2011 Indy 500 thread

[Canada ALMS fan]

About time we fire this one up I figure. Can anyone put together a comprehensive entry list for starters? This year's entry is shaping up to be a bumper crop. I am having a tough time keeping up, plus you folks in and around Indy always seem to have the dirt!
Just think, the final year for the crap wagons!!!

[racer69]

Very much looking forward to this, heading over myself for Qualifying and the race.

Should be quite an experience

[gomick]

You lucky fella racer69

[Andy Roberts]

You'll love it racer69!

Hope I can go back one year, went the only time in 2001 but its still hands down the best event I've ever been too!

[Canada ALMS fan]

Prospective list stolen from another forum via Google

02 – James Hinchcliffe – Newman Haas (R)
06 – Oriol Servia – Newman Haas
3 – Helio Castroneves – Penske
4 – JR Hildebrand – Panther (R)
5 – Takuma Sato – KV
6 – Ryan Briscoe – Penske
7 – Danica Patrick – Andretti
8 – EJ Viso – KV
9 – Scott Dixon – Target
10 – Dario Franchitti – Target
12 – Will Power – Penske
14 – Vitor Meira – Foyt
15 – Tomas Scheckter – KV/Redline
16 – Simon Pagenaud - Panther/Highcroft (R)
17 – Raphael Matos - AFS
18 – Milka Duno – Coyne
19 – Martin Plowman – Coyne (R)
21 – Davey Hamilton – D&R
22 – Justin Wilson – D&R
23 – Ana Beatriz – D&R
24 – Paul Tracy – D&R
26 – Marco Andretti – Andretti
27 – Mike Conway – Andretti
28 – Ryan Hunter-Reay - Andretti
29 – Bruno Junquiera – Herta
30 – Buddy Rice – Rahal Letterman
33 – Dan Wheldon – Schmidt/FAZZT
34 – Sebastian Saavedra – Conquest
36 – Pippa Mann – Conquest
38 – Graham Rahal – Ganassi (R)
43 – John Andretti – Petty/Andretti
49 – Alex Lloyd – BamFoyt
67 – Ed Carpenter - Fisher
77 – Alex Tagliani – Schmidt/FAZZT
78 – Simona de Silvestro – HVM
82 – Tony Kanaan - KV
83 – Charlie Kimball – Ganassi (R)
88 – Jay Howard – Schmidt/Rahal Letterman (R)
99 – Townsend Bell – Schmidt

[icemachine]

39 - not bad

[NaBUru38]

Bertrand Baguette will be driving the #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan car! This field is amazing. I hope that Pink Lloyd signs soon with Dale Coyne for the ovals.

[courageous]

Pagenaud is subbing for Beatriz until she is fit again so would now put him in the 'almost certain' pile & good for him

Only question is, how might an Indy entry affect a driver's eligibility for the Vegas improbable prize?

[Hawkwood]

Wanting to get rid of a bit of ignorance on my part, can I ask, is there any limit to the number of cars that can attempt to qualify for the 500?

[one five five]

Originally Posted by Ostrogothicus

Wanting to get rid of a bit of ignorance on my part, can I ask, is there any limit to the number of cars that can attempt to qualify for the 500?

No

Time was when 30 or 40+ entries were sent home each year after failing to make the 33

[Paradise City]

It's a good grid. Pity Bourdais isn't there for perhaps a one off oval outing. He'll be working all out for LeMans I suppose.

[vancecooley]

Highcroft is entertaining an entry (Discussed on Midweek Motorsports) and I'm assuming Pagenaud would be the driver.

[Jonerz]

Randy Bernard wanted to see the lap record toppled. Any news on what Firestone, Honda and IndyCar are doing to see that through... if anything?

Chris

[icemachine]

I dunno if we will see a new lap record, but we will see a record setting Hot Wheels jump, although the potential for it going disastrously wrong seems pretty high.

http://blogs.indystar.com/racingexpe...p-at-indy-500/

[NaBUru38]

That's a great move by Hot Wheels. Also, check this:

Originally Posted by Press release

The stunt will culminate by revealing the mystery driver's true identity to the world in a not-to-be missed moment following the race on Sunday, May 29.

Autoblog wrote: "Hot Wheels is hoping to attract the attention of adults (males mostly, as you'd imagine)". But how about revealing that it was a woman who took the jump? Danica, Sim, Bia and Pippa are driving the race, so Indianapolis would be a great place to attract the other half of the market.

Icemachine, they have tested the ramp before. These are professionals.

[courageous]

Entry list:
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway..._EntryList.pdf

42 teams, 35 with drivers already named

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Rightey then. So these are the empty seats at the moment...

#8 Dragon Racing - Doornbos? Not that you should take what he says/hopes for gospel though.

#16 TBA - Yeah, I'm not guessing here. Though if I am, how about 3G back again?

#19 Coyne - Return for Lloyd? Plowman? Unless they plan on simply collecting cash from Milka with this ride.

#36 Conquest - You'd expect Moraes to pop up somewhere (surely for São Paolo too). This is as good a place as any.

#44 Panther - Pagenaud presumably?

#57 Fisher - Jacques Lazier? Roger Yasukawa? I really have no idea, but hopefully they can snag someone like Lloyd if he misses out on Coyne/whatever.

#89 China Racing - That'll be Tung then... Sam Schmidt? Already running plenty of cars!

[Canada ALMS fan]

#16 TBA - Highcroft?

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

#16 TBA - Highcroft?

I think Highcroft will pair up with Panther like they did a couple of years ago with Sharp, but the Highcroft crew will work the car so that Panther doesn't have to add the personnel.

China Racing?

A Google search turns up ZERO on this alleged entity.

Could the #16 possibly be a second Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry?

That number was theirs when they were a multiple car team...IIRC, it was Vitor Meira's number when he was with them back in 2004 and 2005.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

China Racing will just be a banner pasted over a real team. Tung has money, so we should see the entry happen.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Magnusson

China Racing will just be a banner pasted over a real team. Tung has money, so we should see the entry happen.

You may be right, but I want you to remember back a couple of years ago, when "Cabbie Motorsports" submitted an entry.

Their garage doors never opened and frankly, no one even knew if they had a car in there.

A driver (might have been Memo Gidley?) was even contacted to drive for them in a 2nd week effort, but when he arrived there, the team was total vaporware. Fortunately, the driver did hook up with another team to make a run at it.

[NaBUru38]

More free agents: Wade Cunningham, Jean-Karl Vernay, Pippa Mann.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

You may be right, but I want you to remember back a couple of years ago, when "Cabbie Motorsports" submitted an entry.

Their garage doors never opened and frankly, no one even knew if they had a car in there.

A driver (might have been Memo Gidley?) was even contacted to drive for them in a 2nd week effort, but when he arrived there, the team was total vaporware. Fortunately, the driver did hook up with another team to make a run at it.

Yes, but starting up a new team and looking for sponsors & drivers for an Indy one-off is a whole nother thing to what this is. Tung has the money and I'm sure he'll take them to whoever appreciates it the most. There's really no reason why it shouldn't happen - new teams are a lot easier when you start with the money sorted than not. Sure, it might still go all pear-shaped for one reason or other (this will be a collaborative effort, after all), but it won't be because of a lack of money.

[PabloTeK]

No news links at the mo, but Pippa Mann is apparently confirmed (via Twitter) to be driving the Conquest #36!

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by PabloTeK

No news links at the mo, but Pippa Mann is apparently confirmed (via Twitter) to be driving the Conquest #36!

Looks that way, yeah: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90887