Daly’s estimate of $1.2 million with sponsorship from the United States Air Force is on the high end, while Shank’s figure of $800,000 is more realistic. The top teams in the NTT IndyCar Series spend upward of $10 million a season to field an entry in the full NTT IndyCar Series season with the elite teams in the series — Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport — spending more than that.
This year’s Indy 500 entry list could get as high as 36 or 37 cars, depending on deals that have yet to be completed.
“We had 35 cars at last year’s Indianapolis 500 and I’m confident we’ll have more than that this year,” Frye said.
With a more compressed schedule for qualifications, and the number of entries that are very competitive, big-name drivers are at risk of not making the field if they have a bad day during qualifications.
That happened to James Hinchcliffe at Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports last year. Hinchcliffe and Pippa Mann were the two drivers who failed to make the field.
The engine manufacturers — Honda and Chevrolet — also have a volume issue to contend with that involves two price-points.
“I did the one-engine deal for the month in 2017 and that worked fine,” Shank said. “We actually lost an engine that year, and Honda replaced it.”
Shank would not reveal what his engine deal was worth, but said it was a “six-figure deal.” Best estimates by others is around $150,000 for the one-engine lease.
Lining up with a top team is a two-sided opportunity. For the one-off driver, it’s a chance to compete in the Indianapolis 500. But what does the big team get out of it?
“Revenue,” Shank said. “I’ve got X-amount of money, I can give them this much and meet my obligations on my side and the existing team gets to put the money away and doesn’t have to worry about that part of the team because my guys are taking care of the car. It’s a satellite thing for the big team owner and we are using inventory that would be sitting on their shelf.
“The other important thing is technology,” Shank added. “Data transfer is huge and speed tricks at Indy are huge. To try to come there as an independent and run the Indianapolis 500 is very, very tricky.”
In 2017, McLaren partnered with Andretti Autosport and Honda to run Fernando Alonso at Indy. That is when McLaren was using Honda engines in Formula One. After an acrimonious breakup with the engine manufacturer in F-1, there were no Honda prospects for McLaren in its return to Indy this season.
As a result, the team will run Chevrolets and partner with Carlin, which fields full-time IndyCar Series entries for Max Chilton and rookie Patricio O’Ward.
“Just having Carlin will be a huge step, and by the way, Chevrolet is involved, too, so they aren’t going to leave them swinging on a vine,” Shank said. “That is a whole different hybrid program, right there. They have been working on the GM simulator since last fall and that is what I would come to expect from Alonso.”
Shank had originally planned to compete in the Indianapolis 500 when he bought a car in 2012 and had a deal with Lotus. The engine struggled and Shank cut his losses by selling the car to Sam Schmidt.
“I just didn’t want to do it after I saw the situation Lotus was in,” Shank said. “Personally, I always wanted to do the Indy 500. When I was growing up, I wanted to drive Indy cars and run Indy cars.
“It finally came around for us. It wasn’t our time yet. Now, it is.”
Shank remembers the romanticized idea of ambitious men building an Indy car in their garage.
“Those days are long gone, my friend — you and I aren’t going to do that anymore,” Shank said. “In this series, you used to be able to count on five or six guys struggling or having issues.
“There is nobody that doesn’t deserve to be driving in the Indianapolis 500. There is nobody here that doesn’t have the experience. The intensity of this program is three times what we do in IMSA. It’s incredible.”