78-year Indy 500 streak hanging by a thread, and Bump Day is in trouble

While IndyCar fans may have been fooling themselves to think that Prema Racing, which have yet to compete in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2026 after their first season a year ago, would be ready to make their return before this year's Indy 500, it does appear that there will be 33 cars on the entry list for the 110th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing".

Abel Motorsports announced that they are set to return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 2023 with the No. 51 Chevrolet for Jacob Abel, who was the lone driver to fail to qualify for the race a year ago when he competed full-time for Dale Coyne Racing.

Even with Andretti Global having ruled out a fourth entry entirely, following confirmation that Formula 2 would be adding races and therefore full-time IndyCar-turned-F2 driver Colton Herta would not be available on Memorial Day Weekend, the Abel news brings the entry list to 32 cars, and there have long been reports that the series would step in to ensure a 33-car field regardless.

All signs currently point toward A.J. Foyt Enterprises, which possess a technical alliance with Team Penske, fielding a third entry for the first time since 2022.

The Indy 500 has not seen a field with fewer than 33 cars since 1947, when only 30 cars competed in what was then known as the 31st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes.

It appears that this streak will remain intact in 2026, even if qualifying weekend features no bumping for the first time since 2022, when the 33-car tradition was also saved by a very late addition to the entry list.

Here's a look at the current 32-car entry list, heading into next week's two-day open test at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval.

NOTE: * = part-time/one-off entry

Tune in to IndyCar's YouTube channel on Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29 for live coverage of the annual Indy 500 open test.

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