The entry list for the 110th running of the Indy 500 is still at 31 cars following the announcement that the long-awaited addition of the No. 98 Andretti Global Honda for Colton Herta will not actually come to fruition.
Formula 2, where Herta now competes after a seven-year run in the NTT IndyCar Series, was set to compete in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, along with Formula 1, this month, but both race weekends were canceled due to the ongoing political conflict in the Middle East.
That left Formula 2 without any races scheduled until June, giving the series a 13-week break between its first and second race weekends of the 2026 season. For reference, the entire offseason was a 13-week offseason.
But now that break has been shortened, as Formula 2 is set to race both in Miami and Montreal, alongside Formula 1, in May. With the Canada race weekend scheduled for the same weekend as the Indy 500, an eighth attempt at the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" has been ruled out for Herta in 2026.
4th Andretti car won't be entered in Indy 500
Although there were others who reportedly tried to put together a deal with Andretti Global to land the No. 98 entry, the organization appeared to have locked in on a "Herta or bust" mentality, as they have since committed to focusing on only their three full-time entries.
Those cars include the No. 26 Honda of 2018 winner Will Power, the No. 27 Honda of championship leader Kyle Kirkwood, and the No. 28 Honda of 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson.
There are still just six confirmed one-off entries, alongside the 25 full-time entries, for this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval, and the lack of a fourth car for Andretti Global makes a fourth consecutive Bump Day unlikely.
Abel Motorsports are still reportedly in line to field their first Indy 500 entry since 2023, and Prema Racing could still make it back in time after missing the start of the season, albeit presumably with only one car, rather than the two they ran full-time a year ago.
Additionally, the series is reportedly willing to step in, if need be, to ensure that this year's Indy 500 isn't the first with a field consisting of fewer than 33 cars since 1947.
Prior to the current run of three consecutive Bump Days, the Indy 500 had never seen more than two in a row during the DW12 era (2012 to present). However, the race hasn't seen more than 34 cars on the entry list since 2021, when two drivers were sent home.
When it comes to Bump Day, nobody is locked into the race; chartered entries are locked into every other race on the schedule, but not the Indy 500. So the lack of a 34th car on this year's entry list would ensure everybody a spot in the race, rather than ensure a weekend in which everybody is at risk of missing the show.
Full-time drivers Graham Rahal and Jacob Abel failed to qualify in 2023 and 2025, respectively.
The annual Indy 500 open test is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29, and Indy 500 practice is scheduled to begin officially on Tuesday, May 12. Qualifying is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17, and the race itself is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 24.