IndyCar: Last possible Indy 500 entry ruled out for 2024?

According to RACER.com, A.J. Foyt Enterprises plan to move forward with only two entries for this year's running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, just as they did a year ago in what was their most successful month of May in more than two decades.

Santino Ferrucci is set to return for a second season behind the wheel of the No. 14 Chevrolet, and Sting Ray Robb is set to pilot the No. 55-turned-No. 41 Chevrolet, replacing Benjamin Pedersen. Both drivers compete full-time.

Ferrucci and Pedersen both advanced to the second round of qualifying for last year's 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval, with Ferrucci even advancing to the Firestone Fast Six shootout to secure the fourth starting position on the inside of the second row.

Ferrucci went on to lead 11 laps and finish the race in third place, the highest for the team since Eliseo Salazar in 2000, while Pedersen won Rookie of the Year honors.

All five of Ferrucci's Indy 500 starts have produced top 10 finishes, and for four different teams. A.J. Foyt Enterprises is set to become only the second team for which he has competed in multiple Indy 500s.

Indy 500 entry list set?

As the team aim for similar success in the 108th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", they will not be adding a third entry. There had been a rumor that they would look to expand, which they did most recently in 2022 when their third part-time car was one of three they entered in the Indy 500. In 2021, they expanded from two to four cars for the race, but one failed to qualify.

The decision all but sets the field at 35 cars, a tally not seen since 2021. This assumes that Abel Motorsports do formally confirm the return of their No. 50 Chevrolet; driver R.C. Enerson has already said that they will be back for a second attempt.

With the field capped at 33, two drivers will ultimately miss the race. I speak for the overwhelming majority of fans of the most attended single-day sporting event on the planet when I say that I hope there are no restrictions on who those drivers can be and that the field continues to be comprised of the fastest 33.

NBC is set to provide live coverage of the 108th running of the Indy 500 beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 26. Qualifying is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19.