Losing two teams also means that to continue competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Chevrolet and/or Honda will need to welcome BHA and DRR to the family.

Things have been a bit sideways for Lotus DRR this season, and along with Team Barracuda-BHA, partings ways with Lotus gives both teams the chance to seek new engine partners. (Photo: LAT)

At 11 (Chevy) and 10 (Honda) full-time leases, both manufacturers have expanded their lease offerings for Indy (14-15 total for Chevy and 14 for Honda), and most—if not all--of those Indy-only leases have already been filled by their current teams.

It’s possible that a team like Michael Shank Racing, which announced its engineless entry for the 500 on Monday, could slot in to use a Lotus (provided one is offered), but for BHA and DRR, gaining access to something other than a Lotus for the month of May could be a major challenge.

Unless partnerships can be forged with a team like Ed Carpenter Racing that has expanded to an extra entry for the 500 and has yet to officially nominate its driver, BHA and DRR would have to pin their hopes on being rescued by Chevy or Honda with an un-planned Indy lease.

What the current reduction in Lotus-powered entries for Indy does to the total car count, provided the BHA and DRR leases aren’t assumed by other teams, could also play a role in how many cars attempt to make the race.

Despite the litany of questions to be answered, one thing is for sure: With all of Indy’s traditions in mind, the track and the series don’t want to see its reigning pole-sitter (Tagliani) and winning team (BHA) sitting on the sidelines without an engine when practice starts on May 12th.

And with Servia, who qualified on the outside of the front row last year, also serving as one of the more popular drivers in the series, expect a fair amount of pressure from every direction to help find engine solutions for both teams.

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett on Twitter.