Ken de la Bastide: Little 500 entries promising lots of excitement

Jan. 30—Within days of accepting entries for the 76trh running of the Little 500, it was announced by Anderson Speedway there are 34 entries.

The race is scheduled to take place May 25 with the 33 fastest drivers starting for the grueling and exciting 500 laps around the quarter-mile oval.

Among the entries are four race winners including Jake Trainor, the defending race winner who scored the victory in his rookie season.

Kody Swanson — a three-time winner with victories in 2016, 2018 and 2019 — is entered along with two-time winner Tyler Roahrig — the 2021 and 2022 victor — and 2020 winner Bobby Santos III.

There are eight rookies entered for the classic with 500 Sprint Car Tour rookie of the year Jackson Macenko entered along with USAC regular Kaylee Bryson, who will drive a second Sam Pierce entry with Tanner Swanson as a teammate.

Other rookies entered include Nathan Byrd, Brady Allum, Anthony Nocella, Jerry Kobza and Garrett Sanders.

USAC champion Justin Grant is returning for a second attempt at winning the Little 500 for Hoffman Racing, and Logan Seavey is returning.

The field is full of drivers who have a chance of adding their name to the list of winners including Caleb Armstrong, Dakota Armstrong, Billy Wease, Emerson Axsom, Shane Hollngsworth and Kyle O'Gara.

The only entry list includes drivers from 10 different states, and with plenty of time before pole day May 23, the entry list is likely to surpass 40 teams.

Drivers expected but not entered as of Tuesday include Brian Gerster, three-time winner Jeff Bloom and Taylor Ferns.

Local drivers entered include Travis Welpott and Donnie Adams Jr.

The 76th running of the race should prove to be exciting for the fans as teams look to lock in to the starting field on pole day and bump day May 24.

Teams will get a chance to tune-up for the Little 500 when the 500 Sprint Car Tour kicks off its third season with the running of the 24th Glen Niebel Classic on April 6, joined by the Kenyon Midget Series.

O'Gara scored the victory in the 2023 Niebel Classic followed by Ferns and Dakota Armstrong.

IN OTHER RACING NEWS

Fan-favorite Tony Kanaan, the 2013 winner of the Indianapolis 500, and two-time Indy winner Juan Pablo Montoya have been elected to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

This past weekend I watched a lot of the Rolex 24 race at Daytona for IMSA sports cars.

It was a close contest for the overall win, but a scoring error shortened the race by one lap.

Roger Penske's team emerged the winner with 2023 Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden as one of the four drivers.

The NASCAR season kicks off this weekend with the made-for-television Busch Clash taking place once again at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Not my favorite event, which will have qualifying and heat races Saturday and the Clash on Sunday night on FOX.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.