INDIANAPOLIS — One of the best stories in this year’s 108th Indianapolis 500 starting lineup is 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, who starts 12th in his only IndyCar start of the season for Dreyer & Reinbold/Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Hunter-Reay made the Fast 12 and locked himself into a decent starting position for the team that only competes in the Indianapolis 500.
Hunter-Reay’s four-lap average in Sunday’s Fast 12 qualifications was 230.567 mph, placing him 12th — the outside of Row 4 alongside Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global and two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
His confidence was boosted even more with a productive run in Monday’s two-hour full-field practice session.
“We made some really good headway on Monday,” Hunter-Reay said. “I was pretty happy with it. This track changes so much with the conditions.
“The conditions on Monday were about as bad as you could get. It was a bit windy, really hot. Track temp was through the roof. If track temp comes down a little bit, I think it might actually make everybody a little bit better. I don’t know if that’s a good thing.
“I’m pretty happy with the car at the end of the session, just in time. Looking forward to Carb Day. Looks like weather is maybe cooperating at the moment.”
Hunter-Reay is still racy in his later years but has had a tremendous career in IndyCar including the 2012 NTT IndyCar Series championship and a thrilling victory in the 2014 Indianapolis 500.
A family man who lives in South Florida, Hunter-Reay likes his current schedule because he still gets to compete in the Indianapolis 500.
That makes him a perfect fit for Dennis Reinbold’s racing operation that competes in one IndyCar race a year in the 500-Mile Race, whole concentrating its efforts in Nitro Rallycross.
“It’s something we focus on all year long,” Hunter-Reay said. “Coming back with a team that really just focuses on this race.
“Our viewpoints and our focus are aligned in that regard, so it’s cool. It’s really cool to be able to be at the shop in March and see the car I’m going to run sitting there with all the body fit and all that stuff.
“I’ve got a lot of experience preparing for this race. I know the things I need to push in the off-season, the things I need to push two months out, a month out. Just go through that process.
“It’s always an absolute pleasure being on track here, being here during the month of May. It’s an absolute privilege. Feel very thankful every time I have the opportunity.”
With so much experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it helps Hunter-Reay get up to speed quickly when he returns for the 500.
“With the experience over years comes a lot that I can rely on and a lot that I can lean on, absolutely it helps,” Hunter-Reay said. “Like these guys are right in the middle of race season fit. They’re in it, racing week in and week out. There’s a little bit of catch-up to do on that side.”
This is team owner Dennis Reinbold’s 25th year as a team owner and Hunter-Reay has been impressed with the effort and operation at Dreyer & Reinbold.
It’s a first-class IndyCar operation that competes in the one big race every year after it was a full-season participant for many seasons.
“First of all, Dennis’ passion for this race is second to none,” Hunter-Reay said. “That’s really cool. That drives a lot of the motivation in the team.
“The guys on the team, the crew and everything, they’ve been with all the biggest teams, all the big ones. I’ve worked with a lot of them in the past. They really enjoy focusing on Indy like that.
“It’s a quality group of people. This is what really their year revolves around. Yes, they have the Rallycross side of it, all that they do, which they do a really good job at obviously. For big-time, top-level stuff, this is it. This is the one they really focus on. It means the world to them.
“It means the world to me. It’s a good fit.”