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Indy 500: James Davison returning with A.J. Foyt, Byrd family

By Alex Herbst

ALTON, VA - AUGUST 23: James Davison celebrates after winning the GTD pole position for the IMSA Tudor Series GT race at the Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway on August 23, 2014 in Alton, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images)
ALTON, VA - AUGUST 23: James Davison celebrates after winning the GTD pole position for the IMSA Tudor Series GT race at the Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway on August 23, 2014 in Alton, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images) /
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The 35th entry for the Indianapolis 500 is about to be announced. Reports confirm that James Davison will be back in Indy with A.J. Foyt Racing in 2018.

One year ago, James Davison was without an IndyCar ride. He would be called up by team owner Dale Coyne as a super substitute following a harrowing crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one that would knock out driver Sebastian Bourdais from racing for the rest of the year. Now, one year later, Davison will be back at Indy again, but in a ride of his own.

RACER.com reports that James Davison will be confirmed as the 35th entrant to the greatest spectacle in racing, partnering with the Byrd family and A.J. Foyt Racing. David Byrd has been spearheading the effort with his family’s hospitality company, which previously helped field many drivers in the Indy 500. They also served as the primary sponsor for Conor Daly in his lone full season with Dale Coyne Racing.

Byrd and Davison have been reportedly focusing their efforts on Chevrolet-powered teams, first reaching out to newcomers Harding Racing and Juncos Racing. After not being able to reach a deal with either operation, a deal was made with A.J. Foyt Racing to field a third entry alongside seasoned veteran Tony Kanaan and rookie Matheus Leist. No word yet on who will provide the personnel for this effort, or if the team will take on Foyt’s traditional third car number of #41.

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The effort is still subject to confirmation. Efforts by RACER to reach Byrd and Davison went unanswered. However, one would expect confirmation of this news in the next two weeks ahead of the month of May.

The Davison-Byrd-Foyt entry builds on what may be one of the strongest fields in recent memory for the Indianapolis 500. Despite a depleted effort from Chip Ganassi Racing with only two cars, an influx of new teams and one-off entrants will add significant bumping to the race for the first time since the DW12 chassis was introduced. 33 of the entries have already been announced, with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing expected to confirm J.R. Hildebrand in a second entry in the near future.

But is 35 entries for 33 spots the cap for the 2018 race? Some continue to speculate that Harding Racing and Juncos Racing could expand to two cars for the month of May, potentially ballooning the entries to 37. The latter would be the most likely candidate for this to occur, after entering two cars in the 2017 Indy 500. There will be no shortage of drivers still hunting for driving partners, with likely names to be floating around including Jordan King, Sebastian Saavedra, Mikhail Aleshin, James Jakes, and Katherine Legge.

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Are you excited to see James Davison back in the Indianapolis 500 field? Will there be more big announcements to come through the month of April? Comment below with your thoughts and stay tuned to Beyond The Flag for more news ahead of the greatest spectacle in racing.