IndyCar: Likely but unconfirmed Indianapolis 500 entries for 2019

By Asher Fair | Dec 30, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 27: Cars race during the 102nd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 27, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

There have been 27 confirmed drivers for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, and there are several more likely but unconfirmed entries for IndyCar’s biggest race.

While the year 2019 has not yet begun, there are already 27 drivers on the entry list for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, meaning that if any more than six additional drivers are entered into the race, there will be bumping before the field of 33 is set for the sixth race of the 17-race 2019 IndyCar season.

In additional to the 27 confirmed drivers who are already on the entry list for the 103rd running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” this coming May, there are several other entries that have not yet been confirmed for the race but are highly likely to be confirmed in the very near future.

This means that before very long, it could very well be confirmed that Bump Day will once again mean something.

IndyCar’s full-time driver lineup for the 2019 season still isn’t set. The one confirmed car that does not yet have a confirmed driver is Carlin’s second car.

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Meyer Shank Racing are set to return to IndyCar on a part-time basis once again in the 2019 season, and they are set to field an entry in the Indy 500 once again as well. Jack Harvey, who has driven for the team in each of the last two Indy 500 races, will likely be their driver.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing have fielded at least one entry in each of the last 19 Indy 500 races dating back to when they entered IndyCar in the 2000 season. They have done so even in seasons during which they did not field any full-time entries.

They fielded two entries in the 2018 Indy 500 after fielding just one entry in the six Indy 500 races from 2012 through 2017, so expect them to field two entries in the race again in 2019. J.R. Hildebrand and Sage Karam drove were the team’s two drivers in the 2018 Indy 500.

Juncos Racing fielded only one entry in the 2018 Indy 500 after fielding two entries in the 2017 Indy 500, which was their first IndyCar race and thus their first Indy 500, but they are expecting to field two entries throughout the 2019 season and thus in the 2019 Indy 500. Kyle Kaiser was the team’s driver in the 2018 Indy 500.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports have fielded at least one extra entry in each of the last 10 Indy 500 races, so they will likely field a third entry in the 2019 Indy 500 as well.

Assuming all of these potential entries end up becoming confirmed entries, the entry list for the 2019 Indy 500 will contain 34 drivers.

There is also a possibility that Carlin will field a third full-time entry, and there is a possibility that Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will do the same, but these aren’t likely scenarios at this point. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have already confirmed that they are set to field an extra car in the Indy 500 and that Jordan King is set to drive this car, so their lineup for the race is likely set. Carlin could, however, field an additional Indy 500-only entry.

Of course, there are other possible one-off entries aside of the ones that have already been discussed in this article that will likely be added to the entry list for the 2019 Indy 500, so the entry list for this race will likely end up containing more than 34 drivers, which it did for the 2018 Indy 500 for the first time since it contained 40 drivers for the 2011 Indy 500.

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Will all of the entries discussed in this article make it on to the entry list for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 this coming May? How many drivers will attempt to qualify for the 2019 edition of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, and how many drivers will be bumped from the field of 33?

Qualifying for the race, which is the sixth race on the 17-race 2019 IndyCar schedule, is scheduled to take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, and the race itself is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 26.