After failing to qualify for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Graham Rahal has been tapped to compete for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in place of Stefan Wilson, who was injured in a practice crash on Monday.
Wilson, who was scheduled to compete in the team’s No. 24 Chevrolet, suffered a fracture of the 12th thoracic vertebrae after being struck from behind by Katherine Legge, resulting in a two-car accident in Monday’s practice.
According to the organization, the 33-year-old driver was transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital where he would remain overnight on Monday for further tests and observations.
Rahal, a 15-year veteran of the NTT IndyCar Series, will take over the driving duties of the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Cusick Motorsport entry for the remainder of the week’s on-track action, including Sunday’s 200-lap contest.
“First, my thoughts are with Stef Wilson,” Rahal said in a Tweet on Tuesday. “This isn’t how we wanted to get into the race and I’m honored the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Cusick Motorsports have given me this opportunity. I can’t thank Honda and Chevrolet enough for working together to allow this to happen. May is crazy, and this is just another example. We’ll be ready to get to work on Friday.”
The 34-year-old driver has scored four top-10 results in 15 starts in the Indianapolis 500, including a pair of third-place finishes in 2011 and 2020. Sunday will mark the first time since 2012 that Rahal will run the event for a team other than Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Rahal will join Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as a teammate to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500, an event in which the organization has found past success in with drivers Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci.
