastian Saavedra (AFS)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
-15- Graham Rahal (PennGrade 1 / Steak 'n Shake)
-16- Oriol Servia (Mi-Jack)

Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
-18- Sebastien Bourdais (Sonny's BBQ)
-19- Ed Jones (Boy Scouts of America)
-63- Pippa Mann (Susan G. Komen)

Dreyer & Reinbold Kingdom Racing (Chevrolet)
-24- Sage Karam (Gas Monkey)

Andretti Autosport (Honda)
-26- Takuma Sato (Panasonic)
-27- Marco Andretti (United Fiber & Data)
-28- Ryan Hunter-Reay (DHL)
-50- Jack Harvey
-25- Fernando Alonso

Larry Curry / Harding Group (Chevrolet)
-88- Gabby Chaves (TBA)

Lazier Partners Racing (Chevrolet)
-91- Buddy Lazier (TBA)

Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb / Agajanian (Honda)
-98- Alexander Rossi (NAPA Auto Parts)


Drivers looking for rides:
Stefan Wilson
Zachary Claman DeMelo
Katherine Legge
Gustavo Yacaman
Matthew Brabham
James Davison
Townsend Bell

Some sources here. Ed Carpenter has stated his team will only field two cars in this year's field due to lack of available chassis due to Newgarden's Texas wreck last year. http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/139173-first-look-at-the-indy-500-grid?showall=&limitstart=

Zach Veach confirmed for the third Foyt car today: http://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/19104938/aj-foyt-racing-enter-zach-veach-indianapolis-500

UPDATE 2: Gabby Chaves and new Harding Racing Team confirmed. The group was the last company to help with repaving IMS. They will have a technical alliance with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing.
http://www.indycar.com/News/2017/04/...Indy-500-entry

Jack Harvey, according to RACER, looks to be a solid favorite for the last Andretti ride.

I have added Fernando Alonso. As it's been covered pretty well in the other topic, I will not post a link this time.

Harvey will be in car #50, it looks as though Alonso will be in the #29 or #25.

we may actually get bumping :O

pennst24 wrote:Harvey will be in car #50, it looks as though Alonso will be in the #29 or #25.

Alonso will be in the 29

Also, Pastor Maldonado will likely be in the second Juncos car (though not confirmed) no numbers for Juncos have been confirmed either. Jeff Simmons and Tiago Monteiro are also two drivers that are rumored to be looking for rides as well. There are also rumors that Townsend Bell has retired (this one I heard is likely). Will Marotti is also looking for a car and driver, possibly to partner with someone again. Gustavo Yacaman is my guess for that seat if that team materializes once again.

pennst24 wrote:Harvey will be in car #50, it looks as though Alonso will be in the #29 or #25.

Thanks! I'll change the numbers around to their actual numbers.

I've been keeping an eye on the Juncos situation and heard the Pastor Maldonado whispers as well. Jeff Simmons would be super random, but interesting. I've seen Saavedra attached to the ride with AFS money too. The team's Facebook page posted a status in Spanish stating they're looking for a bit more funding, so looks like we may have to wait a bit longer to receive any official news.

A little story I would like to share

Back in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, my dad was fueling James Jakes back when he worked at Rahal before Andretti. While Jakes was actually leading during a pace lap, he had to come in for a pit stop. Jakes actually hit my father coming into his stall. Thankfully, no injuries were sustained. Jakes then later had to come in for a penalty for the collision, and responded over his radio "Since when is there a penalty for hitting a crew member?".

Here is a video:


Also, Fernando Alonso will be driving the number 29. Andretti has stopped using the 25 after the death of Justin Wilson. Stefan Wilson has also said he is no longer in the ride hunt for Indy.

mtrimmer365 wrote:A little story I would like to share

Back in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, my dad was fueling James Jakes back when he worked at Rahal before Andretti. While Jakes was actually leading during a pace lap, he had to come in for a pit stop. Jakes actually hit my father coming into his stall. Thankfully, no injuries were sustained. Jakes then later had to come in for a penalty for the collision, and responded over his radio "Since when is there a penalty for hitting a crew member?".

Here is a video:


Also, Fernando Alonso will be driving the number 29. Andretti has stopped using the 25 after the death of Justin Wilson. Stefan Wilson has also said he is no longer in the ride hunt for Indy.

Actually Stefan Wilson will be back in the Andretti Car in 2018 to give Alonso a shot this year

Stefan Wilson was the guy to put Alonso in his car for this year's Indy 500. Stefan will be back in next year's Indy 500 for Andretti Autosport with help from Shank

zfitzwater599 wrote:Stefan Wilson was the guy to put Alonso in his car for this year's Indy 500. Stefan will be back in next year's Indy 500 for Andretti Autosport with help from Shank

I know that. I was just saying that Wilson said he is not driving at Indy this year. Also, not to be rude, but you kinda repeated yourself after you already replied to my original post.

