Indy 500 Entries - Can We Get 33?

[JohnSSC]

Last night on Wind Tunnel Robin Miller stated that Sam Schmidt has found sponsorship and will be running Richie Hearn at the 500.

I think "Bump Day" might be interesting to watch this year!

[Snips1]

So the Playa del deal with J. Lazier is not going to jappen anyway??

Too sad....

[Tim Northcutt]

The Schmidt entry will be sponsored by Meijer and Coca-Cola...

Meijer was Robby Gordon's sponsor last year....

Wonder what Robby is going to do???

He's not having a lot of fun in NASCAR right now....and may be too busy trying to get competitive there to take a shot at the 500 this year....

I think it'll be close to get to 33....but I'm hoping it will be more....

Entries are supposed to be postmarked by This friday, aren't they???

Thus, we should see an entry list by mid-April at the latest....

[BootsOntheSide]

Even then, there will be plenty of time for teams to add extra cars before Bump Day, so it's not a disaster if it's less than 33.

[GP Racer]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

The Schmidt entry will be sponsored by Meijer and Coca-Cola...

Meijer was Robby Gordon's sponsor last year....

Wonder what Robby is going to do???

He's not having a lot of fun in NASCAR right now....and may be too busy trying to get competitive there to take a shot at the 500 this year....

I'm beginning not to care what Robbie is going to do anymore. I always rooted him on in the past, but his recent comments about the new start time for the Indy 500 kind of turned me off. He basically said that the new start time would hurt the 500's chances of getting more NASCAR drivers into the race, and he said that the race needs them. That's the part that got me. We need them. I hate to think that the Coca-Cola 600 is more important than the Indy 500, but it seems that Robbie thinks it is.

He seem's to really have gone NASCAR on us, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's a no show for the race.

[Tim Northcutt]

I think he was referring more to the fact that it creates a big story line that goes outside of normal auto racing media coverage....

Every year, there have been mentions of the guys who are doing the "double" in such diverse places at Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, and even the Weather Channel....

I didn't take as much offense to it as others did...

[Team Owner]

Robby Gordon would be at Indy if he could be. The time change plus ownership responcibilities are the factor that will keep him from doing the double this year. He needs to concentrate on his Nascar effort as so far things have not gone well and the sponsor expects more for their money than a series of blown engines. Speaking on blown engines I wonder if those "free" engines he has been getting from Menard are thought of as being so "free " now with all the failures? I would expect by the time the World 600 comes around he will have a different engine supplier if the MEG engines keep exploding. I heard a rumor that most of the problems have been associated with crank balancing, or the lack thereof. No excuse IMO

[Tim Northcutt]

Thanks for the additional insight, Team Owner...that was my specualtion as well concerning the possibility of having him here in May as well...

Concerning his engine program with Menard, equally inexcusable, IMO, was the intake manifold that didn't meet NASCAR specs at Daytona....a huge mistake that surely could have and should have been avoided, and I believe definitely cost him a shot at making the Daytona 500 field....he still almost got in via the Qualifier race, but just got nosed out at the finish for the final "non-exempt" spot in the field with a rigged makeshift manifold he had to get from another team that allegedly didn't line up properly with the intake ports on the engine itself...

and I would agree on your point about the cranks.....balancing them properly is a basic required element that must be done to a high-powered racing motor, and to do it improperly...or not at all (lack thereof)... is inexcusable....period....

[climb]

Is someone able to set up a provisional updated list?

[Mosport67]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Last night on Wind Tunnel Robin Miller stated that Sam Schmidt has found sponsorship and will be running Richie Hearn at the 500.

I think "Bump Day" might be interesting to watch this year!

Lets hope so

[Down F0rce]

I'll have a bash at a provisional list.

[Team Owner]

As small update to the Playa Del Racing/Jaques Lazier deal. A check for the chassis was delivered by private courier to Ganassi today but it hasn't cleared the bank yet. This according to a friend of mine at TCGR.

