IndyCar: 2018 Indianapolis 500 one-off driver possibilities

There are still open seats for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in the 2018 IndyCar season. Who are some potential names that could fill them?

As the calendar rolls into 2018, the talk of car counts for the Indianapolis 500 will begin to intensify. As always, there are more experienced Indy 500 drivers than there are seats, so who are a few of the front-runners for the handful of rides still available?

Right now, there are at least 27 confirmed entries. We provided a list of 23 confirmed drivers earlier this month. Jack Harvey later confirmed a spot in the field in a joint effort between Michael Shank Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Then on December 12, Carlin Racing threw their hat into the ring, adding Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton as full-season IndyCar entries. A few days later, Carlos Munoz confirmed he was reuniting with Andretti Autosport next May.

And theoretically, we can add Danica Patrick to the confirmed list, although there is still a question where she will be driving. Dale Coyne Racing is also in negotiations to find its second full-season driver, so that will be another seat as well.

Though the 500 is still about five months away, if drivers want to make the field of 33, they need to get to work. Not only is the number of open seats shrinking, but so is the amount of time to raise the one million dollars (or so) for said seat.

So who are the handful of drivers left? Let’s take a look.