Also, even though it doesn't go with the topic, Happy Easter everyone!

Made some quick, unconfirmed updates. Spencer Pigot is the hot rumor for the first Juncos car. Kyle Kaiser and Ryan Briscoe are officially out of the running for the second. Saveedra, Gustavo Yacaman, Stefan Wilson, and James Davison have been mentioned.

I can happily say that I'll be there for the first time ever. No, I'm not excited. Not at all. *walks away and yells out in joy*.

Two pieces of news today:

- Juncos Racing, which added an Indycar program after buying out KV Racing Technology, will field two cars for Sebastian Saavedra and Spencer Pigot. Saavedra will be supported by AFS Racing, which backed an entry for Saavedra in partnership with KV.
- Though it faces funding problems, Lazier Partners Racing has acquired the sponsorship to run again this year with 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier.

day500champ1 wrote:I can happily say that I'll be there for the first time ever.  No, I'm not excited.  Not at all.  *walks away and yells out in joy*.

Nice! You will definitely enjoy yourself!

And thanks, Alpineopossum, I will add the new confirmations on the first post. Looks like we have a full field.

After a long rain delay, supposedly the cars are going to start qualifying at 4:01 pm. The coverage will be on ABC/WatchESPN.

Bourdais just had a massive wreck during his possible pole run. Track is red flagged and it looks like he's having trouble getting out of the car. I hope SeaBass is alright.

Hope this isn't too severe.....that was a terrible hit.

Absolutely horrific accident for Sebastien Bourdais.

That crash was absolutely horrifying to watch. I exhaled once Bourdais tried to lift his visor, and only then did I realize that I hadn't taken a breath since the impact.

What an abrupt (not to mention utterly cruel) turn of events that that was. To watch a Dale Coyne Racing car clock about a full mile per hour faster than the next-to-fastest car at Indianapolis, only to have it come crashing down so very, very suddenly.

I fear that Bourdais is hurt considering the severity of that accident, but I pray that he will recover and return to health as quickly as possible.

Welp, Seabass's season is toast.



From IndyCar's twitter.

Bourdais has a broken pelvis and will not compete in the Indy 500

I'm gutted for both Bourdais and Coyne. The old lion and the underdog team have a potential dream season go up in smoke in a very frightening crash. It really sucks.

I'm glad Bourdais is okay as that angle and hit was absoulutely disgusting. Looked like Hinch's scary wreck a couple years ago.

Alta wrote:I'm gutted for both Bourdais and Coyne. The old lion and the underdog team have a potential dream season go up in smoke in a very frightening crash. It really sucks.

I'm glad Bourdais is okay as that angle and hit was absoulutely disgusting. Looked like Hinch's scary wreck a couple years ago.

The moment where Bourdais lost control looked eerily similar to Gordon Smiley's crash. Fortunately, it didn't go head on into the wall like Smiley's did, but it was still pretty brutal.

Hopefully, he makes a rapid recovery and gets back in the car soon.

That was a vicious hit for Sebastien Bourdais. That'll sideline him for a while, I think. It's a shame, because if Dale Coyne had any hopes of winning a championship this season, it was with him.

I'm thankful that a fractured pelvis and right hip are the extent of Bourdais injuries. It means he won't be out forever, although it's difficult to recover from any significant injury like this at age 38. If Bourdais hadn't straightened the car out, he could've gone in head-on when he over-corrected, and we'd have seen something similar to Danny Ongais' '81 wreck (I won't compare it to Smiley's wreck, considering the fact that Smiley fucking died). That's not to say the angle he hit at wasn't bad enough; that impact was eerily similar to the hit that shish-kebabed James Hinchcliffe a few years ago.

Dixon, Carpenter, and Rossi will be on the front row.

Monster lap from Dixon. Fastest lap in 20 years.

Great runs by Sato and Alonso as well as shouts to Servia and Jones

Mother of Invention wrote:

Everyone knows I'm not a Dixon fan, but I wouldn't wish that on anybody. That's beyond fucked up.

Looking forward to tomorrow's 500. But it sucks so bad that Bourdais won't be part of it after that vicious hit last week. Hoping for a speedy recovery to 2018.

I'm liking what I'm seeing from Fernando Alonso. He could win this race.

Dixon ended up nowhere to go from that hit from Howard. Thank God everyone climbed out and walked away.

HOLY SHIT...

I am so glad Dixon is okay... never seen a car fly quite like that.

