INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – As registration opens up for this year’s Open-Wheels 500, the entries have started to flood in. Familiar names peppered in with new names guarantee excitement and thrilling events in all the build up to the big show on November 19th.
Apex Racing Team w/ I5G and 2019’s Open-Wheels 500 champion Michele Costantini heads the list aiming to become the first multi-time champion of the event. His teammate, the 7-time iRacing Indy 500 winner and 2022 Season 3 Indy Open Champion Brandon Traino (Apex Racing Team w/ I5G) also looks to add an Open-Wheels 500 championship to his trophy cabinet.
The Team I5G w/ART cars of Christopher Demeritt, Matt Pawelski, Christian Steele, AJ Burton, Jacob Oster, Alexis Newsome, and Brendan Lichtenberg lead a 9 car outfit who will all throw their hats in the ring to try and win their first Open-Wheels 500.
The most recent winner of the Open-Wheels 500, Hugo Olsson looks to defend his crown in his Powerslide Motorsports car. Olsson is a regular contender within IndyCar racing on iRacing, bringing a cool head that belies his young age and looks to defend his title and repeat the feat of 2020.
More high finishing Open-Wheels 500 veterans will try and get their first championship as well, with the likes of 2020’s runner up Adam Blocker and 2019’s runner up Liam Quinn looking to try to and place one spot better this year.
Other notable veteran entries include Private Label Team Hype cars of Connor Harrington, Joshua Chin, and Jason Brophy; Henry Bennett, Adam Crane, and others round out a skilled field of veterans.
Some other high profile drivers will be making their first attempt at the Open-Wheels 500. iRacing IndyCar stand outs Robert Maleczka III, Alexander L Russell, Wilson Neto, Austin Espitee, Niall McBride, and Bryan Carey will all look to add an Open-Wheels 500 start to their resume.
Recent IndyCar breakout stars and rookies to the event Alexander van de Sandt and Mitchell Welker will be looking to keep their momentum going into qualifying weekend with aspirations beyond just locking in to the field. Other notable rookies include the likes of Matt Hollibaugh, Evan Adams, Rob Unglenieks, and Andrew Marquez all attempting to qualify into the 33 car field.
Team Watson Racing enters with a strong line up of Cesar Cabral, Joshua Tucker, Mathias Strauss, Nicholas Sudik, and Kevin Birrell. Birrell is looking forward to his first attempt at the event saying “[I’ve] been getting to grips with the IR18 a ton this season, finishing off IIS in 6th place it looks like and hoping to keep up the momentum for the rest of the year”.
After emerging as an outfit in the 2020 Open-Wheels 500 with a strong run from Jesper Öhrman, Indy Alliance Racing will bring 2 rookie cars in AJ Musselman and newly acquired Seb Alexander.
While there is plenty of intrigue about the entry list for the Open-Wheels 500, the Open-Wheels Grand Prix has attracted star talent and World Championship experience. The Apex Racing Team will add to their numbers with the likes of Ben Fuller and Antoine Higelin highlighting not just the quality expected for 2022, but the international flair that the Open-Wheels 500 has attracted during its two previous runnings.
For interested participants, entries will be accepted between September 1 and October 15 by visiting https://Open-Wheels.com/Registration. Entries from all drivers are welcomed, and the entry form will be accessible until October 15 via Open-Wheels.com, the iRacing forums, the Open-Wheels 500 Discord, and Open-Wheels social media.
