The new engine manufactures and new cars have led to some of the best racing in quite awhile, but these three companies are reaching their limits as the Indianapolis 500 is right around the corner. Currently the entry list has 33 cars, 32 with engines and Michael Shank's lone engine-less entrant. While Shank did release Jay Howard to presue other options, he has not totally withdrawn from the attempting to make the race as he looks to secure a Honda or Chevrolet engine. Shank was one of the first teams to commit to Lotus last fall but that deal fell through. Both Ed Carpenter Racing and Newman-Haas Racing had cars on the entry list but Carpenter decided it would be best if he ran his lone car instead of two and Newman-Haas Racing seems to have decided, just like Shank, that Lotus would not be option.
That leaves IndyCar, IMS and the three engine manufactures at a tough crossroad. Two teams are interested in running but don't want Lotus, Honda and Chevrolet want to cap there engine totals at 15 and 14 respectively and the Speedway surely doesn't want this to be the first Indianapolis 500 since 1947 to have less than 11 rows of 3.
What will happen? I feel that the majority of fans want Shank to receive the engine that he wants, even if the higher powers in IndyCar and at the Speedway have to get involved. The other saving grace to this 33rd car situation would be if Dragon Racing or HVM run a Lotus for Jean Alesi. Even though Alesi has never raced on an oval, has been in only one serious race car since retiring from the DTM in 2006 when he ran a GT2 Ferrari F430 at Le Mans in 2010 and hasn't been in an open-wheel car since the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, he still wants to run at Indianapolis. My take is I would rather see Shank and Jay Howard get a shot than Alesi in any Lotus.
Considering where we are now, imagine if both Shank and Alesi end making it to qualifying? Right now it seems impossible and I can barely see it happening, but if it happens, and if is a big two letter word, then Bump Day gets some meaning to it.
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