Carson Hocevar will not take part in this year’s Indy500 and the chances of any NASCAR interest at Andretti Global appear to be over.
The iconic race will go down in 2026 on Sunday May 24, with Andretti Global having originally planned to run four cars.
With Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports outfit so tightly linked to Andretti, the man they call ‘Hurricane’ had expressed interest in an Indy500 bid earlier this year. It would have meant him pulling double duty with the Coca-Cola 600 taking place in Charlotte on the same day.
But now we know that NASCAR’s young sensation from Portage, Michigan is off the menu with Towriss confirming that fact to respected AP reporter Jenna Fryer. And she has also confirmed that Andretti is now reverting to its three-car plan.
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Towriss rules out Hocevar Indy500 bid
Fryer, writing on social media, reported: “Dan Towriss said Andretti Global will field a 4th #Indy500 car regardless of if it’s [Colton] Herta or not. “There’s no shortage of drivers, and not just from IndyCar.”
“The only driver he ruled out was “Hurricane Hocevar.” (Towriss’ name for him, not mine.)”
F2 calendar change a Herta blocker
The reason Herta may not have been an option any more for a fourth Andretti car is a surprise scheduling change from the FIA, which has now added two F2 races to its May calendar. Those races will take place in Miami on May 3 and Montreal on May 24.
The second of those two races - at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Canadian city - clashes with the Indy500 and leaves Herta double booked as things stand.
The two new F1 races have been added following the cancellation of earlier rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
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