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April 10, 2003
Only 34 sets of cars will compete for 33 starting spots at next month's Indianapolis 500.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesman Ron Green on Thursday attributed the decline to the teams' trouble in securing sponsors in a rough economy. He also cited this year's new chassis and engine specifications, which are renewed on a three-year cycle.
The 67 entries -- with 34 main and 33 backup cars -- for the 87th Indy 500 were postmarked before the April 2 deadline, race officials said.
The list so far contains just 28 drivers, but more are expected as the May 25 race approaches, and several backup cars most likely will be used for qualifying attempts.
Last year's list included 89 cars, with the number of car-driver combinations ranging from about 37 to 45 over the last five years, Green said.
In 1947, the race had just 30 starters, three below the traditional field size.
The number of entries at the Indy Racing League event has been boosted in the last couple years as teams in the rival CART series raced at Indy or switched to the IRL.
No regular drivers on this year's CART circuit are entered for Indianapolis.
This year's driver list features five former Indy 500 winners. Defending two-time champion Helio Castroneves hopes to become the first driver in race history to win three years in a row.
One noteworthy absence from this year's entry list is former winner Eddie Cheever Jr., the 1998 winner. He said Wednesday he will not drive in this year's race, although his team has entered four cars. His decision ends a streak of 13 consecutive starts at the Indy 500, the longest among active drivers.
Also not on the driver list is Paul Tracy, who finished second in the 2002 race after his late pass of Castroneves was disallowed. Tracy is racing full time in CART this year.
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