The entry list is closed and more than 60 cars have been entered for the 2004 Indianapolis 500. The race is scheduled for May 30th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 33 fastest qualifiers will start.
Qualifications are set for May 15th, 16th and 23rd. The official entry list hasn't been released by the IRL yet, but some preliminaries are known.
Only two former winners of the 500 are listed as drivers for the entries received so far. They are, Al Unser, Jr., who won in 1992 and 1994, and Helo Castroneves, the winner in 2001 and 2002.
Gil de Ferran won last year for Team Penske but has since retired. Defiance, OH's Sam Hornish, Jr. has replaced him on the Penske roster. Hornish is defending IRL champion.
Former winner Eddie Cheever is entered as a team owner and is not expected to come out of retirement to drive.
Newman/Haas Racing is returning to the 500. The team, owned by Paul Newman and Carl Haas, hasn't raced at Indy since 1995, the year before the IRL was created.
The team bought an IRL G Force chassis during the winter and did some testing with former Indy pole winner Bruno Junquiera. The testing took place at Milwaukee.
Their entry didn't list a driver but Junquiera is expected to be behind the wheel. He and Rookie of the Year Sebastien Bourdais drive on the Champ Car circuit for Newman/Haas.
Cars in this year's 500 will have a new engine and aerodyamic setup.
Testing is going on this weekend at IMS for 13 teams. They will be testing a new, 3 liter engine. It will replace the current 3.5 liter engine the IRL has been using. The reduction in power plant capacity was announced in December. It is aimed at cutting power by 90 to 95 horses. Engine makers were able to reach the goal by redesigning the heads and mounting them on the same blocks as the larger engine.
The aerodynamic package doesn't sound like it will make a noticeable change in the appearance of the cars. The wide front and rear wings will remain. The aero rules for the Indy 500 are for that race only. They involve the use of quarter-inch "wickerbills" at strategic locations.
The goal is to make it possible for cars to pass each other and to keep them from getting airborne if they get turned around at high speeds.
The need for the changes were made evident last year with the death of Tony Renna in a testing accident and the severe injuries to Kenny Brack in a race. He has been sidelined recovering from the crash and hopes to enter this year's 500.
Last year, the pole speed topped 231 mph and 235 was seen as being reasonably possible for this year with the former engine/aerodynamic package. Nobody wanted to get too familiar with what could happen at such speeds.
The changes are expected to keep speeds below 230.
And it's all just seven weeks away.
Good Luck to Toby Hammond. Hammond is leaving Calvert High School to take over the football program at Port Clinton High School. PC school officials announced this week that Hammond had accepted the job and the school board was expected to complete the process at a meeting next Tuesday.
He had coached the Senecas since 1995 and was named Division VI Coach of the Year in 1998.
Hammond will be the Redskins' fourth coach in the past 5 years. In that time they have posted a record of 5-45 and last had a winning season in 1990.