INDIANAPOLIS
Greenwood businessman Dennis Reinbold’s team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, had a mixed afternoon at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
The good news? Driver Conor Daly of Noblesville finished 10th, his fourth top-10 finish at Indianapolis.
The bad news? Former 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 26th after an incident with Scott Dixon.
Daly led 22 laps in his DRR Cusick Motorsports Polkadot Dallara-Honda, marking the third time he has led an Indy 500. He led 40 laps in 2021 and seven the following year.
“What a wild day,” Daly said. “I love racing at the front. So thankful to have a chance to compete for DRR Cusick Motorsports Polkadot. A one-off team in the top 10 is a huge accomplishment. We even got a trophy for it.”
Hunter-Reay had a wild ride on Lap 109 when he came upon Scott Dixon.
Dixon went low and touched wheels with Hunter-Reay, sending Hunter-Reay into a spin on the grass. The 2014 champion gained control and drove his car to the pits, but the damage to his DRR Cusick Motorsports Vensure Dallara-Honda was too great to continue.
“We really struggled with the car’s balance, and it was a real handful,” Hunter-Reay said. “I had a really good time this month, but I was just too loose in the race.”
Hunter-Reay was also surprised at the move of Dixon, one of the more respected drivers in the field, and even more so that there was no penalty assessed.
“I don’t understand. I’ve been racing him for two decades,” Hunter-Reay said.
For his part, Dixon said he didn’t know what happened and if it could have been avoided.
“There was no room to go and then I was kind of looking to the right just so at the last minute when he hit me,” Dixon explained. “I he was pretty deep in the grass at that point. I haven’t looked at the replay yet to see if there was anything I could have done differently apart from pulling out of his way.
“But that’s not the way you race.”
