DRR / Cusick Motorsports Monday Practice Report

Source: Team PR

SPEEDWAY, INDIANA (MAY 20, 2024) – After rain affected several of last week’s practice sessions, Monday afternoon saw nothing but clear skies at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Cusick Motorsports took to the track for a two-hour practice session.
 
With the focus now shifted from qualifying to simulated race running for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, the team accumulated 325 miles between its two entries, gathering valuable data and setup information ahead of the final practice session later this week.

Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 23 VensureHR / 101 Studios / 6666 Ranch Quality Beef Chevrolet completed 75 laps with a best speed of 225.050 MPH, the 12th fastest speed of the day. Conor Daly in the No. 24 Polkadot Chevrolet completed 55 laps with a best speed of 224.922 MPH, ending just two positions behind Hunter-Reay in 14th.
 
“The team did a really good job,” said 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay. “We steadily progressed throughout practice, as this team always does. We kept chipping away at it and ended on a high note in our final run, which was not only our fastest, but also gave me the confidence I needed. Very hot conditions today, it should be a little nicer when we get to Carb Day. It was nice to finally get some pit stop practice in as well.”

“I feel very confident after today,” said hometown hero and longtime Indy 500 contenter, Conor Daly. “We had to cut our running a little short for an abundance of a caution, but happy to get a couple of full stints in. I felt really good in traffic and the team did a great job in turning the car around from qualifying. Pit stop practice was awesome as well, so I look forward to getting a couple of good runs on Carb Day and we’ll be good to go.”
 
“Our pit stops today were really solid,” commented Dennis Reinbold, owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “If we can duplicate those in the race we will be in a good place and should be able to gain some spots in the pits. We were pretty good in race trim with both cars today, and with another step in fine tuning we’ll be strong in the race. We should be competitive and be able to run with anybody on Carb Day and Race Day.”
 
“I love seeing these cars in race trim,” noted Don Cusick, Founder and CEO of Cusick Motorsports. “The best part was seeing Conor smile when he got out of the car and how happy he was with it, and I know he’ll be great on race day moving forward from 29th. Ryan continues to show his strength as well and I’m super pumped for race day and feel like we have a good shot with both cars.”
 
The team has one practice session remaining on Friday, May 24th. The green flag for the Indianapolis 500 will fly at 12:30pm EST on Sunday, May 26th on NBC.