Tag: Dreyer & Reinbold

Indianapolis 500, INDYCAR SERIES Team Owner Reinbold Dies at 65

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From IMS:

  INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, June 14, 2026) – Team owner Dennis Reinbold, whose Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has fielded cars in the INDYCAR SERIES and Indianapolis 500 for more than 25 years, died peacefully June 13 while surrounded by family. He was 65.
Reinbold, a longtime, successful Indianapolis automobile dealer, formed Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 1999. The name paid tribute to his family’s legacy in racing, as Reinbold’s grandfather Floyd “Pop” Dreyer moved from being a factory motorcycle racer to serving as a crew member and chief mechanic on the famed Duesenberg driven by Benny Shoaff and Babe Stapp in the 1927 Indianapolis 500. Dreyer went on to build many Indy 500 cars in the 1930s and built championship-winning sprint cars, midgets and quarter-midgets.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing started competing in the INDYCAR SERIES full time in 2000 and achieved instant success, winning the season opener at Walt Disney World Speedway with Robbie Buhl behind the wheel. That remains the team’s only victory, but DRR earned two second-place finishes with driver Justin Wilson in 2010 and four third-place finishes between 2001 and 2012, its last full INDYCAR SERIES season.
The Indianapolis-based team then ran a limited schedule of five races in 2013 before focusing solely on the Indianapolis 500 from 2014 through this year, except for a four-race effort for driver Sage Karam in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Indianapolis native Reinbold was very proud he employed a year-round, tight-knit crew to prepare his cars for the Month of May, which attracted such “500” standouts as 2012 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, JR Hildebrand, Townsend Bell and Conor Daly to multiple May starts with the team.
DRR’s best Indy 500 finish is fourth by Oriol Servia in 2012. But the team was in excellent position to contend for victory in 2025 when Hunter-Reay ran out of fuel while leading with just 31 laps remaining. DRR drivers also led the “500” in four of the last six years
.Another source of pride for Reinbold was that all 53 cars his team entered in the Indianapolis 500 qualified for the starting field.
That success rate, meticulous preparation and Reinbold’s passion for the sport and “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” led a veritable who’s who of the sport to race for the small team. Besides Buhl, Hunter-Reay, Hildebrand, Daly and Wilson, drivers such as two-time Indy winner Al Unser Jr., 1996 “500” winner Buddy Lazier, 2004 “500” winner Buddy Rice, 2019 “500” winner Simon Pagenaud, INDYCAR SERIES champion Paul Tracy and Sarah Fisher drove for DRR. 

Daly Secures DRR Ride in 110th 500

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From IndyCar:

Conor Daly

Team News

Conor Daly To Drive for Dreyer & Reinbold in Indy 500

INDYCAR

INDYCAR.com

Editorial Staff

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) and Kingspan, a worldwide leader in high-performance building materials, announced March 11 their partnership to enter popular veteran driver Conor Daly in the No. 23 DRR Chevrolet car in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24.

Daly, 34, from Noblesville, Indiana, will attempt to make his 13th start in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” He has recorded five top-10 finishes at Indianapolis, including in 2024 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. After starting in 29th position for DRR, he finished 10th. He led 22 laps and was the race’s biggest mover, gaining 19 positions. Daly has led a total of 82 laps at the “500.”

“Having a chance to go racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway again at Indy 500 with DRR means the world to me,” Daly said. “I love this event. I can’t wait to get back in the car, and I appreciate the chance that Dennis (Reinbold) and everyone at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has given me to do the job I enjoy.

“We’ve set some high goals with the No. 23. We want to win this race together, and I appreciate that Kingspan has come on board for the biggest race in the world. We appreciate their support for this effort to chase after that nice cold glass of milk in the winner’s circle.”

Second-generation racer Daly was the 2010 Star Mazda series champion with seven wins and captured the 2011 Indy NXT by Firestone race at the famed Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Prior to his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career, Daly competed in GP3 from 2012-13 with a third in the series final standings in 2013. In the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Daly has one pole (Iowa, 2020) and two podium finishes (second at Detroit, 2016; third at Milwaukee, 2024).

