Indy 500: A far-fetched but not impossible 2018 Indianapolis 500 scenario

The odds of this particular Indy 500 scenario happening are next to nothing. But it’s certainly not completely impossible for 2018.

Chip Ganassi Racing cut back to a two-car full-time operation this IndyCar season for the first time since the 2010 season after running a four-car full-time operation in six of the last seven seasons. The team have already ruled out fielding four cars in this year’s Indianapolis 500, which is the 102nd annual running of the event, but fielding three cars is not out of the question.

There are several potential candidates to land a ride with the team in the race this year if they do hire a third driver after passing up Danica Patrick, who initially looked destined to drive for the team in their third car in the race.

Among those possible candidates are Juan Pablo Montoya, who is a former IndyCar and NASCAR Cup Series driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, and Kyle Larson, a current NASCAR Cup Series driver for Chip Ganassi Racing who has expressed interest in possibly driving the Memorial Day Double one day.

More from IndyCar

However, an unlikely candidate that has not been discussed as a possibility since 2015 but has never officially been ruled out is Alex Zanardi. Like I said, however, this is an extreme longshot, as the odds of it happening are next to nothing.

Zanardi had both of his legs amputated below the knees in a devastating crash in 2001 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, which is a 2.023-mile tri-oval located in the village of Klettwitz in the state of Brandenburg, Germany.

However, despite nearly losing his life as a result of what has been considered one of the nastiest wrecks in racing history, Zanardi has not been able to resist competing since then. He competed in the Paralympics in 2012 and 2016 and London, England and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, respectively. In fact, he is set to drive for BMW in the 2019 Rolex 24.

Zanardi, now 51, had discussed driving in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time a few years ago, as he never got the chance to do so having been a full-time Formula One and CART driver, and both Jimmy Vasser and Chip Ganassi Racing team owner Chip Ganassi stated that they would be open to fielding an entry for him in the race.

Here is what Vasser had to say about the matter in July of 2015, according to Racer.com.

"“All the controls are there for him to use the clutch on the steering wheel and he can work the brake and throttle with his prosthetics, so it’s very possible. I read the story, but he’s said this before about doing the race, and I told him we’d be there, but didn’t really hear back, so if he’s serious, we need to hear from him. If he’s serious, get out of the way because when Zanardi sets his mind to something, he gets it done. For now, I’m going to let him stew a little bit and decide if it’s what he really wants.”“He said Chip might be the best chance—the right fit. He said he didn’t want to risk our friendship by driving for me, which I don’t really understand; nothing will ever come between Alex and I as friends, but we both drove for Chip, we both won our Indy car championships with Chip, and if Alex is serious about doing Indy next year, I do think he should talk to Chip first before looking at our team. We put some work into making it happen before with Alex, so if he wants to go down that road again, I’m going to help out any way I can. If he decides to do it, it will happen.”"

Here is what Ganassi had to say about the matter in July of 2015, according to Racer.com.

"“I love Zanardi and I’ll do anything for his; I think he knows that, just as I’d do for Vasser or any of my former drivers…or most of my former drivers. But you have to look at the fact that Alex is almost 50 years old, and hasn’t raced an Indy car for an awful long time. I’m not saying he couldn’t come back after all these years and qualify for Indy, because he could, but you have to look at the reason for going racing. Is it to make the show, or is it to win?”"

Keep in mind, however, the fact that these quotes are from 2015 and Vasser and Ganassi are discussing fielding an entry for the 51-year-old Zanardi in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016, which has come and gone, as has the 101st running of the race in 2017. In fact, the 102nd running of the race is just over two months away.

But also keep in mind the fact that this crazy scenario was never officially ruled out.

Next: Top 10 most unbreakable records across Formula One, NASCAR and IndyCar

Would you like to see Alex Zanardi make his debut in the Indianapolis 500 one day, perhaps in the near future? Many people definitely would, but just how likely is this scenario? Do remember, however, that the No. 16 seed UMBC Retrievers beat the No. 1 seed Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, so anything is possible.