Both Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports cars lead ahead of late race setbacks INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 25, 2025) – The Indianapolis 500 is the crown jewel of open wheel racing, with every driver hoping to get their face permanently enshrined on the famed Borg Warner trophy. For Indianapolis-based Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, that dream seemed within their grasp on Sunday, until lady luck shifted the cards. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 23 DRR Cusick Wedbush Securities Chevrolet) and Jack Harvey (No. 24 DRR Cusick INVST Chevrolet) both led the 109th running of the legendary race, with Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy 500 winner, leading 48 of the 200 laps. But despite an alternate pit stop strategy that appeared to have the pair heading toward a solid finish – and perhaps, victory – late race issues thwarted that plan. Skies around Indianapolis became increasingly threatening as pre-race festivities progressed, with light rain postponing the command to start engines by 42 minutes. The green flag was further delayed when a car near the front of the field tagged the front straight wall on the pace lap, but after a quick clean, the race finally started in front of a roaring crowd that neared 350,000. |
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| Hunter-Reay and Harvey settled in early, with Harvey pitting under an early yellow for fuel, and Hunter-Reay pitting under the second yellow for fuel and a front wing adjustment – putting the team on an alternate pit stop strategy that they hoped would play out at race’s end. With Harvey not pitting under the second yellow, he slotted into P5 as the race returned to green, and as stops continued, the 32-year-old Englishman sped into the lead, holding the top position for three laps before pitting for fuel and tires on lap 47. Hunter-Reay cycled to the front under yellow, with Harvey slotting into P7 as the race returned to green. In the middle of a scrum in the top six, Harvey placed himself in perfect position, taking third position as a two-car incident behind immediately brought out another yellow. Dashing in for fuel and tires near the end of the yellow, Hunter-Reay returned in P21 but with the team hoping they would be able to get to the finish on only two more stops. Harvey took the green in second position, with Hunter-Reay making quick moves into P17 – but for only a moment, as a spin mid-field sent the field back to yellow. When the race returned to green, a swarm of cars in the draft pushed Harvey back to P8 as the action settled in once more. Harvey climbed to P6 before pitting on lap 128, returning to the action in 18th with Hunter-Reay just ahead in 15th. By lap 138, pit stops and passes placed Hunter-Reay briefly into the lead before he too headed to pit lane – but quickly regained the top spot with 58 laps remaining, ticking off the laps with only lapped cars ahead with Harvey not far behind in P11. Hunter-Reay began reporting a push, then a vibration, but the veteran boldly held onto the lead before diving into pit lane 140 for what would be his final pit stop. |
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| But disaster struck for Hunter-Reay in the pit box, with fueling issues. The crew was able to get him back on track, but Hunter-Reay immediately reported issues with the car’s acceleration that sent him back to pit lane – and ultimately, out of the race. Meanwhile, Harvey, with a brake issue coming into pit lane, received a drive-through penalty for a pit speed violation that sent him back to P23. At the checkered flag, Harvey finished P22, with Hunter-Reay 24th. “We have a lot to be proud of today,” said Harvey. “We led laps, we were both passing cars, the strategy was looking good until it wasn’t, and that’s just the roll the dice that you play here – when you start where we did, you have to roll those dice. I had the brake issue and couldn’t slow down into the pits, which got us a drive through, so that was on me. I just feel like with this team, we could win it, so it’d be great to come back and do it next year.” “I’m just heartbroken – we had a chance to win this race today, with a car that hadn’t run a competitive lap before the race started,” said Hunter-Reay. “The DRR/Cusick crew did an amazing job to get the backup car ready for the race. And then to lead for 48 laps and be in position to win the 500 is pretty remarkable. It felt like the engine was starting to run out of fuel when I came through turn four for the pit stop. The final pit stop was good, and we were in the position we wanted to be with 31 laps remaining. But it felt like we were out of fuel and the engine stalled. But the Wedbush crew got me in the right spot today with strategy, and the car came together well as we made adjustments during the race – it felt very good the second half of the race. I think we would have come out of the pits with two back markers between myself and (Alex) Palou, and in the proper position to win the race. It’s just a heartbreaking scenario today. It’s going to take a while to get over this one.” At race’s end, Cusick focused on the positive takeaways from the day – leading the second most laps of the race, with two cars in contention for much of the way. “If you’d have told us Friday, when that car was in a million pieces, that we’d be leading halfway through and that we would be in front for 48 laps, we’d have taken that bet for sure,” said Cusick. “We were in position to contend for the win, just one of those things in the end. I’m super, super proud of the team, first and foremost – the DRR organization, the people, everybody in the garage and how hard they worked. They all believe they’re going to win. It’s kind of a gut punch when you work so hard and then just come up a little bit short – the next 364 days are going to be tough, but we’ll come back and we’ll try it again.” |