How many cars will IndyCar have in 2020? A look at the full-season, partial-season and 500-only field

INDIANAPOLIS – With the entire series and its most prized track now in the hands of its most successful team owner, it’s safe to say no IndyCar drivers had what you’d call a “quiet offseason” – despite it being projected as one as racing came to a close at Laguna Seca.

But as we stand now, just 12 of this year’s slate of 24 full-season entries – the most since 2015 – didn’t undergo any shakeup. Those that did range from the mundane (Santino Ferrucci swapping numbers within his own team and Colton Herta officially moving into what we can refer to as an Andretti ride) to neutral (Marcus Ericsson swapping teams) and full-fledged turnover (Arrow McLaren SP, A.J. Foyt Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing all rolling out brand-new two-driver lineups from last year’s season-opener).

But after the latest round of driver-team announcements these past two weeks, dust may be finally starting to settle, with only Carlin left to fill in its details for the rest of the program for the No. 31 car in regards to the series’ 24 full-season entries. And at the moment, 34 cars have been pledged to vie for a spot in the 2020 Indy 500.

Here’s where things stand around the paddock in what appears to be one of IndyCar’s healthiest years, entry-wise, in recent memory.

'A Different Breed': Inside IndyCar's 'audacious' 2020 brand campaign

Inside IndyCar's 'audacious' 2020 brand campaign IndyCar's 2020 slate: A detailed look at the 17-race schedule

Full-season list

This year’s 24-car group that plans to race in all 17 events is a two-car boost compared to the previous two years and three more than 2016-17, thanks to Jack Harvey moving into a full-season role with Meyer Shank Racing and Chip Ganassi adding a third car for Marcus Ericsson.

Those 24 include 13 Honda-backed entries (including car numbers):

►Andretti Autosport (5): Alexander Rossi (27), Ryan Hunter-Reay (28), Marco Andretti (98), Colton Herta (88) and Zach Veach (26)

►Chip Ganassi Racing (3): Scott Dixon (9), Felix Rosenqvist (10) and Marcus Ericsson (8)

►Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2): Graham Rahal (15) and Takuma Sato (30)

►Dale Coyne Racing (2): Santino Ferrucci (18) and Alex Palou (19)

►Meyer Shank Racing (1): Jack Harvey (60) via a technical partnership with Andretti

…and 11 from Chevy:

►Team Penske (3): Josef Newgarden (1), Simon Pagenaud (22) and Will Power (12)

►Ed Carpenter Racing (2): Rinus VeeKay (21), and Ed Carpenter on ovals; Conor Daly on road and street (20)

►Arrow McLaren SP (2): Oliver Askew (7) and Patricio O’Ward (5)

►A.J. Foyt Racing (2): Charlie Kimball (4), and Tony Kanaan on ovals; Sebastien Bourdais for four road and street; and Dalton Kellett for eight road and street (14)

►Carlin (2): Max Chilton on road, street and Indy 500, and Daly for four oval races (59); Felipe Nasr for St. Pete with an unknown driver for the remaining 16 races (31)

Partial-season list

Five teams have lined up extra entries that span at least one race outside of the Indy 500, including two that will appear in the season-opener and three for the GMR Grand Prix. Those Honda entries (including car numbers) are:

►Andretti Autosport (1): James Hinchcliffe (29) will drive in three races with his primary sponsor Genesys — the Grand Prix, the 500 and at Texas Motor Speedway.

►Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Citrone/Buhl Autosport (1): Spencer Pigot (45) will drive for this two-team partnership in the Grand Prix and the 500.

…and the three Chevy teams include:

►Team Penske (1): Scott McLoughlin (2) will make the jump over from his dominant run in V8 Supercars in Australia for his IndyCar debut at the Grand Prix.

►DragonSpeed (1): Ben Hanley (81) will appear at St. Petersburg and is the team’s only confirmed driver for its planned six-race schedule that also includes Long Beach, the 500, Texas, Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca .

►Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (1): Sage Karam (24) is slated to appear in three races this year, starting with St. Pete, as well as the 500 and Toronto.

Indy 500-only list

This group of six cars guarantees we will have some sort of bumping come qualifying weekend, with a confirmed car list at 34. The first five will be Chevy-powered, with details on the sixth still to-be-determined. Those are:

►Team Penske (1): Helio Castroneves (3) will make his third attempt at joining the illustrious club of four-time Indy 500 champions while not in a full-season entry in 2020.

►Arrow Mclaren SP (1): Fernando Alonso (66) returns to IMS after his team’s disastrous run in 2019 .

►Ed Carpenter Racing (1): Conor Daly (TBA) will make his only scheduled run on an oval in 2020 after running as high as fourth a year ago.

►A.J. Foyt Racing (1): Dalton Kellett (41) will make his first IndyCar run on the oval after finishing third three consecutive years in the Indy Lights race, 2016-18.

►Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (1): The team has announced it will field a second car in 500 qualifying, which it has done the past two years with J.R. Hildebrand but has not yet landed on a driver.

►Byrd Racing/Hayward Motorsports (1): Byrd announced in December that James Davison would attempt to appear in his sixth Indy 500 and try to join the select list of drivers that have competed in the famed 500-mile races at Daytona and Indianapolis in the same year, though he didn’t appear in the NASCAR event in February. Byrd has also said that this entry would be alongside a current IndyCar team which is yet to be announced.

Penske's planned impact for first 500: Increasing qualifying speeds, larger purse

Increasing qualifying speeds, larger purse Who's the best bet?: Team Penske dominates early Indy 500 betting odds

Where could extra cars for the 500 come from?

Dale Coyne Racing: The team has run three cars at the 500 every year since 2013, and the team has said a third car for the 2020 running is in the works. James Davison has run at least one race with the team over four separate seasons, including three 500s (2015, 2017, 2019), the last in partnership with Byrd. That option, of course, wouldn’t add to the 34 cars already entered. Still, there are other highly qualified drivers out there for them to work with.

Juncos: Mystery still shrouds the current circumstances of the team that bumped two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso out of last year’s race. The team debuted in IndyCar with two cars in the 500 in 2017 and had one each of the past two years with Kyle Kaiser. The team has not announced any 2020 plans yet.

Carlin: The second-year team attempted to qualify three cars into last year’s race, but only landed one, with Max Chilton and Patricio O’Ward bumped from the Last Row Shootout. Given that just 18 of the 34 races for their two full-season entries currently have an announced driver (Chilton), this could be a long-shot.

And who could fill those rides?

Sebastien Bourdais: It’s hard to imagine a 500 without one of the most decorated active open-wheel drivers out there, but he doesn’t bring a load of budget for a team scrambling to put something together.

Kyle Kaiser: It seems to reason that if Juncos manages to enter qualifying, Kaiser would be their guy after runs with them in two consecutive years, though he’s finished outside the top-25 in both his tries.

J.R. Hildebrand: The near-2011 winner has driven in the race nine-straight times, just once finishing outside the top-20 with four top-10s. He’s driven for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing each of the past two years and is said to be a contender for its second car.

Ben Hanley: The British racing veteran made his IndyCar debut in three races with DragonSpeed a year ago, including a 32nd-place finish at the 500. He’s already set to drive the team’s first of six planned races this year at St. Pete, and would seem a likely contender for the 500, too.

Oriol Servia: He would instantly be the oldest member of the field, but Servia seems a solid choice, given that he’s appeared in 11 of the past 12 Indy 500s. But since 2014, he’s partnered either with Rahal Letterman Lanigan or (what is now) Arrow McLaren SP — both teams which appear to be at their max for May.

Pippa Mann: She’s attempted to qualify for each of the past seven 500s, but Mann has been open on social media in recent months that her quest to return to the race appears a longshot at this point.

Danger vs. excitement: What IndyCar owners, drivers see in the dynamic of the sport's driving forces

Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.