Conor Daly and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, the surprise package at the Indy 500?

It's a classic Indiana affair, and one that seems to be working well for now! Conor Daly, who set the fastest time on the first day of testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late April, finished third overall over the two days in his Dallara-Chevrolet for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. The Carmel, Indiana-based team is once again putting its faith in the Noblesville native, after a top-10 finish in the 2024 edition, where he led 22 of the 200 race laps.

Along with fellow Indiana native Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly would likely receive one of the biggest ovations in the history of the event if he were to win on May 24th. And despite his and his team's "interim" status, there's a real chance the 34-year-old driver will be fighting at the front of the pack, and perhaps even take the victory.

In 2025, Ryan Hunter-Reay, winner of the race in 2014 for the Andretti team, came very close to repeating the feat, as he was part of the leading group and even led the race before stalling during his final pit stop. While Dreyer & Reinbold Racing only competes in the Indianapolis 500, Dennis Reinbold makes a point of maintaining his teams year-round, and therefore all the focus is on the two cars entered each year in May (Briton Jack Harvey will be driving the second DRR car).

For the first test run since the 2025 race, the car Number 23 already seems to be in good shape, as its driver explained: “The car hadn’t run since May. We arrive here and the car is really fast. I can feel it has a bit of that natural speed that we want and desire so much here on this circuit. The last two runs were, I think, very telling signs. I drove with Takuma (Sato), Santino (Ferrucci), (Álex) Palou and Pato (O’Ward), it’s a pretty solid group of drivers. I felt we were able to take better advantage of the slipstream than anyone else. I was in a 20-30 lap tire window. It was quite competitive.”

Between Daly, who is preparing to compete in the Indy 500 for the thirteenth time, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, which won the first race the team participated in in IndyCar In 2000, things continued to go well. While his car already seemed very competitive from a technical standpoint and close to the one he would be using in May, the American was counting on the week of testing before the race to allow the rest of the team, from mechanics to engineers, to get up to speed optimally. It's not easy, after all, to compete in a field where the other teams are used to making pit stops at race pace all year round…

“I think it’s probably harder for the mechanics and the people who aren’t maybe quite full-time. It’s tough, I mean, being thrown straight into a race that’s our Super Bowl and having to make sure everything is perfect all the time. It’s tough. For us, I think it’s just second nature. Experience is, I think, super crucial here, super important, and super helpful. For me, I’m ready to go right now. I’ll take every possible day of testing because it’s always helpful. I think it’s also super helpful for all the members of the team.”

While some teams, like Chip Ganassi Racing, will bring different cars for May, with more time spent optimizing airflow over the bodywork, Conor Daly will have to make do with the same car when testing begins on May 12. With DRR working exclusively on the Indy 500, the car is receiving constant fine-tuning, and to top it all off, the driver and team already have a well-developed plan for improvements before the race.

“We know immediately how to improve. I think that’s what excites us the most. Again, as I mentioned earlier, the last two runs were really encouraging, just with a full tank of fuel and tire degradation. Being able to run close to good cars was ideal. But I already know what I want to be different. I think my engineer does too.”

Perhaps, as sometimes happens in the history of the Indy 500, David will be able to beat Goliath this year, and Conor Daly might get to drink the bottle of milk promised to the winner. Believe us, if that were to happen, the entire circuit would shake with the jumps, shouts, and cheers of 350,000 spectators…

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