Josef Newgarden picked up his first Long Beach victory and Team Penske now has as many IndyCar victories through three races in 2022 as it had in the entire 2021 season. Elsewhere, but I guess in the same place, Chip Ganassi had a reason to be happy on Saturday. It rained and snowed at Martinsville. There was a grand slam performance at Melbourne. Max Verstappen broke down again. The track changes at Albert Park were bland, though the Supercars had a few incidents. World Superbike had a good season opener. Ducati dominated the MotoGP show in Austin. Marc Márquez stayed on the bike. Jimmie Johnson broke his wrist. The Indianapolis 500 a topic of conversation and there is an open spot at that table of 33. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Who Should be the Indianapolis 500 Start-and-Park?
Irony is not lost on anyone following IndyCar that at one of the highest points for the series with 26 full-time and competitive entries 2022 marks one of the most difficult years to find 33 entries for the Indianapolis 500. Making it even stranger is we already have 32 entries lined up and are over a month away until qualifying weekend. How hard could it be to fill one more entry?
The answer is very.
While IndyCar entries have increased over the last two years despite the global pandemic and financial difficulties that have come along with it, the teams are operating at the limit. When it comes to crew members, extras are hard to come by and there are barely enough for the 26 full-time operations, making additional entries a Herculean task.
With teams maxed out and the entry list not even at 33 entries yet, no one is interested in running an extra car. Andretti Autosport has said it is staying with five cars for Indianapolis. A.J. Foyt Racing said it will not run beyond its three full-time competitors. Dale Coyne Racing isn't doing it. Honda has even said it does not want to field 18 engine programs as it already has 17 committed for the month of May.
With Chevrolet on 15 entries, it would make sense if it could field the extra car, but none of those teams are expressing willingness to be the 33rd entry. Juncos Hollinger Racing plans to focus on its one entry as it looks to make its Indianapolis 500 return, the team's first entry in the event since its famous Bump Day performance putting Kyle Kaiser in the field and bumping out Fernando Alonso's McLaren entry. Ed Carpenter Racing is already running three cars. Arrow McLaren SP is fielding an extra entry for Juan Pablo Montoya. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is even fielding two one-off entries for Santino Ferrucci and Sage Karam.
Team Penske ran four cars last year and supported a fifth with Paretta Autosport, but the team is unwilling to field an extra this year despite only having three full-time entries as the Penske organization is preparing the Porsche LMDh program and has many crew members once available for IndyCar focused on Penske's sports car racing future.
There is plenty of interest. Beth Paretta would like to return. Stefan Wilson has the funding to come back but cannot get a car. Top Gun Racing and R.C. Enerson are going through a messy divorce and custody battle over the DW12 chassis the pair used in its failed qualifying effort last year.
Along with Wilson and Enerson, Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Katherine Legge, Zach Veach, and Simona de Silvestro, with the Paretta entry, are all names linked with an Indianapolis 500 entry. The interest is there but the resources are not. A lack of resources has not been an uncommon problem for Indianapolis 500 entries in the last decade. However, the better part of the last five years have been a high-water point for this race in the 21st century. There has been bumping and plenty of drama with notable entries in peril on qualifying weekend.
Hinchcliffe missed out in 2018. Alonso missed the following year as did the entry Carlin organization with Patricio O'Ward and Max Chilton. Last year saw Will Power in the Last Row Shootout, and Power survived qualifying, making the field despite brushing the wall. Bumping adds drama to the qualifying weekend and increases attention on the entry grid. IndyCar would survive not having bumping this year. It has survived most of the last two decades without bumping, but it would be a tough loss.
But how would IndyCar do without a 33rd entry?
There were many years during the Indy Racing League where it didn't look like 33 entries would happen and yet every Indianapolis 500 since 1948 has seen at least 33 entries line up on race day. It is naïve to think the 33rd entry will happen no matter what, but history is heavily on that side of thinking. But are we willing to accept that the 33rd entry could be a glorified start-and-park entry because of the dearth of resources in the IndyCar paddock? Would 32 full-fledged going for victory be any worse than 32 all-out entries plus one field-filler?
