Indy 500 practice: Woes for Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal

Jun 04, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Hunter-Reay felt a cold liquid on his left side as he exited the pit lane during Indianapolis 500 Carb Day practice Friday. Smoke and fire followed, and the Dreyer Reinbold Racing team calmly told their driver, “Get out. Get out, Ryan,” as the former Indianapolis 500 champion wiggled his way out to safety.

The team has to rebuild Hunter-Reay's car for Sunday’s race.

”I lost ability to downshift and turn the car off,” Hunter-Reay said on the Fox broadcast. “When it starts filling up with smoke when I’m in fourth gear, something is going seriously wrong.”

Some of Hunter-Reay’s peers didn’t fare so well, either. Former Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi reported a damaged water pump, ending his practice early Friday.

Graham Rahal had a mechanical failure on track, causing him to pull over during practice as smoke and fluid trailed his car. He will need a new engine for the Indy 500. Rahal said his car “felt better," which is a positive he hopes to take into starting 28th in the Indy 500.

”How this month is going, it seems like we’re always behind,” Rahal said on the broadcast. “Things keep happening, and this is yet another one. That was my first new set of tires I had and I was trying to get in the pack, but I could tell the car wouldn’t stay. It kept getting slower and slower and slower. It’s disappointing for our team. It feels like we can’t get caught up here.”