Latest news with #Indy500-only
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Cusick Motorsports Continues ‘B2B' Model At The Indianapolis 500
Don Cusick, CEO and Founder of Cusick Motorsports IndyCar Photo by Joe Skibinski / @skibbyy Cusick Motorsports continues the tradition of the 'Indy Only' operations that have competed in the Indianapolis 500. These are team owners that field teams for one race a year, instead of the full season, and that one race is the biggest race of the year. Don Cusick is back at the Indianapolis 500 in 2025 and once again will partner with another Indy 500-only operation, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Cusick Motorsports was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Don Cusick. Its mission was to make the racing industry more accessible to all. Cusick Motorsports creates bespoke programs for its partners and creates experiences that help drive meaningful relationships and business in a true business-to-business model. The threshold for getting into the industry has not been easy for most individuals and companies. As an entrepreneur in the Healthcare Industry for over 40 years, Cusick saw the opportunity to make the motorsports industry more accessible for all, and Cusick Motorsports was founded. Key to this operation, as with any full-time IndyCar team, is sponsorship and partners. On Tuesday, April 29, Cusick Motorsports announced Mach10 Automotive, MannKind Corporation, and Branded Bills as official partners for the team's entries in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, in partnership with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Mach10 Automotive, a new partner of Cusick Motorsports, brings its deep-rooted expertise in automotive mergers, acquisitions, and performance optimization to the team. "We are thrilled to welcome Mach 10 as a partner of Cusick Motorsports for the 2025 Indy 500,' Cusick said. 'Their drive for growth and development in the auto industry perfectly aligns with the goals of our program. We are looking forward to working with George Pero and his team for the long term." Dreyer & Reinbold Cusick Motorsports has a two-car team in the 109th Indianapolis 500 featuring 2014 Indy 500 winner and 2012 NTT IndyCar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and veteran driver Jack Harvey. MannKind Corporation returns for a second year, continuing its support of Cusick Motorsports following a successful debut partnership in 2024. Known for its innovative inhaled therapeutic products and commitment to improving quality of life for patients with serious health conditions. 'Having Mannkind join our team for a second year is a true testament to the value in partnership,' Cusick said. 'Mannkind is a proven leader and innovator in the Healthcare space, and we continue to build a strong relationship with them and their partners.' Branded Bills joins as the Cusick team's exclusive headwear partner. It will provide premium custom gear to outfit the team throughout May. With a focus on versatile, high-quality design, Branded Bills adds a stylish edge to the team's look for race month. 'Branded Bills is a new partnership for Cusick Motorsports this year, and their dedication to quality is exactly what we need as a partner as we grow,' Cusick said. 'We look forward to the start of a long-standing partnership supporting each brand's growth.' Billy Morgan is the Director of Cusick Motorsports and emphasized the importance of giving brands such as these an opportunity to compete in the world's most famous at historic race – the Indianapolis 500. 'Our partners are truly what drives Cusick Motorsports, and they are the reason why we continue our growth each year,' Morgan said. 'We do not view them as sponsors, but as partners, because without their support we cannot advance. 'Cusick Motorsports will always be centralized around accessibility to motorsports and B2B growth for our partners. We cannot wait for the Month of May to host them and support the goals of our team and partners.' Mach10 is considered an industry-leader in Mergers & Acquisitions. Mach10 Automotive provides unprecedented, industry-exclusive buy-sell and advisory services customized for automotive dealership principals. Mach10 is the only M&A firm in the industry that offers a comprehensive suite of performance optimization services designed to increase dealerships' operational excellence and profitability. Its services are anchored in making a store or group as efficient and profitable as possible across the business, benefiting the seller pre-sale, or the buyer post-acquisition. Applying experience and expertise, Mach10 helps unlock a dealership's full potential through solutions that exceed industry standards. MannKind focuses on the development and commercialization of innovative inhaled therapeutic products and devices to address serious unmet medical needs for those living with endocrine and orphan lung diseases. The company is committed to using its formulation capabilities and device engineering prowess to lessen the burden of diseases such as diabetes and pulmonary fibrotic diseases. Its signature technologies–dry-powder formulations and inhalation devices–offer rapid and convenient delivery of medicines to the deep lung where they can exert an effect locally or enter the systemic circulation, depending on the target indication. Branded Bills business is rooted in versatility - offering premium headwear and apparel, each with immense customization, direct to consumer, and business to business capabilities. Practice for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge begins May 13, with live coverage of all sessions on FS1 and FS2, followed by Qualifying Weekend on May 17–18. The green flag for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing drops at 12:30 PM ET on Sunday, May 25 on FOX.
Forbes
17-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
IndyCar Clarifies Its Reserve Driver Policy For 109th Indianapolis 500
Kyle Larson, driver of the #17 Arrow McLaren, and his family walk to his car ... More during the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by) IndyCar has clarified its reserve driver policy for the 109th Indianapolis 500, which would impact 2021 NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports if the race is delayed, or stopped, for rain. Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren agreed that in 2025, the Coca-Cola 600 would take priority over the Indianapolis 500 for Larson to avoid last year's situation when a four-hour rain delay to the start of the Indianapolis 500 kept Larson from competing in the 600. Larson drives the full NASCAR Cup Series schedule and competes for the season championship. He is an Indy 500-only competitor in the Indianapolis 500. IndyCar has informed race teams of a procedural update involving eligible drivers ahead of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. During a recent Team Manager call, teams were made aware that a replacement driver would be eligible with the following parameters: A replacement driver will only be considered if the primary (entered) driver also is participating in another marquee event with the driver's principal racing series on Indianapolis 500 Race Day. Currently, the only driver that meets that is competing in another marquee event is Larson. If Larson has to leave the Indianapolis 500, Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan would be the reserve driver. Kanaan won the 2013 Indianapolis 500. The IndyCar-approved veteran replacement driver is eligible for and passes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway refresher program in the entry during the first day of Indianapolis 500 practice. Additional tires for the refresher program will not be allowed for the Indianapolis 500 entry. The tire allotment for each entrant is 32 sets for the event. Any tires used for the refresher program will be taken from the allotted tires to that entry. During the refresher program, minimal setup changes will be allowed. After the replacement driver completes the required phases of the refresher program, additional laps during the session will not be permitted. Once IndyCar is notified that a team will use its replacement driver for the Indianapolis 500, the entry's qualified position is forfeited, and the car will start at the rear of the starting lineup and ordered according to Rule 8.1.8.6. A qualified driver, who is officially replaced by the team, may return and compete with that entry provided the replacement driver has not participated in a session other than the refresher program. The car's starting position will remain at the rear of the field with the starting lineup ordered according to Rule 8.1.8.6. The 2025 IndyCar rulebook will be updated to reflect these changes.