That was terrifying, so happy everyone is alright. That wreck made me think of something I don't wanna be reminded of.

Ben Atkins wrote:HOLY SHIT...

I am so glad Dixon is okay... never seen a car fly quite like that.

Indeed. Dixon is extremely lucky to walk away from that one.

Also, looked like Helio went underneath Dixon's car. That must've been one helluva view.

And Alonso's leading the race. This race has been crazy so far.

Well, if Scott Dixon can walk away from that, he can walk away from anything.

Dixon and the photographer are very lucky.

So glad everybody is alright.

Here's the video:

Apparently, the Black Cat from McLaren showed up at Indy for Alonso unfortunately. Still a great drive by him today.

TAKUMA SATO!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS TAKU!!!!! Another great 500 finish. Man wanted Helio to get 4.

I can't believe it. For the second straight year my dad wins the 500 as a fueler. Words cannot describe the joy I feel right now.

The first Japanese born driver to win the 500. Congrats, Takuma. Well done.

If you look up the definition for vindication, I think his portrait should be next to it.

7th straight Indy 500 that can undoubtedly be classified as an amazing show. I hope this streak never ends.

Indy never fails to disappoint. Awesome job Taku.

I can assure you all that the entire nation of Japan will party hard tonight. What a race, and what a deserving winner as well.

Holy shit. I'm still reeling from that race. That was easily the most attrition-filled Indianapolis 500 I've ever seen.

Takuma Sato is a madman, needless to say. He always makes moves that no one else in their right mind would dare to try, and today was no different. Though I only vaguely remember the end of the 2012 race, after seeing all of his struggles in the IndyCar Series, I can confidently say that this was a well-deserved win. GW Taku and Andretti Autosport.

Jay Howard is a freaking moron. He drove like a toolshed in the opening laps, kept driving people down into the grass, and then blamed RHR for the Scott Dixon crash when all RHR did was try to lap him. That was a scary accident for Dixon; he got an insane amount of air off the rear end of Howard's car, and had he hit the wall a few feet further up, the angle at which he hit probably would've been fatal. It was a tremendous relief to see him get out of that car right away.

Alexander Rossi was my pick to win today, but Fernando Alonso by far had the best car (in fact, I didn't see very many people actually pass Fernando today). For a lot of this race it looked like it was either gonna be Fernando or Rossi to come out on top. But then both of them got screwed over by pit stops. In lieu of all of this happening, we saw underdogs like Max Chilton and James Davison fighting for real-estate at the front. And then of course Fernando blew up, much to everyone's dismay. I'm happy that Rossi came home with a top ten though.

I had been saying all month that I feared that Fernando was going to have reliability issues on race day, and lo and behold, that's what happened. I'm gutted for him, too. The standing ovation he got from the crowd was enough to prove that Jenna Fryer is an idiot, and him saying that competing in the 500 was one of the greatest experiences of his career speaks volumes. I would very much like to see him back in an IndyCar next year.

This race really does outdo itself every year. I'm glad that the rain held up and we got a full 500 mile race in; it wasn't looking good with the red flag for Dixon and the number of yellow flags we had today. Phenomenal race. All that's left to do now is to watch an extremely lackluster Coca-Cola 600.

That race was absolute madness. What a show of passing, daredevil maneuvers, and just out and out crazy madness. That's why racing can be a show of emotion and absolutely the best sport out there imo.

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH TAKUUUUUUUUUUUU! I had a feeling all week that this was his year and i'm glad it paid off for him another 2012 and a trying couple years with Foyt. No Attack, No Chance is what got him that race today.

Glad Dixon is okay, that wreck was frightening and airtime and distance was nothing short of mind-boggling. I don't know what they can do the stop a side-pod launch but that needs a look at as the air was nothing short of ridiculous in that crash

Also:

mtrimmer365 wrote:I can't believe it. For the second straight year my dad wins the 500 as a fueler. Words cannot describe the joy I feel right now.

Awesome! Cool stuff there.


Anyways, I was too exhausted to post after the race. (got up at 4:30 yesterday x_X) While it was a little more of a yellow fest than I usually like, that was as fun of an Indy 500 as always. Super happy for Takuma as he's one of the most exciting drivers to watch on the grid and made some daring moves yesterday. It does not hurt he's one of my favorite drivers too. I'd love to see his arrival back in Japan on camera. Otherwise, that wreck with Scott Dixon and terrifying. I'd never seen anything like it. I'm glad to see he got out fine and is only in a walking boot. Glad to see Buddy Lazier is doing better too as he was having chest pain yesterday after his wreck. Overall, a nice, but yellow-plagued race with a great winner.

BWard wrote:Also:

Insanity.