Jim Ayello | IndyStar

Jim Ayello, jim.ayello@indystar.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- The momentum for a major shift in Indianapolis 500 qualifying is building. For the second time in a little more than a month, one of IndyCar's titans has come out in favor of guaranteed entries for full-timers at the Indy 500.

At Long Beach, Chip Ganassi joined rival owner Roger Penske among a growing list of paddock-members who believe the teams that keep the sport viable at the series' other 16 events should not be at risk of being bumped off the sports' grandest stage.

Matt Kryger/IndyStar

"(Roger's) still in front of me on this but not far," Ganassi told members of the media Sunday morning before the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. "He knows what it’s like not to be in that race. Thank god I don’t know what that’s like. But I would say I agree with him. I mean when you’re making the commitment all year for the series, I think a commitment is just that. A commitment is a commitment, you know?"

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Though the issue was discussed at the owner's meeting during February's spring test at Circuit of the Americas, Ganassi said he's unsure how the rest of the paddock feels about locking in full-time participants.

"I'll be honest with you, I hope they (agree)," the five-time 500 winner said. "I haven’t gone around taken a poll on that particular question, but I would think they would."

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What he does know, however, is that many fans won't be receptive to such a change. Many 500 traditionalists believe strongly that only the 33 fastest cars should participate in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, regardless of whether or not they're full-season entrants.

Furthermore, some fans still have nightmares about the controversial "25/8 rule" implemented in 1996 that widened the divide between CART and Tony George's newly formed Indy Racing League (IRL).

For those fans who have forgotten, blocked it out or are too young to remember, the rule called for 25 of the 33 positions to be set aside for IRL regulars while the remaining eight spots were open to remaining entries. The rule infuriated many CART drivers/team owners. As a result, many boycotted the 500, instead opting to participate in the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway.

Needless to say, these weren't happy times in American open-wheel racing, and many fans aren't eager to support anything that even vaguely resembles the 25/8 rule -- even if the motivations behind it are vastly different than they were 23 years ago.

Ganassi is sympathetic to that concern.

"I can appreciate that," he said. "I can appreciate fans who want it to be open. I think there should be some space to enter if you show up, to have a real shot at entering the race. But having said that, I can make an argument that at Indy, that you have that opportunity with 33 spots and only 24 or 25 full-time entries. I would think that’s plenty of room."

Last month, ahead of the season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Penske and team president Tim Cindric were adamant that full-time entries need guaranteed spots at the 500.

They argued teams that support the series year-round shouldn’t be subject to a punishment as harsh as not having a spot in the biggest race of the season – the one they count on to make their budgets work for the rest of the year.

“I think a full-time team that starts Day 1 and runs the full-season commitments, they have to be (locked in)," Penske said before calling upon series leadership to make a change. “This isn’t up to the teams. I think it’s up to the people who run the series. They have to understand the impact. The same people they’re calling on to support the TV package and everything, to race the next week – if their car doesn’t make the Indy 500, it’s a ricochet that affects the whole season. I hope they understand that.

"You have to step back and do what’s best for the series and take the individual egos out of it and make the right decision."