Indy 500: 3 drivers most likely to be bumped

Indy 500 drivers most likely to be bumped: No. 2 – Stefan Wilson

Last year’s 33rd and final entry to materialize was the No. 25 Chevrolet, fielded by DragonSpeed, which had previously competed in the Indy 500, and Cusick Motorsports. Stefan Wilson, who competed in the race three times prior, was the driver of the car.

This entry ultimately didn’t even get to make a qualifying attempt, but it didn’t matter since there were only 33 cars in the field and therefore Wilson and the team were locked into the race simply by being on the entry list.

Don Cusick’s team is back in 2023, but in partnership with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. With all due respect to Elton Julian’s organization, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is a step up from DragonSpeed, as they are generally one of the top Indy 500-only teams (actually one of the only Indy 500 one-off teams anymore) on race day.

But they haven’t always shown well in qualifying, and that could pose a problem for the driver who has never started farther forward than the outside of the 10th row when competing for a team other than Andretti Autosport.

It’s easy to point to Dreyer & Reinbold’s addition of 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as a plus here that will surely elevate the team, but Wilson has been Hunter-Reay’s teammate before with Michael Andretti’s team and started in 23rd and 28th place. He did almost win the race from 23rd in 2018, believe it or not, on fuel strategy.

While we’d expect Wilson to at least make a qualifying attempt in 2023 (because, well, he would have to), locking into the field is far from a sure thing.