Speculation grows over 33rd entry for Indianapolis 500

There are 32 confirmed entries for this year’s race (below) with 15 powered by Chevrolet, 17 by Honda, and it’s understood that HPD is not eager to supply an 18^th. Chevrolet’s IndyCar program manager Rob Buckner confirmed that the Chevy-Ilmor program is ready to step up and partly redress the current entry imbalance, “but we haven’t heard of any deal being finalized yet.”

One Honda team who often runs extra entries for the 500 is Dale Coyne, and there have been rumors that Stefan Wilson, a three-time starter in the Memorial Day Weekend classic, might end up at DCR.

However, Coyne, who this year will enter two-time Indy winner Takuma Sato and rookie David Malukas, told Motorsport.com: “No, we won’t be running an extra car in Indy. Stefan has called a few times and is trying to get something going, but it’s hard to get good crew guys.”

Juncos Hollinger Racing-Chevrolet, the only team running just one car full-time in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series, for Callum Ilott, is therefore at the center of speculation regarding who will ready an extra car for the 500. But team founder and co-owner Ricardo Juncos echoed Coyne’s concerns.

“We’re not ready and it’s too late in the game,” he said. “We’re going to focus on one car, and it’s hard to find the people even for that car!

“I always say that if you’re going to do it, you need to do it 100 percent right. I don’t like doing things last-minute, unprepared. Remember in 2017, our IndyCar debut, we ran two cars [for Spencer Pigot and Sebastian Saavedra], but now we want to put in place a proper foundation for the IndyCar team.

“After this weekend I’ll see what might be thrown at me, but no, I don’t see a way to run an extra car. I don’t even have enough people to run our Indy Lights team.”

Ed Carpenter confirmed that, along with himself driving the #33 oval entry, and Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly driving the the fulltime #20 and #21 cars, Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet will not run a fourth car.

Paretta Autosport ran a “women forward” crew last year for Simona De Silvestro’s entry in a Penske-built Chevy-powered car, and team owner Beth Paretta is aiming to have a car on the grid this year. However, she wasn’t prepared to confirm with whom she would partner to make it happen in 2022, although it’s believed that De Silvestro would again be the driver.

Weather allowing, there will be an open test held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 20-21.