Kingspan, with 29,000 employees across more than 80 countries and 278 manufacturing sites worldwide, is at the forefront of innovative building solutions. In the U.S., the company operates 32 facilities across 17 states, producing best-in-class products for a wide range of sectors.

This partnership is a perfect match given Kingspan’s commitment to high performance and a speed-focused business mentality.

“We value partnerships that reflect our shared commitment to innovation and performance,” said Alswinn Kieboom, president of Kingspan’s North American insulated panels business. “Collaborating with Conor Daly and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team on the Indy 500 race provides us with a unique platform to reach our primary customer base while promoting our North American growth ambition.”

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, based in Carmel, Indiana, will compete in its 27th Indy 500 this May with the 100-year legacy of the Dreyer and Reinbold families at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This dates to DRR team owner Dennis Reinbold’s grandfather, the legendary Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, serving as a mechanic for the Duesenberg team in the 1920s. DRR has entered 51 cars in the Indy 500, and all entries have qualified.

“We are excited to partner with Kingspan to field our No. 23 entry for Conor in this year’s Indy 500,” Reinbold said. “Kingspan is a world leader in its field, and we are pleased to team them up with Conor and a strong DRR team this year.

“Conor has been a contender to win the biggest race in the world on several occasions, and we want to put him, Kingspan and our squad in the IMS winner’s circle on May 24. We were top contenders in last year’s event, and we are ready to reach the ultimate goal this year.”

DRR Sets 500 Lineup of Hunter-Reay and Harvey

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Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports announced this morning that Ryan Hunter-Reay, winner of the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and 2012 series champion, will return in one of their two entries for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Jack Harvey will drive the second car.

Harvey is a veteran of seven Indianapolis 500s, with a best finish of ninth in 2020. His last 500, in 2023, is known for Harvey’s bumping teammate Graham Rahal out of the field on the day’s final run.

Harvey ran a partial season for Dale Coyne Racing in 2024. In 2023 he began the year with Rahal Letterman racing, but was let go midseason.

Hunter-Reay will drive for DRR for the third consecutive year. He started the race 12th last year and dropped out after 107 laps due to contact, finishing 26th.

500 News: Livery, Sponsor, and Driver Announcements

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Karherine Legge r4turns for4 the 108th running of the indianqapolis 500 with Dale Coyne Racing. Legge will drive car 51 with sponsorship from e.l.f.., a cosmetics company. Legge drive for Coyne in 2007.

The livery for Conor Daly’s car was revealed yesterday. Sponsored by Polkadot, a blockchain company.

According to the press release, “Polkadot is positioned to serve as the powerful, secure core of Web3. (Its) decentralized governance places the community at the center of decision-making processes; every holder of the Polkadot token (DOT) has a voice towards shaping the platform’s future direction.”

My technological illiteracy is such that I’ll just say I’m happy that they are sponsoring Conor and leave it at thtat.

Marco Andretti’s livery also occurred yesterday. The 98 car has sponsorship from Mapei.

Coming up- a practice update at the end of the veterans session and a story on PREMA joining Indycar.

DRR/Cusick Sign Hunter-Reay and Daly for 500

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Dreyer and Reinbold will again team with Don Cusick for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. Conor Daly will team with 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay in the two car effort.

In 2023 Stefan Wilson qualified one of the cars which was entered by Cusick. In the Monday practice after qualifying, Wilson broke his back in a crash. Many were expecting Wilson to return for 2024.

Cusick decided to distribute his money to both DRR cars, which I believe led to Wilson not having enough funding. \About Wilson, Cusick said in a video call yesterday:

“As far as Stefan goes, unfortunately he had the injury, I
think it set him back a little bit. I’m not sure that he’s done
trying to be a part of the Indy 500. Look, we’ll always
support him. He’s a good guy and a good friend. He is the
reason that we ended up in the Indy 500.
That said, he’s given us his full support and blessing.
Depending on what happens this year, hopefully he’s
around in May and able to say hi to everybody.”

