After failing to qualify for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 with his own team, Graham Rahal will get another chance to participate in the prestigious race as a replacement driver for injured Stefan Wilson.
Rahal was bumped from the field in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda in the closing moments of qualifying by teammate Jack Harvey. Now Rahal will be in a Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet and start last in the field because of the driver change, while positioned next to Harvey.
The move keeps Rahal’s Indy 500 streak alive, putting him in line for his 16th consecutive start.
“I tell people all the time, motorsports is one of the few sports where there are no guarantees ever,” Rahal said, per ESPN. “Things can change immediately. That’s the situation we are in. Now we’re going to go do the best we can to get to victory lane. That’s been a dream of mine my entire life.”
Wilson, who qualified 25th, came away with a fractured vertebra in a practice crash Monday. Wilson’s car was struck from behind by Katherine Legge’s car and sent into the barrier. After Wilson was removed from the car, he was placed on a stretcher with a neck brace before being loaded into the ambulance.
Legge qualified 30th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and is the lone woman driver in the field for Sunday’s race.
The shell of Wilson’s No. 25 car will be slightly modified for Sunday’s race to include some of Rahal’s sponsors.
–Field Level Media
