Dreyer & Reinbold Racing hires Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and Conor Daly for this year's race
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Hunter-Reay and Conor Daly will be competing in this year's Indianapolis 500 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, the team announced Thursday.
Hunter-Reay will drive the No. 23 Chevrolet as he attempts to qualify for his 16th start in the race. The 2014 Indy winner and 2012 series champion finished 11th on the Brickyard's 2.5-mile oval after qualifying 18th with DRR last May. He has six career top-10 finishes at Indy.
“I’m thrilled to be back and ready to build on where we left off last year," Hunter-Reay said in a statement. “We had a very strong showing at the ‘500’ last year, and if it were not for a failed front wing adjuster early in the race, I truly feel we would have been fighting in the top five to the finish.”
Daly, a 32-year-old Indy native, will attempt to make his 11th start in the 500. This year's race is on May 26.
He finished sixth in 2022 and eighth last year. The son of former driver Derek Daly and stepson of Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles will be driving the No. 24 Chevrolet after competing for Ed Carpenter Racing in each of the past four 500s.
Daly also drove in last year's Daytona 500 for Floyd Mayweather's team. He finished 29th.
“When Dennis first called me, he told me he believed I could win the Indy 500, and all he wanted going into 2024 was the best chance to win as a team,” Daly said. “As a driver, what more could you want?"
The two were part of a midseason change last summer when Daly and ECR split up, and Hunter-Reay wound up replacing Daly in the No. 20 Chevrolet.
DRR also announced it will partner again with Cusick Motorsports, which fielded its first Indianapolis 500 entrant in 2021. Stefan Wilson of England drove last year for DRR/Cusick and qualified 25th, but an injury forced the team to replace him with Graham Rahal.
Wilson has qualified for five Indy 500s, all since his brother, Justin, died from injuries sustained during an IndyCar race in August 2015 at Pocono.
“I would like to thank Stefan Wilson for kickstarting this adventure back in 2021,” Don Cusick said. “Stefan’s contributions and commitment have been second to none, and he will forever be an integral part of our journey. We will support him however we can for the future.”
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