Six winners are among the 35 drivers assigned to cars entered for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Three-time winner Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009) and single winners Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016) and Takuma Sato (2017) are the past winners aiming for another victory this year in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
The total of 35 drivers also will result in intense competition for the 33 starting spots, with bumping expected to occur for the first time since 2011 in a sign of continued growth for the “500” and the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend is scheduled for Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 on the 2.5-mile oval. Thirty-three cars will earn a spot in the starting field on Bump Day on Saturday, with their starting positions determined Sunday on Pole Day, including the thrilling Fast Nine Shootout to determine the first three rows of the starting grid.
Four drivers will compete for Sunoco Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors: Pietro Fittipaldi, 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires champion Kyle Kaiser, 2017 Freedom 100 winner Matheus Leist and Robert Wickens.
Fittipaldi is the grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi. He joins Marco Andretti, the grandson of 1969 winner Mario Andretti, as a third-generation driver attempting to add to a family’s winning legacy.
Danica Patrick will attempt to make her eighth and final start in the “500” and her first since 2011. Patrick, the top-finishing female driver in the history of the race, is retiring as a driver after this event.
Reigning race-winning team Andretti Autosport has fielded the most entries for this year’s race, with five. Team Penske, the most successful team in “500” history with 16 victories, has entered four cars.
All of the drivers will compete in the exciting new-look car for 2018, featuring a sleek universal aero kit with less downforce that has created even more exciting, competitive racing through the first four events of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
Practice opens Tuesday, May 15.
Visit IMS.com to buy tickets and for more information about all Month of May activities at IMS.
2018 ENTRY BREAKDOWN
Winners (6): Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato
Rookies (4): Pietro Fittipaldi, Kyle Kaiser, Matheus Leist, Robert Wickens
American drivers (14): Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, JR Hildebrand, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kyle Kaiser, Sage Karam, Charlie Kimball, Josef Newgarden, Danica Patrick, Spencer Pigot, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi, Zach Veach
International drivers (21): Max Chilton, Jack Harvey, Jay Howard, Pippa Mann, Stefan Wilson – England; Helio Castroneves, Pietro Fittipaldi, Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist – Brazil; James Davison, Will Power – Australia; James Hinchcliffe, Robert Wickens, Canada; Gabby Chaves, Carlos Munoz – Colombia; Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud – France; Takuma Sato – Japan; Oriol Servia – Spain; Scott Dixon – New Zealand; Ed Jones – United Arab Emirates
Engines (35): Honda 19, Chevrolet 16
IMS PR
