IndyCar Eliminates Open Entries Except Indy 500 Starting In 2027

IndyCar will do away with “Open Entries” for every race on the NTT IndyCar Series except for the annual 33-car Indianapolis 500 beginning in 2027. Forbes Sports Money was able to obtain a statement from IndyCar on April 25.

To keep the news in proper perspective, with the exception of Prema Racing in 2025, the entry lists for all IndyCar races other than the Indianapolis 500 hold IndyCar Charters.

It’s been quite a while since privateers have entered regular IndyCar Series events.

“Beginning with the 2027 IndyCar Series season, entry fields at all races outside of the Indianapolis 500 will be limited to chartered teams only,” the IndyCar statement said. “This decision was reached after thoughtful consideration with key stakeholders and, in particular, series suppliers who are making plans for the upcoming season as all parties look to build the series’ health and on-track competition.”

Reasons For The Decision

Key to this announcement is a new car and engine combination will be used in 2028. Much of the focus from series suppliers, in 2027, will be on that. Also, in 2028, Chevy and Honda are both able to utilize Charters, so the field is expected to increase to 27 beginning with that season.

Currently, there are 25 Charters that were granted by IndyCar. The Charter system is a way to guarantee participation in regular NTT IndyCar Series events while sharing in revenues with IndyCar. It is similar to the NASCAR Charter system, although NASCAR currently allows for four open entries per race.

IndyCar will continue to allow Open entries for the annual Indianapolis 500 to maintain the traditional 33-car starting lineup for the historic race that began in 1911. It should be noted that 33 wasn’t always the traditional number for starting entries.

History Of 33 At The Indianapolis 500

The first year for a 33-car starting lineup was 1934 with the rare exception of 1978 and 1997 when 35 cars started the race.

The Indianapolis 500 featured 40-42 cars from 1930 to 1933 before solidifying on the 33-car starting lineup beginning in 1934.

The extra entries are generally additional cars from existing IndyCar Series Charter teams. Privateers entered in the 110^th Indianapolis 500 include two cars from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and one entry from INDY NXT By Firestone team Abel Motorsports.

‘One-Off’ Teams Rare For Regular IndyCar Races

With the exception of Prema Racing, the last time a “one-off’ for a regular IndyCar Series race participated was 2018 to 2021 when Juncos Racing and Meyer Shank Racing were getting established in IndyCar. Those teams have gone on to become Charter entries in the series.

After unification between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car Series in 2008, one-off teams would enter IndyCar races other than the Indy 500, but other than the aforementioned teams, Open entries have been at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

From a business standpoint, the move will also help drive value in teams that own Charters, a key aspect when the system was implemented by both NASCAR and IndyCar.