Liverpool clinched the Premier League championship with four matches to spare. Marc Márquez's biggest rival is Marc Márquez. Jerez is an underrated venue. Meanwhile, we got a simulation of Madrid's Formula One track, and everyone is thrilled about it. There was a photo finish that proved to be inconclusive but we had to live with the winner anyway. Supercross found a new gem and it could have a few more new venues come 2026. There was testing in Indianapolis. Kyle Larson hit the wall. Team Penske was fastest. Now we wait, but these final days of April have been on my mind.
Different Days Leading Into May
I was thinking about this last week ahead of the Indianapolis 500 test. We know everything about those attempting this year's race. We have known all 34 entries since March 11th when Takuma Sato confirmed his return with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. There was an outside chance of a 35th entry, but over the last six weeks enough teams decided against fielding an extra car, and Katherine Legge took her funding to NASCAR.
There are 34 entries and that is a good thing. There have been plenty of years where we weren't sure there would be 33 entries. It was only three years ago a 33rd entry had to be scraped together. We should never see any negativity in 34 entries. I don't care that one car goes home. Don't want to go home? Beat one car. That is all it takes when there are 34 entries. It is different though that we aren't even in the month of May and we know all the entries.
It should be noted this has been the norm really since the start of the DW12-era in 2012. There was a time when we would get to May 1 and we only knew 29 entries. There were times we didn't get entries formalized until May 16. Many things have changed.
Along with the spec chassis and engine leases, we also have one qualifying weekend. Gone are the days when a team would have one entry comfortably in the field and then the backup car would be open for another driver to try and make the race on the second weekend.
Even the way we qualify cars and what car can re-qualify has changed the game. Teams entered multiple cars because if one car made the race and was then bumped that car could not be re-qualified. That team and driver had to attempt with a different chassis.
In a sense, the Indianapolis 500 has become more efficient and more realistic. Those years when there were 86 cars entered were lies. There were 36 or 37 legitimate entries, most of those teams had T-Cars, which were counted, and then you had teams with an extra entry or two in case of emergency.
I went back and looked over some years not too long ago just to refresh my memory.
In 2007, John Andretti's ride with Panther Racing was not confirmed until May 16. That was not on anyone's radar. On the same day, Roger Yasukawa secured the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry after Sarah Fisher had qualified 21st on the second qualifying day the previous weekend. Richie Hearn was confirmed in the Hemelgarn Racing entry the following day, as was Alex Barron with the Beck Motorsports entry.
In the following year, John Andretti wasn't announced as a replacement for Jay Howard at Roth Racing until May 10, and Andretti didn't make his first lap until May 14. In 2009, Tomas Scheckter secured the second Dale Coyne Racing entry on May 15. Bruno Junqueira secured the second Conquest Racing on May 16.
We have seen late deals in the DW12-era. Buddy Lazier's 2013 attempt was not formalized until May 12. It looked like there would only be 33 cars in 2013 until pole day when Katherine Legge and Schmidt Petersen Motorsports organized a 34th entry. Lazier and Legge made the race. Michel Jourdain, Jr. missed the race despite having his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing organized before the start of May.
It isn't only the middle of May deals we do not see anymore. Everything is locked up practically at the start of the IndyCar season. There was a time when some of the early deals would start coming up during the Long Beach weekend. Dan Wheldon's entry with Bryan Herta Autosport was not announced until April 16 at Long Beach in 2011. Buddy Rice's return with Panther Racing that same year was not announced until April 29, not Long Beach weekend but still in the lead up to the month of May.
It is different. It is fine. There was excitement though when each week there could be an announcement. Some were surprises. Some deals we knew were the works and the "i's" and "t's" had finally be settled. This year, we have known for the last two months that there would be no surprises.
With how IndyCar is in 2025, that is probably for the better. Everyone is focused on Indianapolis now to the point where every entry is running at 230 mph to make the race! It is highly competitive to qualify. When you don't have six entries getting settled in the final two weeks before qualifying, anything late in the game doesn't have a prayer. We have seen the unfathomable before, but for the cost, it is too much of a gamble. Every entry now requires over $1 million, over $1 million to get around $200,000 at minimum as a payout for starting the race. Only the top two positions would cover all expenses of a one-off attempt.
The qualifying format also plays a role. There are two days and you must qualify the first day. There is no bump day where a team can decide to roll the dice. We cannot get Tony Stewart 2004 shenanigans in 2025. We cannot get A.J. Foyt Racing deciding to spoil Arie Luyendyk, Jr.'s party and call Felipe Giaffone at a Babies "R" Us to come qualify the car. It is a loss though. There is a bit of whimsy in something being created out of the thin air and all of a sudden a team and driver are in the Indianapolis 500 against all expectations.
It is ok that the times are different. If the economics changed and it only cost $100,000 to attempt the Indianapolis 500... well that's never going to happen, but in theory we could see more entries come out of the woodwork. If the economics changed and sponsors were less weary to commit to deals in December, January and February we could see later deals, but that is a bad reason for such a change. Always remember to be careful for what you wish for.
This has been the way for the over a decade, but it is one of those changes you couldn't really notice until enough time had passed. I don't know if the late deals made the event feel bigger. Comparing then to now it is still 34 or 35 drivers working on Indianapolis 500 entries. The difference is we saw the wheels in motion on some of those final deals because those drivers were hanging around during practice week. We knew there were spots open and drivers working to get a shot. All that business is now done long before winter turns into spring.
Lamenting what is gone is good for a moment. It places where you are in the present. It should not take over because it can blind you from the good that is around you. Change does not equal loss. Acknowledge the positives that are around especially where it is rosier.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Liverpool, but did you know...
Álex Márquez won MotoGP's Spanish Grand Prix, his first career MotoGP victory. Marc Márquez won the sprint race. Manuel González won the Moto2 race, his second victory. José Antonio Rueda won the Moto3 race, his third victory of the season.
Austin Cindric won the NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega. Austin Hill won the Grand National Series race.
Lucas Auer and Ayhancan Güven split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Oschersleben.
The #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW of Connor De Phillippi and Kenton Koch and the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG of Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis split the GT World Challenge America races from Austin. The #68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota of Gresham Wagner and Tyler Gonzalez won the three-hour GT4 America race. Kyle Washington and Justin Rothberg split the GT America races.
Kalle Rovanperä won Rally Islas Canarias.
Cooper Webb won Supercross race from Pittsburgh, his fifth victory of the season. Tom Vialle won the 250cc race.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar opens May at Barber Motorsports Park.
Formula One opens May in Miami.
Monaco kicks off the month of May with Formula E.
NASCAR has a race in Texas.
European Le Mans Series will be at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Super GT has a holiday race weekend in Fuji.
World Superbike is scheduled for a weekend in Cremona.
Supercross heads into the Rockies and Denver specifically.
