Now less than two weeks out from the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500, where 300,000+ people will gather to watch 33 drivers compete to have their name added to the star-studded list of Indy 500 Champions. Drivers come from seven different states and 12 countries this year. They’ve worked their entire lives to get to this point. Let’s break down the 2017 Indy 500 Entry List.
Driver: Simon Pagenaud
Car #1
Hometown: Montmorillon, France
Age: 33
6th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Is a red wine and car enthusiast who owns a Porsche Cayman, several vintage muscle cars and a wine cellar in France.
Driver: Josef Newgarden
Car #2
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Age: 26
6th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Loves fashion and modeling. Was the only model in an eight-page spread feature in the spring 2016 issue of Pattern magazine.
Driver: Helio Castroneves
Car #3
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Age: 42
17th Indy 500 (3-time winner)
Fun Fact: Is one of only nine drivers, and the only active driver, to have won the Indy 500 at least three times.
Driver: Conor Daly
Car #4
Hometown: Noblesville, IN
Age: 25
4th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Conor’s face is one of several on the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s billboard in New York City's Times Square.
Driver: James Hinchcliffe
Car #5
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Age: 30
7th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Has a microbrew beer namedafter him: 'Hinchtown Hammer Down" brewed by Flat12 Bierwerks in Indianapolis.
Driver: Mikhail Aleshin
Car #7
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Age: 29 (until May 22)
3rd Indy 500
Fun Fact: Is also a famed guitarist in a Russian rock band.
Driver: Max Chilton
Car #8
Hometown: Reigate, England
Age: 26
2nd Indy 500
Fun Fact: Threw out the first pitch in the Indianapolis Indians' home game on May 12, 2017.
Driver: Scott Dixon
Car #9
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Age: 36
15th Indy 500 (2008 winner)
Fun Fact: Was selected in a worldwide poll among fans as one of the 33 greatest drivers in Indy 500 history.
Driver: Tony Kanaan
Car #10
Hometown: Salvador, Brazil
Age: 42
16th Indy 500 (2013 winner)
Fun Fact: In 2004, Tony completed 3,305 laps, making him the first IndyCar driver to complete every possible lap in the season.
Driver: Spencer Pigot
Car #11
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Age: 23
2nd Indy 500
Fun Fact: Won his first racing championship at the age of 10.
Driver: Will Power
Car #12
Hometown: Toowoomba, Australia
Age: 36
10th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Has won at least one IndyCar race in each of the past nine seasons.
Driver: Carlos Munoz
Car #14
Hometown: Bogota, Columbia
Age: 25
5th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Finished second place in the Indianapolis 500 twice in four starts.
Driver: Graham Rahal
Car #15
Hometown: New Albany, Ohio
Age: 28
10th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Youngest driver to win an IndyCar race at the age of 19 years, 93 days.
Driver: Oriol Servia
Car #16
Hometown: Pals, Spain
Age: 42
9th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Received his first off-road motorcycle when he was two years old.
Driver: Sebastian Saavedra
Car #17
Hometown: Bogota, Columbia
Age: 26
6th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Took his talents to Global RallyCross in 2016 but is back in an IndyCar for another go.
Driver: Sebastien Bourdais
Car #18
Hometown: Le Mans, France
Age: 38
7th Indy 500
Fun Fact: As of March, 2017, he has won a total of 75 races in his career.
Driver: Ed Jones
Car # 19
Hometown: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Age: 22
1st Indy 500 (Rookie)
Fun Fact: Won the 2016 Indy Lights championship in his second season in the series.
Driver: Ed Carpenter
Car #20
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Age: 36
14th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Is co-owner of Ed Carpenter Racing along with Tony George and Stuart Reed. Carpenter is the only owner/driver currently competing in IndyCar.
Driver: JR Hildebrand
Car #21
Hometown: Sausalito, California
Age: 29
7th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Serves as an adjunct lecturer at Stanford University’s vehicular dynamics program.
Driver: Juan Pablo Montoya
Car #22
Hometown: Bogota, Columbia
Age: 41
5th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Builds and flies model airplanes, also enjoys building and operating radio controlled cars/helicopters.
Driver: Sage Karam
Car #24
Hometown: Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Age: 22
4th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Is a big pet guy. Has three Goldendoodles and two cats.
Driver: Takuma Sato
Car #26
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 26
8th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race.
Driver: Marco Andretti
Car #27
Hometown: Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Age: 30
12th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Operates a successful real estate business in his “spare time”.
Driver: Ryan Hunter-Reay
Car #28
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Age: 36
10th Indy 500 (2014 winner)
Fun Fact: Co-founded Racing for Cancer charity in honor of his mother, who died of colon cancer in 2009.
Driver: Fernando Alonso
Car #29
Hometown: Oviedo, Spain
Age: 35
First Indy 500 (Rookie)
Fun Fact: In what came as a shock to many, Alonso skipped out on Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix and joined Andretti Autosport as a one-off for this year’s Indy 500.
Driver: Zach Veach
Car #40
Hometown: Stockdale, OH
Age: 22
1st Indy 500 (Rookie)
Fun Fact: Released his first book, ’99 Things Teens Wish They Knew Before Turning 16’ and has even appeared on NBC’s ‘The Today Show’.
Driver: Buddy Lazier
Car #49
Hometown: Vail, Colorado
Age: 49
20th Indy 500 (1996 winner)
Fun Fact: Since 2007, the Indy 500 is the only race Lazier has participated in.
Driver: Jack Harvey
Car #50
Hometown: Bassingham, England
Age: 24
1st Indy 500 (Rookie)
Fun Fact: Has already won ten driver championships and is on industry experts' lists as “one to watch”.
Driver: Pippa Mann
Car #63
Hometown: Ipswich, England
Age: 33
6th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Was the first female to win a pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when she won the pole for the Firestone Freedom 100.
Driver: Jay Howard
Car #77
Hometown: Basildon, England
Age: 36
4th Indy 500
Fun Fact: Also runs a driver-coaching program where he trains up-and coming drivers on skills and safety.
Driver: Charlie Kimball
Car #83
Hometown: Camarilli, California
Age: 32
7th Indy 500
Fun Fact: First driver to win the Verizon IndyCar Series with Type 1 diabetes.
Driver: Gabby Chaves
Car #88
Hometown: Bogota, Columbia
Age: 23
3rd Indy 500
Fun Fact: After winning the 2014 Indy Lights championship, Gabby moved on to the Verizon IndyCar Series, where he went on to win the Indy 500 Sunoco Rookie of the Year award and Indycar Rookie of the Year Title.
Driver: Alexander Rossi
Car #98
Hometown: Nevada City, California
Age: 25
2nd (2016 winner)
Fun Fact: Won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first rookie to win the 500 since 2001 and the first American rookie to win at Indianapolis since 1928.
Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines. Let's go racing.