All 34 drivers on the provisional entry list for the 109th running of the Indy 500 are scheduled to take part in the open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24.
So where do we get 35 drivers from?
Last year, Kyle Larson faced a dilemma when the start of the Indy 500 was delayed by roughly four hours due to rain. Should he stay and make his maiden start in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and thus forego the ability to score points in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, or should he effectively give up on the Memorial Day Double by bailing out of Indy?
On top of that, he had no officially eligible replacement driver for the Indy 500. But he did indeed opt to stay at Indy. Of course, he ended up not competing at Charlotte at all, as that race was shortened due to rain and red-flagged by the time he finally arrived.
This year, there is no such dilemma.
While bad weather could still technically play a role at Indy and Charlotte (and trust me when I say we are already praying that it doesn't...), this year, Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports have a plan.
Newly appointed Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan, who has already run four Indy 500s since initially announcing his "Last Lap" tour, did actually retire after the 2023 race. He did not compete in 2024, even amid seemingly endless rumors that he would find his way back into a car some way, somehow.
But the 50-year-old Brazilian is set to be Larson's official Indy 500 backup driver in 2025, meaning that 35 drivers, not just 34, must take part in some form of practice at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) leading up to the event.
Kanaan, however, will not take part in this week's test, which makes sense.
Larson, too, must complete a refresher test, as he has only ever made one career NTT IndyCar Series start, so track time is probably more valuable for him than it is for the 2013 Indy 500 winner. So even with this week also being a NASCAR Cup Series race week at Talladega Superspeedway, he is set to take full part in the two-day test.
Instead, Kanaan is set to wait until the official Indy 500 practice week to get behind the wheel of the No. 17 Chevrolet at the "Racing Capital of the World" next month.
Practice week is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday, May 13, and suffice it to say that the fan-favorite's first laps back behind the wheel of an open-wheel race car at Indy since 2023 may very well be the most anticipated practice laps at the venue in a very long time.
Of course, even Kanaan is probably hoping it doesn't come down to him actually having to be a part of the field of 33 in Larson's place next month. The goal is for Larson to actually run both races of the Memorial Day Double this year to become just the fifth driver, and first since Kurt Busch in 2014, to pull it off.
But it's certainly better to be prepared than not have a backup plan, and with Larson officially set to prioritize the Coca-Cola 600 this year after last year's dilemma, specifically due to NASCAR's far stricter rules on playoff waivers and playoff points, there is no reason for Kanaan and the team not to make arrangements for that preparation.
It simply won't happen this week.
The full two-day test, which has been shortened to one day in each of the two most recent years, is set to be shown live on IndyCar's YouTube page. Fox and Fox Sports 1 are set to be the official home of month of May on-track coverage, so start a free trial of FuboTV before it's too late!