“FAST FRIDAY” ACTION WARMS UP IMS OVAL FOR DRR/CUSICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS RYAN HUNTER-REAY & STEFAN WILSON

Both racers posted 230 mph plus runs preparing for Saturday’s Qualifying

SPEEDWAY, IN (May 19, 2023) – With the added turbocharger boost Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team worked exclusive on qualifying settings for this weekend’s qualifications runs in the “Fast Friday” practice session.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy 500 champion, recorded a solid 232.861 miles per hour Friday in the No. 23 DreyerReinbold.com Chevrolet for his best speed of the day, and Hunter-Reay will be the first qualifier at 11 a.m. EDT Saturday when the track opens for qualifications for the 107th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 28. The No. 1 qualifying position is the first time in the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team’s 24-year that the Carmel, IN-based squad has drawn the No. 1 spot.

Hunter-Reay’s youngest son, Rhodes, age six, was the lucky participant in the 34-car draw on Friday night at the IMS Pagoda. And Ryan gave out a large yell when Rhodes showed him the No. 1 chip.

Stefan Wilson, Hunter-Reay’s DRR teammate, piloted the No. 24 DRR/Cusick Motorsports/CareKeepers Chevrolet to a top speed of 232.570 m.p.h. and will qualify in the No. 24 spot Saturday afternoon.

While Friday’s conditions were warm and windy, Saturday’s weather report looks to be much cooler with wind coming from the north portion of the Speedway.

“We learned quite a bit today with the windy conditions,” said Dennis Reinbold, DRR team owner. “This is the first time in our team’s 24 years we have picked the No. 1 chip for qualifying. Thanks to Ryan’s son, Rhodes, for the special pick tonight. The weather conditions will be much different from Friday as it will be cooler. Hopefully, that first qualifying effort will be a good one for Ryan.”

Hunter-Reay, attempting to enter his 16th Indy 500 Saturday, admitted his crew tried a number of settings during Friday’s action but he was pleased with the last run of the day with his. No. 23 machine.

“Today was our first day really going after the qualifying trim with the added turbo boost. It was a trial-and-error day for us. We found things we didn’t like. But, at the end, we did find things we did like and what I needed out of the car. We were in the top 15 in the four-lap average today, so I’ll take that and move on to the first day of qualifying. You really couldn’t dial too much into it today with wind increasing later in the afternoon. You get to the point where it’s going to be so much different on Saturday that we need to see what we have right now. It’s going to be cooler, and the wind direction is going to flip 180 degrees. The good deal is my son, Rhodes, drew number one for qualifying. So, we are the first qualifier tomorrow morning. That’s the best we can ask for entering qualifying.”

“We also tried a variety of settings with the No. 24 DRR/Cusick Motorsports/CareKeepers Chevrolet,” Wilson said. “Ryan and I and our crews worked together throughout the day, and I think we found some good things at the end of the day. Now, we’ll go out and put together four good laps on Saturday. It’s been a good week with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports team.”

Qualifications on Saturday will have all 34 entries attempt to qualify begins at 11 a.m. EDT as positions 13 through 30 being secured for the May 28 Indy 500. Sunday’s qualifying will include a run for the position between the fastest 12 drivers from Saturday as well as the spots 31-33 for the Last Row.