The first one-off Indianapolis 500 entry was confirmed today. Arrow McLaren announced that 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay will drive the No. 31 Chevrolet for the team next year. The 2012 IndyCar champion will attempt to make his 18th career start in the race, alongside full-season drivers Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard, and Nolan Siegel. The number 31 has special meaning to “Captain America” as that was the number he used in his first IndyCar race.

Hunter-Reay has 18 wins and 47 podium finishes over his 21-year career. He was in position to claim his second Indy 500 victory last year with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, leading 48 laps before a fuel issue in the closing laps. The team now has a fourth driver with proven Indy 500 experience to guide them. Although not confirmed, Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato, Ed Carpenter, and Colton Herta are expected to return as one-off entries. The second seat at D&RR is now a prime opportunity. The full press release from today is below.

[Arrow McLaren Press Release]

Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2012 INDYCAR SERIES Champion, will join the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, completing the team’s four-car lineup for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Ryan joins the team with a wealth of experience and a proven championship pedigree, having made 395 INDYCAR SERIES starts over 21 seasons, earning 18 victories and 47 podium finishes. His storied open-wheel career is highlighted by success at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he will attempt to qualify for his 18th Indy 500 in May. The veteran will be one of five active drivers competing who boast an INDYCAR SERIES Championship and an Indy 500 victory alongside Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Will Power.

“This is an incredible opportunity in so many ways,” Ryan said. “I’d like to express my gratitude to Zak, Tony and the rest of the Arrow McLaren management team for pursuing this partnership and making it a reality. It is an honor to represent and drive for one of the most iconic teams in motorsports history, an organization that spares no effort or resource in the pursuit of being at the pinnacle of the sport and of course, winning the Indy 500. After coming so agonizingly close to a shot at the win in last year’s 500, I am beyond primed and ready to make the absolute most of this partnership.”

Arrow McLaren continues its tradition of running an additional distinguished driver in the iconic 500-mile race. In past years, two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso (2017, 2020), two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya (2021, 2022), 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan (2023) and two-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson (2024, 2025) have all raced in papaya in the Indy 500 as one-off entries for the team. Ryan will join Arrow McLaren’s full-time lineup of Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard at the IMS during the Month of May in 2026.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native – nicknamed “Captain America” — captured ultimate success in the 2014 Indy 500 in dramatic fashion. He won by a razor-thin margin of just 0.600 seconds — the second-closest finish in the race’s storied history — holding off then three-time winner Helio Castroneves. The triumph came one year after nearly taking the checkered flag in 2013, when he led laps 193 through 197 before ultimately finishing third behind Tony Kanaan, now Arrow McLaren’s Team Principal.

Ryan has continued to contend for a second win at the Brickyard in recent years, including 2025 when he charged to the front of the field and led 48 laps after starting P24 on the grid, before a fuel issue hindered his run in the closing laps.

Tony Kanaan is thrilled to have Hunter-Reay on board. “Ryan is a great addition to the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team and just who we want in that fourth car this coming May alongside Pato, Nolan and Christian. He’s an Indy 500 Champion – and if you look at our history at McLaren – that’s the reason we field a fourth car, to have one more contender in the mix. He is a proven winner, and we know he will have a strong chance to win this historic event. Ryan is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had, and we’re very excited to get started with him and have him part of our team into next May.”

One of the most successful American open-wheel racing drivers over the past two decades, Ryan has also tallied multiple overall IMSA sports car wins, including the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. He has been invited to the Race of Champions five times and has won two ESPY ‘Driver of the Year’ awards. Ryan will pilot Arrow McLaren’s No. 31 entry in May, as he returns to competition with the same number he used for his INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2003.