It may only be February 8, and the start of the 2024 INDYCAR SERIES may still be a month away with the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg presented by RP Funding taking place from March 8-10 but we already have a full field of 33 cars for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 26.
Here at Paddock Eye, we thought we would take a look at what we can expect at the open test which takes place in early April at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Abel Motorsports are coming back this season with RC Enerson who was at the INDYCAR SERIES media content event downtown last month.
Arrow McLaren will run four cars with Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi and David Malukas will be joined by 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson who will drive the No.17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry.
Andretti Global has trimmed down to three cars full-time with Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson who are joined by Marco Andretti.
AJ Foyt Racing will not run a third in 2024 and will instead focus on their full-time drivers, Sting Ray Robb and Santino Ferrucci who finished third in last year’s race driving the No.14 Chevrolet.
Chip Ganassi Racing has expanded to five full-time cars with Six-time series champion Scott Dixon, defending series champion Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong, Linus Lindqvist and Kyffin Simpson.
Dale Coyne Racing will have two cars with as yet TBC drivers for the season.
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports have Ryan Hunter-Reay and Conor Daly locked in for the race.
Ed Carpenter Racing will run their three cars for the race with Ed Carpenter joining Christian Rasmassun and Rinus VeeKay.
Juncos Hollinger Racing has two cars with Agustin Canapino returning for his sophomore year in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES while Romain Grosjean joins the team from Andretti Global.
Meyer Shank Racing will run three cars with Felix Rosenqvist and Tom Blomqvist joined by team co-owner Helio Castroneves.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has three drivers Pietro Fittipaldi, Christian Lundgaard, and Graham Rahal while the team may run a fourth car potentially for either two-time Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato or Katherine Legge may return.
Finally, Team Penske has their drivers, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and 2023 Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden.
ABEL
- RC Enerson
Andretti
2. Colton Herta
3. Kyle Kirkwood
4. Marcus Ericsson
5. Marco Andretti
Arrow McLaren
6. Pato O’Ward
7. David Malukas
8. Alexander Rossi
9. Kyle Larson
AJ Foyt Racing
10 Santino Ferrucci
11. Sting Ray Robb
Chip Ganassi Racing
12. Scott Dixon
13. Alex Palou
14. Kyffin Simpson
15. Linus Lindqvist
16. Marcus Armstrong
Dale Coyne Racing
17.
18.
Dreyer And Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports
19. Ryan Hunter-Reay
20. Conor Daly
Ed Carpenter Racing
21. Ed Carpenter
22. Christian Rasmussen
23. Rinus VeeKay
Juncos Hollinger Racing
24. Romain Grosjean
25. Augustin Canapino
Meyer Shank Racing
26. Helio Castronevess
27. Felix Rosenqvist
28. Tom Blmoqvist
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, assuming the team led by Bobby Rahal opts to have four cars in the field for this year, they could run Katherine Legge like last season, Juri Vips could be an option as could Stefan Wilson.
29. Graham Rahal
30. Pietro Fittipaldi
31. Christian Lundgaard
Team Penske
32. Josef Newgarden
33. Will Power
34. Scott McLaughlin
As it stands with the field oversubscribed by one car, one team and driver combination will be going home possibly two if Rahal does decide to run four cars.