RYAN HUNTER-REAY SETS FIFTH FASTEST SPEED IN HOT, WINDY CONDITIONS AT THURSDAY’S INDY RUNS IN NO. 23 DRR/CUSICK MOTORSPORTS WEDBUSH CHEVY
Jack Harvey
2014 Indy 500 Champion records a 223.983 MPH at IMS, Harvey goes 220.843 Thursday afternoon
By: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Photos Courtesy Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
SPEEDWAY, IN (May 15, 2025) – After two days of rainstorms delayed on-track activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hot and windy conditions greeted the 34 drivers as they prepared for Saturday’s qualification runs at the May 25 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
But, despite the tough conditions, the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports Wedbush Chevrolet driven by 2014 Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay showed speed early Thursday with the fifth fastest clocking of the day at 223.983 miles per hour.
It was a busy day for Hunter-Reay and his crew as the team attempted a variety of settings through the six-hour practice session which concluded with a 15-minute pit stop practice for all teams.
Hunter-Reay and his teammate Jack Harvey, in the No. 24 No. 23 DRR/Cusick Motorsports INVST Chevrolet, took to the famed 2 and ½ mile oval at different times during the afternoon to work on both race trim and qualifying settings as their mounts will receive extra horsepower for Saturday and Sunday qualifications.
Hunter-Reay completed 35 laps during his Thursday practice circuits with the 223.983 m.p.h. timing as his best of the day, while Harvey took in 55 laps with a best speed of 220.843 m.p.h.
“It was definitely hotter today, and there were challenging conditions,” said Hunter-Reay, the 2012 NTT IndyCar Series champion. “But we are going to have challenging conditions for the next few days. Again, we were trying some big swings at the car today. One of them didn’t work, so we had to go back to the garage to reset the car. We validated that and went back to where we like the car. Then we went back and reset the car for qualifying trim, and we got out and got some runs in qualifying trim. So, we got the big boxes checked off today. Friday is going to be very interesting with the wind and added horsepower for qualifying. We were able to work on pit stops today again, and those seemed better. We just have to get ready for qualifying now.”
“It was a good day on the whole,” Harvey said. “I don’t think we are the fastest car, but I don’t think we are slowest either. Knock on wood. I think Ryan and I are super close in speed which is encouraging. We ran at different times of the day, and you can make an argument on who had the worst conditions in the afternoon. We did some qual setup early and then ran race settings later. I really appreciate the hard work of the INVST crew today. We went out late with some 45 minutes to go and baselined everything in the car. I think we have found something that works pretty well. Now we feel like we have good baselines for qualifying and race trim. Today was the hottest we have had this week, and we will be looking for more mechanical grip now. I think that will be our focus moving into Friday.”
“Fast Friday,” a popular day during the month of May at IMS, brings the final round of practice prior to Saturday’s qualifying attempts with action from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT at the historic “Brickyard.” The all-important qualifying draw for Saturday’s runs will take place at 6:15 p.m.
