IndyCar boss: Prepare for Indy 500 bumping, as tradition of 33-car field will be honored

INDIANAPOLIS — Coming this May to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway near you: Bump Day.

With 33 entries confirmed and at least a couple more on the horizon, there will be more cars on pit road than spots in the starting field.

And make no mistake: If the car count expands to 34, 35 or even 36 cars, there will not be a corresponding expansion of the starting grid. In a recent conversation with IndyStar, IndyCar CEO Mark Miles guaranteed that only 33 cars will fire up their engines come Memorial Day. No more, no less.

“Honestly,” Miles said, “It never even occurred to us to go beyond 33. There will be qualifying, and there will be 33 cars. … It’s one of the traditions. Eleven rows of three is a symbol of the event, a bit like milk for the champion. Exceptions have been very infrequent and due to special circumstances.”

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Three times since 1934 has the Indy 500 field not sat at 33, most recently 1997, but 2018 will not be the fourth. Around IMS, 33 is a sacred institution — not that Miles has been a slave to tradition. After all, he is the one who negotiated moving the 500 away from ABC for the first time in more than 50 years. He’s also the man who parted with tradition and put Indy cars on a road course at IMS.

So while honoring custom is one of the key reasons Miles and IndyCar aren’t willing to widen the field, it isn’t the only one. The other, of course, is the drama and tantalizing anxiety created by the return of Bump Day, which hasn’t had a true presence in May since 2011 (though there were 34 cars in 2013 and 2015, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Buddy Lazier never made qualifying attempts). With a stacked field of high-quality entrants, it seems assured that at least a couple of veteran names will be at risk of not making the race, along with a few rookies and lower-budget entries.

That would make for quite a show, and one the fans deserve to see, said a few IndyCar veterans, who embrace the return of bumping.

Qualifying for the 500 was once a sacred part of the spectacle, of the allure, said seven-time entrant Charlie Kimball. The desperation to earn a spot among the hallowed 33 was part of what made the 500 the greatest race in the world.

“You don’t have to qualify for Daytona or the Monaco Grand Prix or Le Mans,” the Carlin Motorsports driver said. “If you have an entry, you get to race. At Indy, you have to put up to make the show. Or you go home. That’s part of what makes this race so special.”

But in a fragile motor sports economy, some are questioning the wisdom of sending home teams and sponsors with nothing more than empty pockets and a pat on the back. At minimum, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to put together an entry for the 500. Does it really behoove IndyCar to turn away willing and paying participants?

Miles’ answer to that question was as direct as it was brief: They know the stakes. And a former 500 champion agrees with IndyCar's boss.

“Talk to Mario (Andretti) or A.J. (Foyt) or any of the older guys,” said 2013 winner Tony Kanaan. “They were around in times when they sent people home all of the time. People didn’t always used to make the show, and that’s OK.”

Even if it means turning away sponsors?

“They understand the risk they’re taking,” Kanaan said.

Another former champion, Scott Dixon, is a little less gung-ho about Bump Day than his former Chip Ganassi Racing teammates. He respects the tradition and understands why it should be honored but remained open to the idea of a bigger field.

“It would be interesting to see if they decided to open the field a little bit,” said the 2008 champion, who looks at IndyCar's conundrum as a glass half-full situation. “Bumping is a classic part of the history of the speedway, and it’s sort of great to even have that opportunity. It shows the sport is growing in a time when sports are slowing down pretty heavily.”

Dixon is, of course, correct. There was a time in the not so distant past when IndyCar had to scramble to fill out the field. One, two or even three additional entrants would seem to indicate the sport is growing, but it's fair to ask: How long will that growth last if teams are sent home with empty pockets? How many times will teams and sponsors put hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line, knowing they may walk away with nothing? What if, on Bump Day, they leave IMS and never come back?

The brief, direct answer: IndyCar knows the stakes.

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Facebook: @jimayello