Indianapolis 500 2012: The entry list

Flagship event of the calendar IndyCar, the 500 Miles of Indianapolis, 96th of the name, will be held on May 27, and will constitute the 5th round of the season, the first on an oval. Last night, the governing bodies revealed the entry list. A list of 34 participants on which we find, unsurprisingly, two French people, simon pagenaud and Sébastien Bourdais, who will respectively defend the colors of Sam Schmidt Motorsports and Lotus Dragon Racing. On the other hand, Jean Alesi, expected on the car from Newman/Haas Lanigan Racing, is still not on the official list. We can see a TBA appear in place of the driver of this team (to be announced). And if we are to believe the latest rumors, the Avignonnais will be there.

Three former winners will be present (Dario Franchitti in 2007 and 2010, Scott Dixon in 2008 and Helio Castroneves in 2001, 2002 and 2009). Castroneves will aim to join AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears, the only drivers to have won four times. There will also be three IndyCar champions (Dixon in 2003 and 2008, Franchitti in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and Tony Kanaan in 2004) as well as a Champ Car champion in the person of Sébastien Bourdais (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008) . Among the seven rookies are Rubens Barrichello, Bryan Clauson, Wade Cunningham, James Jakes, Katherine Legge, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud.

In numbers :
3 past winners: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010), Scott Dixon (2008).
4 polemen: Helio Castroneves (2003, 2007, 2009, 2010), Tony Kanaan (2005), Scott Dixon (2008), Alex Tagliani (2011).
7 rookies: Rubens Barrichello, Bryan Clauson, Wade Cunningham, James Jakes, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Katherine Legge.
11 departures for Helio Castroneves (most capped driver in the field)
15 drivers have won at least one race in IndyCar (or Champ Car or Cart)
21 years for Josef Newgarden, the youngest at the start
39 years for Rubens Barrichello, the oldest on the list, who will be 40 on May 23.

List of entrants
2 Ryan briscoe (Team Penske – Chevrolet)
3 Helio Castroneves (Team Penske – Chevrolet)
4 JR Hildebrand (Panther Racing–Chevrolet)
5 E. J. Viso (KV Racing Technology – Chevrolet)
6 Katherine legge ® (Dragon Racing – Lotus)
7 Sebastien Bourdais (Dragon Racing – Lotus)
8 Rubens Barrichello ® (KV Racing Technology – Chevrolet)
9 Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda)
10 Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda)
11 Tony Canaan (KV Racing Technology – Chevrolet)
12 Will Power (Team Penske – Chevrolet)
14 Mike conway (AJ Foyt Racing – Honda)
15 takuma sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan – Honda)
17 Sebastian Saavedra (AFS – Chevrolet)
18 Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing – Honda)
19 James Jakes ® (Dale Coyne Racing – Honda)
20 Ed carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing – Chevrolet)
21 TBA Chevrolet
22 Oriol Servia (Lotus Dreyer & Reinbold – Lotus)
25 Ana Beatriz (Andretti Autosport / Conquest Racing – Chevrolet)
26 Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport – Chevrolet)
27 James hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport – Chevrolet)
28 Ryan Hunter Reay (Andretti Autosport – Chevrolet)
38 Graham rahal (Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda)
39 Bryan Clauson (Sarah Fisher Racing – Honda)
41 Wade Cunningham ® (AJ Foyt Racing – Honda)
45 TBA (Rahal Letterman Lanigan – Honda)
67 Joseph Newgarden ® (Sarah Fisher Racing – Honda)
77 simon pagenaud ® (Sam Schmidt Motorsports – Honda)
78 Simona de Silvestro (Lotus-HVM Racing – Lotus)
83 Charlie kimball (Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda)
98 Alex Tagliani (Bryan Herta Autosport – Lotus)
99 TBA (Sam Schmidt Motorsports – Honda)
TBA TBA (Newman/Haas Racing – Lotus)