Centennial Indy 500 Entry List Released

[Matthew Little]

Speed Channel: 2011 Indy 500 Entry List

The entry list for this year's running of the Indianapolis 500, the 95th and Centennial Edition of "the Greatest Spectacle in Racing", was released by IMS officials Thursday and for the eighth consecutive year, there was an increase in the number of entries. Below are the highlights.......

95th Indianapolis 500 Entry List
~~Newman-Haas Racing(2): #2 Oriol Servia, #06 James Hinchcliffe(R)
~~Team Penske(3): #3 Helio Castroneves(W), #6 Ryan Briscoe, #12 Will Power
~~Andretti Autosport(4): #7 Danica Patrick, #26 Marco Andretti, #27 Mike Conway, #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~Richard Petty Motorsports(1): #43 John Andretti
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2): #9 Scott Dixon(W), #10 Dario Franchitti(W)
~~Ganassi-Snake Racing(2): #38 Graham Rahal, #83 Charlie Kimball(R)
~~Panther Racing(1): #4 J.R. Hildebrand(R)
~~KV Racing Technology(4): #5 Takuma Sato, #59 E.J. Viso, #82 Tony Kanaan, #07 Tomas Scheckter
~~A.J. Foyt Enterprises(1): #14 Vitor Meira, #41 Bruno Junquiera
~~AFS Racing(1): #17 Raphael Matos
~~Dale Coyne Racing(1): #18 James Jakes(R)
~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(4): #11 Davey Hamilton, #22 Justin Wilson, #23 Paul Tracy, #24 Ana Beatriz
~~Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan Racing(2): #30 Bertrand Baguette, #88 Jay Howard(R)
~~Conquest Racing(1): #34 Sebastien Saavedra
~~Sarah Fisher Racing(1): #67 Ed Carpenter
~~Sam Schmidt Motorsports(2): #77 Alex Tagliani, #99 Townsend Bell
~~HVM Racing(1): #78 Simona de Silvestro
~~Bryan Herta Autosport(1): #98 Dan Wheldon(W)

Un-Named Entries
~~#8 Dragon Racing
~~#16 Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan Racing
~~#19 Dale Coyne Racing
~~#36 Conquest Racing
~~#44 Panther Racing
~~#57 Sarah Fisher Racing
~~#89 China Racing

(4)Indianapolis 500 Winners: Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti
(7)Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award Winners: Helio Castroneves, Tomas Scheckter, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Alex Tagliani, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simona de Silvestro
(3)Indianapolis 500 Female Entrants: Danica Patrick, Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro
(4)IndyCar Series Champion Entrants: Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan
(5)95th Indianapolis 500 Rookie Entrants: J.R. Hildebrand, James Jakes, Jay Howard, James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball
---Youngest Entrant: Sebastien Saavedra, 20yo
---Oldest Entrant: Davey Hamilton, 48yo
---Most Indy 500 Starts: John Andretti, 11 starts

 

[Galahad]

41 entrants, is that right? That's an impressive tally. Good to see Tony Kanaan get a drive too.

 

[Brogan]

Unnamed entries?

What are those then?
And why do they have names if they're unnamed?

 

[Galahad]

Unnamed entries?

What are those then?
And why do they have names if they're unnamed?

I assume teams with no drivers confirmed yet? The cheque's in the post, etc.

 

[Brogan]

Doh!
I assumed name was related to the team/entrant

Time for coffee I think...

 

[MCLS]

So that's where Sato ended up.

 

[Matthew Little]

41 entrants, is that right? That's an impressive tally. Good to see Tony Kanaan get a drive too.

That sounds about right, Galahad. Its' a far cry from 2002, when there were only 32 or so entries and they had to pretty much scrape the bottom of the barrel to get a 33-car field(that was also the year that Tony George made his infamous remark about how "33 is just a number...........").......

 

[Matthew Little]

I assume teams with no drivers confirmed yet? The cheque's in the post, etc.

That'd be about correct, Galahad. All an unnamed entry is one that a team puts into the entry list for the 500 minus the driver. As for who could be tapped for those entries............the only ones I can think of at the moment would be Buddy Rice in either the RLL or Panther entries, Sam Hornish, Jr. in either the Dragon or Panther entries and Pippa Mann in the Conquest Racing..........

 

[Matthew Little]

I assume teams with no drivers confirmed yet? The cheque's in the post, etc.

Speaking of unnamed entries, scratch the second Conquest entry from the unnamed list...............

Speed Channel: Mann Joins Conquest At Indy

Conquest Racing has announced that Pippa Mann will drive for the team in this year’s Indianapolis 500.

The British driver joins Sebastian Saavedra to complete Conquest Racing’s line-up for the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500, where Mann will make her debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series driving the #36 car.

The team will be looking to secure two of the 33 available grid slots, in a year where 42 entries have so far been confirmed for the race.

Mann, who was last year’s Freedom 100 polesitter and the first and only female to win a pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, spoke about the announcement:

“Having the chance to compete in the Indy 500 is something that we have been working extremely hard to bring to fruition over the winter. I tested with Conquest Racing earlier this year and given how well that test went, we have since been working tirelessly to put this deal together. The past few months have been a rollercoaster ride for me, and I’m just thrilled that we’re now able to tie things up.

“There are a lot of entries for the race this year, so it’s a somewhat interesting time to be a rookie, but my qualifying record on super speedways is good and I’m definitely up for the challenge. For obvious reasons, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of my favourite ovals, so I can’t wait to get out there in the #36 car and see what we can achieve.”

Conquest Racing team owner Eric Bachelart added: “I am delighted to confirm Pippa alongside Sebastian for the Centennial edition of the Indy 500. Pippa is a natural on ovals and we could judge how good she is when we tested her about six weeks ago in Texas. She has been part of the team since then and we are all looking forward to working with her at the Speedway this year.”

Mann enters the IZOD IndyCar Series off the back of a strong Firestone Indy Lights campaign with Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2010, where the British driver scored three pole positions, four top five finishes and a dominant win, seeing her finish fifth in the driver's championship.

Mann will be the fourth female confirmed as one of the 42 entries for next month’s Indy 500, but she will be the first ever British female to be on the entry list for the 500-mile race.