Ryan Hunter-Reay to run Indy 500 with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, giving field 33 cars

After a year away following his exit from his longtime ride at Andretti Autosport, 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay is back in the field. Dreyer and Reinbold Racing announced Wednesday afternoon that the 42-year-old will pilot the team's No. 23 Chevy alongside Stefan Wilson (No. 24), finally bringing this year's 500 entry list to the requisite 33 cars and drivers to fill out the 11 rows of 3.

"Psyched for this opportunity! See you in May," Hunter-Reay tweeted Wednesday.

The news makes the IndyCar veteran the sixth and possibly last part-time driver in this year's field, joining Ed Carpenter, Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Stefan Wilson and Katherine Legge on a grid that includes 27 full-time drivers -- the most the series has seen in more than a decade. With that, it's been tough for drivers on the fringe of the sport -- even those with budgets -- to find a ride. That list of drivers known or believed to have been interested in securing a ride for May ranges from veterans like JR Hildebrand, Charlie Kimball, Sage Karam, Simona De Silvestro and Ed Jones to newcomers like Linus Lundqvist and RC Enerson.

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Hunter-Reay, arguably the most talented and decorated driver among that group of hopefuls for this year's one-off rides, had to wait to land what may be the final entry into this year's field. Once thought to be a likely pick for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's fourth entry, the team opted for Legge, who had considerable help from Honda after multiple attempts to get her another shot at the 500.

Hunter-Reay sat out last year's race after the end of a 12-year stint with Andretti Autosport in the No. 28 Honda -- most with DHL backing -- at the end of the 2021 season that saw Romain Grosjean inherit the ride on a two-year deal. Hunter-Reay spent time helping Juncos Hollinger Racing's Callum Ilott, then a rookie, get up to speed a year ago, but was persistent in saying he'd only return to the Racing Capital of the World as a driver for a competitive ride.

Though DRR hasn't challenged for a win in a decade (Oriol Servia placed 4th in 2012) and has recorded just seven top-10s in 45 starts, with two of those top-10s coming in the last two years (Sage Karam 7th in 2021, Santino Ferrucci 10th in 2022), clearly Hunter-Reay believes he can take them to the next level. In three of his last four 500 starts at Andretti, Hunter-Reay finished 5th, 8th and 10th. In his final run in the No. 28 in 2021, he was consistently running in the top-10 and lurking heading into the final pitstop, when he spun and fell to 22nd.

He joins a list of former winner's in this year's 500 field that includes Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Takuma Sato, Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Alexander Rossi and Tony Kanaan.

As for those with hopes still to break into the field and bring bumping back to qualifying weekend, odds are slim. Honda is said to be set with its 17 entries, leaving Chevy crews the only viable options. The most likely option, given their recent history of running extra cars and persistent desire to welcome additional funding, would be AJ Foyt Racing. Such a project, though, could lead to a one-off driver from Foyt competing with one of -- or both of -- its full-time drivers Benjamin Pedersen and Santino Ferrucci for positioning on the last row. Such a scenario could also see that additional car qualify in the mid-pack and bump a Foyt car from the grid that would've otherwise made the race with an entry list of just 33 cars.

Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles has been persistent publicly that he believes this year's race will see at least 34 cars gunning for a spot in the race.