Indy 500 announcement confirms 33rd car; Bump Day looms

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports recently confirmed the long-expected news that Ryan Hunter-Reay is set to return to the team for the 109th running of the Indy 500 in 2025.

The team have fielded two entries at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in recent years, and they have also confirmed that they plan to do the same thing this coming May. Hunter-Reay is set to drive the No. 23 Chevrolet, and he is set to be joined by Jack Harvey behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet. Conor Daly drove the No. 24 Chevrolet in 2024.

The confirmation of the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports lineup for the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval means that there are now 33 confirmed entries for the race, and it is still only December.

There are 27 full-time entries, including Prema Racing's two non-chartered cars and the 25 chartered entries at the other 10 full-time organizations. Here's a look at those 27 cars.

A.J. Foyt Racing, Chevrolet

No. 14 - Santino Ferrucci
No. 41 - David Malukas

Andretti Global, Honda

No. 26 - Colton Herta
No. 27 - Kyle Kirkwood
No. 28 - Marcus Ericsson

Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet

No. 5 - Pato O'Ward
No. 6 - Nolan Siegel
No. 7 - Christian Lundgaard

Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda

No. 8 - Kyffin Simpson
No. 9 - Scott Dixon
No. 10 - Alex Palou

Dale Coyne Racing, Honda

No. 18 - TBD
No. 51 - TBD

Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet

No. 20 - Alexander Rossi
No. 21 - Christian Rasmussen

Juncos Hollinger Racing, Chevrolet

No. 77 - TBD
No. 78 - Sting Ray Robb

Meyer Shank Racing, Honda

No. 60 - Felix Rosenqvist
No. 66 - Marcus Armstrong

Prema Racing, Chevrolet

No. 83 - Robert Shwartzman
No. 90 - Callum Ilott

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda

No. 15 - Graham Rahal
No. 30 - Devlin DeFrancesco
No. 45 - Louis Foster

Team Penske, Chevrolet

No. 2 - Josef Newgarden
No. 3 - Scott McLaughlin
No. 12 - Will Power

The Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports announcement means that there are now six other cars on the entry list as well. Here is a list of those.

Andretti Global, Honda

No. TBD - TBD

Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet

No. 17 - Kyle Larson (with Hendrick Motorsports)

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, Chevrolet

No. 23 - Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 24 - Jack Harvey

Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet

No. 33 - Ed Carpenter

Meyer Shank Racing, Honda

No. 06 - Helio Castroneves

Of these 33 cars, 29 have confirmed drivers. Three cars that still need drivers are full-time entries, as Juncos Hollinger Racing still need another driver and Dale Coyne Racing still need two. Andretti Global still plan to field a fourth car following an ownership change, but there is no word on whether or not the driver will once again be Marco Andretti.

Note that chartered entries are not locked into the race. Having more than 33 cars in qualifying would lock in another Bump Day, and everybody would be at risk of missing the event.

The path to a third straight Bump Day and a fourth in five years seems to be relatively clear. Specifically, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have run four cars in back-to-back years. If they do so again, there would be 34 cars on the entry list.

No Indy 500 has seen an entry list with 35 cars since 2021, and no Indy 500 has seen an entry list with 36 since 2019. No Indy 500 has seen an entry list with more than 36 since 2011, when there were 41.

The 109th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Fox is set to provide live coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.