Cusick Morgan Motorsports: One Step at a Time

This article will feature in the 2025 PRI Hoosier 500 Annual, the official digital program of the event. Highlighting key stories, historical statistics, event details and more, the publication will release at the end of November.

At the heart of the Brickyard, there is little room for flinching, little patience for half-measures.

When Cusick Morgan Motorsports – originally born as Cusick Motorsports – first appeared at the Indianapolis 500, it did so somewhat unassumingly.

Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel overnight, founder Don Cusick chose a pragmatic route: learning through partnerships, building credibility one entry at a time, and earning the right to think beyond May.

“I want to go full-time IndyCar racing, and I have no objection to owning the complete team,” Cusick told RACER in October 2021. “But… in order to really be successful, you’ve got to associate with a solid team when you’re starting out, and that’s what we’re working on first.”

In 2021, the team made its Indianapolis 500 debut in conjunction with Andretti Autosport, fielding the #25 car for driver Stefan Wilson. Without the full infrastructure of a standalone IndyCar team, Cusick leaned into established operations and focused on the singular goal: make the race. 

They did, and while a crash on the pit lane in the 500 miles’ early stages relegated them to 33rd-place finish, the foundation had been laid.

The next season in 2022 brought a partnership with A.J. Foyt Racing and DragonSpeed and again an entry in the Indianapolis 500. This time, despite a tumultuous qualifications that saw them start 33rd, Wilson piloted the car to a 26th place finish, two laps down.

Despite not appearing at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 2023, Cusick came back stronger than ever – with the results to prove it the next year. The team formed a formal alliance with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, stepping into a more serious competitive posture.

In February 2024 the two announced Ryan Hunter-Reay and Conor Daly as drivers under the DRR/Cusick banner and Cusick took note of the potential for better results at the ‘500’.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue working alongside Dennis Reinbold and his team, which has provided a firm footing for us to grow alongside our partners,” said Cusick.

In the first year partnering with DRR, Daly piloted his Cusick entry to a top-10 finish with 22 laps led – a shot of energy into not only the growing race team, but all of Indiana by watching their hometown driver lead the Indy 500.

They ran it back in 2025 with two cars, experienced drivers (Hunter-Reay and Jack Harvey), and a credible technical partner in DRR. The continuity payed dividends. Hunter-Reay was a contender within the top-5 for most of the day, leading 48 laps before running out of gas on his way to pit lane for the final pit stop of the race. Harvey was competitive as well, leading three laps before finishing 19th.

Despite the heartbreak in May, Cusick re-affirmed his love for the event in the days that followed.

“There is really nothing like (the Indy 500),” Cusick affirmed to PaddockEye in June 2025. “To say that people understand what I feel when I walk into the Speedway garage for the first time – well, you really can’t until you do.”

Operationally, the team is no longer simply trying to qualify for the Indy 500 – they are onto executing a broader program that integrates success on-track with premier hospitality and partner activation to drive the organization forward.

Team operations chief and co-owner Billy Morgan recently described to Forbes their priorities this way: “Our partners are truly what drives Cusick Motorsports, and they are the reason why we continue our growth each year.”

“We do not view them as sponsors, but as partners, because without their support we cannot advance,” Morgan continues. “Cusick Motorsports will always be centralized around accessibility to motorsports and B2B growth for our partners.”

Late in 2025, the team publicly signaled a shift from simply attempting the Indianapolis 500 to building a full-fledged racing organization. 

On September 4, they announced the rebrand to Cusick Morgan Motorsports, with Cusick explicitly naming Morgan as co-owner. “Billy has proven himself to be a top-level operator and more than deserves to be a partner in our team,” Cusick said. “I am proud to have his name alongside mine and to help ensure the legacy is carried on for many more years to come.”

It’s at this juncture that the team’s next chapter opens: development.

In October – following their debut race at Nashville – Cusick Morgan Motorsports announced they were starting an Indy NXT program with the signing of Nicolas Stati – and accomplished 16-year-old Australian. Days later, Juan Manuel Correa was added to the two-car lineup for a bit of experience in the team.

The program will work in alliance with HMD Motorsports, one of the more established programs in IndyCar’s feeder system.

As the team looks ahead to 2026, they will be plenty busy with the Indy NXT program – but plans are already underway for the 110th Indianapolis 500 in May – whether it is in a reunion with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing or another established team.

In talking to RACER in July, Cusick noted “at this moment, we don’t have any plans put in place with Dennis (Reinbold) or any of the other teams, but there are teams who are talking to us and definitely we plan to be back for 2026.”

Looking ahead on the Cusick roadmap, expect the team to continue building through the new Indy NXT program and one-off entries in May until the new IndyCar chassis and engine formula is pushed out.

The slow, methodical build is going just to plan for Cusick and Morgan. Visit their team website – still at CusickMotorsports.com – and the first message you read displays as such:

“POWERED BY PASSION. CUSICK MORGAN MOTORSPORTS. Unlock elite access to the motorsports world.”

The savvy businessmen have done what it takes to find longevity in this cutthroat world of open-wheel racing. They’ve found reliable partners, established credibility with their investment in one-off entries, and enjoyed enough taste of success to come back for more.

They will surely take bumps and bruises along the way as Indy NXT owners, but their confidence to invest in the sport is undeniable.

Cusick Morgan Motorsports is no longer simply betting on May – there’s more meat on the bone than the Speedway.