Most people wouldn't notice if there were only 32 cars starting at Indianapolis. Hell, we technically had only 32 cars take the green flag in 2015 when Conor Daly broke down on the pace laps. We only had 30 cars see the green flag in 1997. Plus, the grid is already a jumbled mess coming to the green flag that none of the start photos look all that beautiful. No one would notice the missing car on the last row in the parade lap photos either. The world will keep turning.
However, I do think it is better for IndyCar's psyche if a 33rd car was out there. It would not have that blemish in the record book, and while IndyCar does have its own problems to address in terms of manpower, engine leases and chassis availability, it would be one less mark the series would have against it.
IndyCar is a punching bag at times. It doesn't need to give any outsiders more ammunition. It already has to face the possibility of Jimmie Johnson winning the Indianapolis 500 and having the NASCAR crowd laud it over them for the rest of eternity while falling behind Formula One in popularity in the United States. For IndyCar's emotional well-being, 33 entries, even if one is for show, is necessary.
It might be tough for some of these drivers to accept the start-and-park entry. Maybe it could be the high downforce entry. You cannot trim it out, you are expected to let the leaders pass and not challenge for position and you have no shot at winning the race. I don't think Stefan Wilson, Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe would want that seat. But there are plenty of drivers out there that would love to say they raced the Indianapolis 500 or make another start in the Indianapolis 500.
I was not the only one thinking this way ahead of the Long Beach race weekend. J.R. Hildebrand threw out running Mario Andretti or Tony Stewart in a ceremonial entry. Andretti would do it, but I think IndyCar would come off worse if the likes of Andretti ran the 33rd entry for two or three ceremonial laps. It would come off like a farce having an 82-year-old in the race 28 years after his last Indianapolis 500 start. It would be too much of a gimmick and people would deride IndyCar for doing it.
Stewart would also be a gimmick, but Stewart will only be 52 years old on race day. It will be 21 years since Stewart's last Indianapolis 500 start, but Stewart still runs regularly in sprint car racing. He is still an active competitor. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing courted Stewart for a legitimate Indianapolis 500 entry in 2019. Stewart in the race would feel more authentic. I don't think Stewart would do it, but Stewart would be able to do more than five laps and actually look like a competitive car. He wouldn't want to be out there with no chance to win, but I think he could run 190 to 195 laps and not be a hazard out there.
Who would be a legitimate Indianapolis 500 start-and-park/field-filler entry?
It has to be someone who A.) Doesn't care about that he or she will not win and would be happy to be there. B.) Would be willing to move out of the way when told and not risk wrecking a race car.
I have a few options. Not all of these are legitimate.
1. Buddy Lazier: Not the sexiest entry, but Lazier is a past Indianapolis 500 winner, he has experience with the DW12 chassis albeit without the universal aero kit and aeroscreen, and he was practically the Indianapolis 500 field-filler in his last four Indianapolis 500 starts in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. He has done the role before, and one more start would give him 21 Indianapolis 500 starts. I don't think any of us would mind. We didn't mind it in those four other years.
2. Jacques Villeneuve: Another past Indianapolis 500 winner, and also a World Drivers' Champion, Villeneuve was practically a field-filler in this year's Daytona 500, though he had to qualify for that race this February, but Villeneuve would seem game for it. It was wonderful when he returned to Indianapolis in a surprising entry in 2014 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. I think Villeneuve would see how cool it would be to run the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Not many drivers get to do that. He stayed out of harm's way at Daytona. He could definitely do the same at Indianapolis.