[Tim Northcutt]

Let's hope that it isn't "Vulcanized".....

To be certain, this is just for Indy...correct???

[GP Racer]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Let's hope that it isn't "Vulcanized".....

To be certain, this is just for Indy...correct???

I still cannot understand how a team like Playa cannot get a deal done to run the whole season. Look at the heavy hitting sponsors they have - DHL, Sirius Radio, National Car Rental, Champion Trailers, Speedster Motorcars, i-Fanz, and a couple of others. These sponsors must have signed on expecting to get a hell-of-a-better deal than they've gotten from this team so far.

So who are these mysterious people, and why can't they get a deal done for the rest of the season?

[Team Owner]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Let's hope that it isn't "Vulcanized".....

To be certain, this is just for Indy...correct???

I understand that this deal may be for Indy, Chicago, Michigan and Fontana.

[Tim Northcutt]

It is not a full season, but that is good news to add a few more events beyond Indy....

[Tim Northcutt]

Question:

Is Marty "Don Quixote" Roth planning a return for the 500???

[Team Owner]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Question:

Is Marty "Don Quixote" Roth planning a return for the 500???

Yes. They have the car Marty ran last year and it has been updated. They were closed to signing an engine deal last week with Toyota.

[GP Racer]

Speed is reporting that Penske is planning a 3 car effort for Indy this year!

It will have Toyota power, but the chassis it will use is remains undecided, and the driver remains un-named.

Great news!

[Tim Northcutt]

The Official List is now Available on the Indy 500 Site:

36 entries with 33 drivers listed...

The three entries without drivers thus far are:

PDM Racing -- Listed as a Dallara Chevy

Curb/Agajanian/Beck -- Listed as a Dallara Chevy

The Penske Third Car...

and yes...Mr. Haas returns to the brickyard with two cars..one for Bruno and one for SeaBass...Panoz Hondas

[courageous]

I always thought we would have 33 entries. The bigger question (for me) was would we get number 33 at the last minute (at which the trolls would have had another field day) & would there be any bumping?
I am glad to see a definate 33 driver line up, but will the other teams enter the TBA cars, or were they just insurance in case 33 became a bit difficult?
I am pretty new to Indycar racing & have only been into motor racing at all since '95, so Le Mans aside, I have not seen the true passion of a DNQ.

[GP Racer]

I find it amazing that TG picked this year, which could be the best Bump Day in a long time, to make his famous statement, "33 is just a number"! I bet he wishes he hadn't said that!

[Tim Northcutt]

This issue may just surface again, based on the following news items:

1. Scott Mayer, as you probably figured out by now, did not pass the final phase of his rookie test...Brian barnhart has removed him from the participation list

2. PDM Racing will pool their resources with Marty Roth for this year's 500...Why?
I'm not sure, but my guess is that Roth couldn't land an engine deal, and PDM had Chevy engines, but no $$$ or driver...

3. Beck Motorsports has everything but a driver and the funds to race....they are hoping that someone like P.J. Jones or Arie Luyendyke Jr. can come up with enough $$$ to take the seat

We HAD 33 drivers with Scott Mayer....now we have 32...and one of the TBA's for team entries has pooled its efforts with another entrant to be able to run...

[Tim Northcutt]

Of course, A.J could sell Scott Mayer's seat to anyone in the garage area who can bring some cash to the table...

but basically there are 34 teams now and 32 drivers....

at least as it stands right now...and I haven't heard any word yet about who might be wandering in Gasoline Alley with a helmet in hnad to try to land a seat....

[BootsOntheSide]

A third Foyt car will probably now only surface if it's needed to fill the grid, whcih is unlikely. The chances of Penske being allowed to run a third car if it will bump a Foyt car out of the field are also quite low. Reastically we could be stuck with only 33 this year, which would be a great shame, but at least none of those are last-minute deals, and there is still a real chance of extras coming together over the next few weeks.