Graham Rahal will race the Indy 500 in place of injured Stefan Wilson with No. 24 Chevrolet

Graham Rahal, who had failed to qualify two days earlier, will replace the injured Stefan Wilson in the 107th Indy 500.

Wilson suffered a fractured vertebrae in a Monday practice crash after colliding with Katherine Legge, Graham’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports’s first choice to fill the No. 24 Dallara-Chevrolet was Rahal, who had been bumped from the field on the final attempt of the Last Chance Qualifying session Sunday by Jack Harvey (who drives for the RLL team that was founded and co-owned by Graham’s father, Bobby).

“It’s been a whirlwind,” team owner Dennis Reinbold said in a Tuesday morning news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “We’re excited to put Graham in the car. Stefan will have a further evaluation today and is going in for X-rays to determine the best path for him.

“We had to do a lot of work yesterday to get things put together with Graham. There were a lot of hurdles involved.  So many conflicts and things to work through to put this together.”

As a replacement driver, Rahal will start from the rear of the field in his 16th consecutive Indianapolis 500 since 2008. It also will mark his first time racing a Chevrolet in an NTT IndyCar Series after a career of driving Hondas.

We are happy to announce that @GrahamRahal will will pilot the No. 24 in the 107th Running of Indianapolis 500!

Rahal replaces Stefan Wilson who suffered an injury in yesterday’s practice session. #DrivenByDRR | #Indy500 | #ThisIsMay pic.twitter.com/VqQgLrNHHo

— Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (@DreyerReinbold) May 23, 2023

“I told Dennis I’m not really sure I want to waste your time,” Rahal said about the manufacturer conflict. “I’ve spent my entire career in a Honda, and I’m