3. Bruno Junqueira: This isn't a splashy entry, but Junqueira twice had his ride bought out from underneath him in a three-year period. He hasn't made an Indianapolis appearance since he lost his ride in 2011 to Ryan Hunter-Reay. I think he deserves one more Indianapolis 500 start. I think Junqueira is one of the most underrated talents American open-wheel racing talent saw in the 2000s, joining the landscape at a fractured time. Need I remind everyone he qualified for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 with about eight practice laps and his qualifying time was seventh-fastest that year and he also won the pole position in 2002 at 231.342 mph? That pole position time still ranks as the 21st fastest all-time qualifying speed for an Indianapolis 500 entry. This entry would make amends for the past.
4. Paul Tracy: This isn't the greatest idea in the world, but Tracy would do it. He would get the attention he craves, and he would at least generate waves ahead of the race. One of the reasons he did step away from the broadcast booth was because he wanted to do more racing. He did the Superstar Racing Experience last year, will run SRX again this summer, and said he wanted to run an LMP3 entry in IMSA this year. He is 53 years old, but Tracy, for all his questionable past behavior, would be smart and not harm himself or any of the other competitors. The NBC broadcast would love it and Tracy would be a willing in-race analyst.
5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: This one will not happen, but think about it for a second. Jimmie Johnson is already in the race. Imagine grabbing Earnhardt, Jr., arguably NASCAR's most popular driver ever, and having him run the Indianapolis 500. The ratings would shoot through the roof.
Earnhardt, Jr. isn't going to do it. He knows better, but he could run a car at race pace for a few stints. He has that capability in him. He could get out of the way when the leaders were approaching, they could set up the car so he would always be in control. He wouldn't have to run the entire race, but if he gave it a good 120 laps, 300 miles and then pulled off when the race entered its critical phase and then was a commentator for the final 200 miles on the NBC broadcast after being in the race, it would be a great television and he would bring a hands-on insight that even James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell could not despite their past Indianapolis 500 experience. Earnhardt, Jr. would know what it was like on the circuit and how each driver raced.
There would be zero expectations if Earnhardt, Jr. ran the Indianapolis 500, he would fully embrace the honor and privilege to run the Indianapolis 500 and it would be a great chance for this entry to be the behind-the-scenes car and allow access during the practice week, qualifying and race that the viewer never gets to see. I think Earnhardt, Jr. would be as open as possible during the entire process, and it would be a massive opportunity for IndyCar to receive increased exposure.
I think three of the five above are legitimate possibilities, but if the 33rd entry for the Indianapolis 500 is going to be a filler, it mind as well be the best damn filler IndyCar can get.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Josef Newgarden, but did you know...
Charles Leclerc won the Australian Grand Prix, his second victory of the season.
Enea Bastianini won MotoGP's Grand Prix of the Americas, his second victory of the season. Tony Arbolino won the Moto2 race, his first career Moto2 victory in 22 starts. Jaume Masià won the Moto3 race.
The #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Sébastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande won the IMSA race from Long Beach. The #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin of Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas won in GTD Pro. The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow won in GTD.
Chaz Mostert won the bookend Supercars races from Melbourne's Albert Park while Shane van Gisbergen won the middle two races.
William Byron won the NASCAR Cup race from Martinsville, his second victory of the season, and Byron also won the Truck race on Thursday night. Brandon Jones won the Grand National Series race.
Mitch Evans swept the Formula E races from Rome.
Marvin Musquin won the Supercross Triple Crown race from St. Louis with finishes of second, first and second. Chase Sexton won the first race and Eli Tomac won the third race.
Jonathan Rea won the first World Superbike race from Aragón but Àlvaro Bautista won the following two races. Lorenzo Baldassari and Dominique Aegerter split the World Supersport races.
Ryō Hirakawa and Tomoki Nojiri split the Super Formula races from Fuji.
Coming Up This Weekend
NASCAR is running its Bristol dirt race on the night of Easter Sunday.
Supercross has a matinee Saturday show at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Super GT opens its season at Fuji.
European Le Mans Series opens its season at Circuit Paul Ricard.
GT World Challenge America opens its season at Sonoma Raceway.
