INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (MAY 23, 2025) – The Indianapolis 500 is rich with tradition, which includes the Miller Lite Carb Day. As the final opportunity to finalize car setup ahead of the Indianapolis 500, Friday’s two-hour practice session is always filled with drama and nervous anticipation. But no one on the Dryer & Reinbold/Cusick Motorsports team could have foreseen the roller coaster of emotions the day would bring – from topping the speed charts to an on-board fire that saw team members immediately mobilize to prepare for Sunday’s 200-lap challenge. 2012 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay placed the No. 23 DRR/Cusick Wedbush Securities Chevrolet P1 early in the session. But after 33 laps, Hunter-Reay felt cold liquid and saw smoke in the cockpit. In a heads up move, he brought the car to the end of pit lane, near fire personnel and his team – but not in the team pit box, where only the refueler would be wearing a fire suit. |
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| “The liquid I felt could have been fire-retardant after I hit the fire bottle (the on-board fire suppression system), but it just started smoking more and more,” said Hunter Reay. “It really caught my attention when I was in 4th gear and the cockpit started filling up with smoke. I just kept going, trying to keep the air speed up, and to get back to pit lane where there would be more help. I stopped short of the pit boxes and then I looked like Ace Ventura jumping out. We’re still analyzing how much damage has been done.” Meanwhile, the No. 24 DRR Cusick INVST Chevrolet driven by Jack Harvey continued to work on setup and traffic management through 49 (relatively) drama free laps. |
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| “We pretty much did everything we were hoping to,” said Harvey. “We were able to re-baseline car after all the work the team did this week, and I think it shows that we’re in a good window. What happened to Ryan is super unfortunate, but I know the team has the back-up car ready to go. I told the guys, whatever you need, just send guys from the 24 car to go and help. “The wind was quite strong today; I definitely had a couple of moments coming out of Turn One. But all the way around, I think we’re in a good window –even with the wind, we can be good on different ends of the track and still be quite happy. We’re as confident as we can be going into the race, whilst having a ton of respect for IMS. That’s what I’m really feeling right now.” At the checkered flag, Hunter-Reay had set the 11th best speed of the session at 223.525, with Harvey just behind in 12th at 233.515 mph. |