NASCAR: Kyle Busch provides update on 2020 Indy 500 plans

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch still wants to compete in the Indy 500 at some point, but he does not have anything lined up for the 2020 race.

A few months ago, it was revealed that two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch had been given approval to seek a ride in the Indianapolis 500.

An Indy 500 attempt would allow him to become the fifth driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double by competing in IndyCar‘s “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then NASCAR‘s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway later that evening on Memorial Day Sunday.

The 34-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native was given approval to compete for a Chevrolet team, limiting his options right away.

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While he drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series and competes against Chevrolet teams and drivers, the only other engine manufacturer in IndyCar is Honda, and they are global rivals of Toyota.

Busch’s options, already narrow, were further narrowed when the top two Chevrolet teams quickly eliminated the possibility of him joining them for the 104th running of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Speedway, Indiana.

Team Penske president Tim Cindric stated that there is a “zero percent chance” in regard to Roger Penske’s team potentially fielding a fifth entry for him, and Ed Carpenter Racing team owner Ed Carpenter ruled out expanding to four cars for the first time, although he acknowledged that an entry for Busch was a possibility for a future year.

Among the full-time competitive Chevrolet teams, only Arrow McLaren SP remained, but they ended up naming another two-time champion, former McLaren Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso, as their third driver for the race.

Asked if he was actively working on landing a ride for this year’s Indy 500, Busch told Beyond the Flag that while he would still like to compete in the race, there is nothing in the works for that to happen right now.

“I’ve said for a while that I would like to run in the Indy 500 in the right situation,” Busch stated. “But there’s nothing in the works as of right now.”

There are currently 32 confirmed cars with 30 confirmed drivers on the entry list for this year’s Indy 500, with four more cars seen as potential additions to bring the entry list total to 36.

As far as the uncertainty within the Chevrolet teams is concerned, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing are expected to enter a second car and Juncos Racing would like to field one car again. Carlin have not yet named the driver of their second car while Jonathan Byrd’s Racing have not confirmed an entry or an engine manufacturer.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing would likely enter J.R. Hildebrand alongside Sage Karam for the third consecutive year while Juncos Racing would likely enter Kyle Kaiser, also for the third consecutive year.

Carlin is not even remotely an option for Busch given the fact that only one of their three (four if you include the Carlin-affiliated McLaren car) cars failed to qualify for the race last year.

James Davison would likely be back with Jonathan Byrd’s Racing for the third consecutive year if they return, which is not a guarantee after their Daytona 500 entry with Hayward Motorsports fell through.

The only other car seen as a potential addition to the entry list is a third Dale Coyne Racing entry, but that would be a Honda-powered car.

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The most recent driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double is Kyle’s brother Kurt, who did so back in 2014. His Indy 500 effort for Andretti Autosport was his IndyCar debut, and he finished in sixth place before an engine failure ended his Coca-Cola 600 prematurely and prevented him from becoming just the second driver and first since Tony Stewart in 2001 to complete all 1,100 miles.