Za pocetak, trenutno stanje sa potvrdjenim vozacima i timovima. Inace, oba proizvodjaca su se obavezala da ce obezbediti motore za po 18 klijenata sto znaci da teoretski mozemo imati 36 bolida ove godine u pokusaju da se kvalifikuju za jedno od 33 mesta na startu. Za sada imamo potvrdjeno 33 bolida:
INDYCAR: Sizing up the Indy 500 field
Thursday, 31 March 2016
Marshall Pruett / Images by LAT
The race to land a spot on the entry list for the 100th Indianapolis 500 has been reduced to two teams. KVSH Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports hold the keys to the final seats left for the 100th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," and both are expected to be filled within the next week or two.
There are a few other seats with drivers either penciled in or waiting for final confirmation, which means we could see some additional jockeying for rides before practice starts on May 16, but in most cases, the minimum number of 33 entries has been achieved. We have drivers ready to fill the open seats, and a few who would love to pry their way into any that become available if current deals fall through.
Engine supply is a limiting factor for the race as Chevy and Honda are not expected to support more than 34-35 combined entries. Chassis availability is also keeping the grid size close to 33. After the flights and crashes experience during practice for last year's Indy 500, teams are less inclined to press all of their spare cars into service, or to lease those cars to one-off Indy 500 entrants in need of equipment.
Many teams have spare cars, but are not willing to risk placing a driver in one of those DW12s and find themselves out of luck if the car is needed by one of their full-time drivers after a crash. Simply put, with no unused or unassigned DW12s to draw from, and a restricted number of engine leases available, the 100th Indy 500 will not see an overabundance of drivers trying to make the show.
Here's the confirmed (or known) grid as of March 31:
A.J. Foyt Racing
1: Jack Hawksworth, Honda
2: Takuma Sato, Honda
3: Alex Tagliani, Honda
Andretti Autosport
4: Marco Andretti, Honda
5: Townsend Bell, Honda
6: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda
7: Carlos Munoz, Honda
Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
8: Alexander Rossi (Rookie), Honda
NOTES: Andretti Autosport team manager Rob Edwards says there will be no more and no less than five cars from the combined Andretti-Herta effort.
Chip Ganassi Racing
9: Max Chilton (Rookie), Chevrolet
10: Scott Dixon, Chevrolet
11: Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet
12: Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet
NOTES: A rumored fifth Chip Ganassi Racing entry in partnership with Gary Peterson's AFS Racing program for Sebastian Saavedra, who raced for the team at the 500 last year (RIGHT), has been circulating. CGR managing director Mike Hull says there is nothing in place to run a fifth car. Peterson, who owns his DW12 chassis, is known to have spoken with a few different teams about running his car for the 500. Provided an AFS entry is solidified with CGR or another team, Indy would, in theory, have its 34th car+driver combo.
Dale Coyne Racing
13: Bryan Clauson, Honda
14: Conor Daly, (Rookie) Honda
15: TBD, Honda
16: TBD, Honda
NOTES: It's believed Pippa Mann will complete DCR's roster in the fourth entry, making the nominations for DCR's extra Indy entries more of a confirmation-in-waiting than a true rush by drivers to land the seats as KVSH and SPM are experiencing. Like Mann, current DCR driver Luca Filippi is also unconfirmed for Indianapolis, and its possible the Italian will continue with the team to contest his first 500. James Davison drove for the team last year and is known to have an interest in returning for 100th race.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
17: Sage Karam, Chevrolet
NOTES: Team owner Dennis Reinbold has been consistent in stating he only wants to run one car for Karam, despite being approached to run multiple entries for the 500.
Ed Carpenter Racing
18: Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet
19: JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet
20: Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet
KVSH Racing
21: Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet
22: Matthew Brabham (Rookie), Chevrolet
23: TBD, Chevrolet
NOTES: Every driver on the outside looking in is believed to have spoken with the team about partnering for its third entry. Gabby Chaves, Oriol Servia, and Stefan Wilson are among the names that have been mentioned as having interest in driving a third KVSH Chevy. And with Grace Autosport and Marotti Racing looking to partner with existing teams, the third entry would be a good fit for both first-time programs. Unlike Marotti, the Grace team has announced its driver, Katherine Legge, for the 500.
Lazier Partners Racing
24: Buddy Lazier, Chevy
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
25: Spencer Pigot (Rookie), Honda
26: Graham Rahal, Honda
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
27: Mikhail Aleshin, Honda
28: James Hinchcliffe, Honda
29: TBD, Honda
NOTES: Take all of the drivers names listed above for the third KVSH car and apply their interest to the third SPM Honda, which is run each year using the team's Indy Lights mechanics and engineers. NASCAR star Brian Vickers was also mentioned as a driver who expressed interest in the car by team co-owner Sam Schmidt, and it would be safe to assume the Grace and Marotti teams are also keen to work under the SPM banner.
Team Penske
30: Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet
31: Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet
32: Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet
33: Will Power, Chevrolet