Hunter=Reay and Daly are both eager to work together, and they appear to be on the same page about race strategy. Hunter_r reay talked about the craziness which occurred near the end of last year’s race, which ended in a red flag fiasco.

“There needs to be a higher level of respect amongst the
drivers in superspeedway racing. We are out there doing
230, 240, whatever you want to call it,” Hunter-Reay said.
“There was a lot of moves last year that were very road
course like, street course like. Especially on restarts,
things like that.
I think as a group, it needs to be brought up and we need
to be conscious of it. Yeah, then you have the unknowns,
some new drivers coming in again. We’ve always had that.
We’ve always had an influx of some new drivers to the
Speedway, the 500. You kind of deal with that as it goes.
Definitely there were some questionable points in the race
that we need to address that as a group.”

Daly believes that there will be changes coming based on a drivers’ meeting in December.

“After attending the drivers meeting in
December, there’s definitely going to be some, I think,
adjustments to how things are called, right? Josef
Newgarden snaking down the straight below the pit lane
entry, I think that’s probably going to go away. I think the
drivers are always pretty unified in what we want to see on
how many moves you can make down the back straight if
you’re trying to snake down the back straight, stuff like that.”

I have heard that the dreaded dragon move will be pretty much banned.

The DRR/Cusick situation reflects the best and the worst of the racing business. Three capable drivers, all good guys, and only two seats available. I feel for Stefan Wilson. On the other hand, DRR has its strongest driver lineup in several years, and the team always has competitive cars at the 500.

INDYCAR To Hold Special Session Thursday for Two Indy 500 Entries 

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From Inycar:

I think this a fair decision.

 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing To Participate

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, May 24, 2023) – INDYCAR has announced a special session Thursday, May 25 for the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet and the No. 44 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda after an Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge practice incident Monday involving both teams.

The 15-minute session will take place from 4:30-4:45 p.m. ET in preparation for final practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday on Miller Lite Carb Day. Graham Rahal is driving the No. 24 DRR Cusick Carekeepers Chevrolet, while Katherine Legge is behind the wheel of the No. 44 Hendrickson Honda fielded by RLL.

Each team will be allowed unlimited install laps (out and in) within the time frame. They will not be allowed to stay on the track to cross the start-finish line and the Yard of Bricks.

The 107th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Rahal to Replace Wilson

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Graham Rahal is back in the Indianapolis 500. Rahal, bumped out of the field on Sunday by teammate Jack Harvey, will drive the number 24 Chevy on Sunday in place of Stefan Wilson

Wilson was imjured in a crash during practice yesterday. He fractured the 12th thoracic vertebra and will not be able to drive.

Stefan Wilson

“I don’t feel good filling in for an injured driver…Unfortunately in racing, things happen. But (given his relationship with the Wilsons) I felt like it was my calling to come help,” Rahal said.

Wilson (right) was injured Monday in this crash

Rahal has been a long time family friend of the Wilson family. he owes his Indycar career to Stefan’s late other Justin, who advised him to not pursue a Formula 1 career.

Wilson qualified 25th, but the driver change means the car will start 33rd, ironically next to Harvey.

Rahal said had it been another team and driver, he is not sure he would have taken advantage of the opportunity.

On driving a Chevy powered car instead of a Honda, Rahal said, “There’s a lot to learn.”

Car owner Dennis Reinbold said that he is grateful that Honda, Chevy, and all the sponsors involved were able to work things out.

Rahal drove for Reinbold at Iowa in 2010

The 24 car will have a different look when it rolls ono the track for Carb Day Friday.

The Indycar community always comes together to hep each other out when a team or driveris in a difficult situation.The 500 is bigger than any one individual, and once again we see the community come together to for the good orf the race and the series.

Stefan Wilson Focused on 500, Future Can Wait

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Stefan Wilson enters this year’s 500 with a new association and a new teammate. He is thrilled with his situation. The Cusick Motorsports team has paired with Dreyer & Reibold fror 2023, He also has 2014 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as a teammate.

“Ryan’san amazing teammate. He has just so much experience, I can rely on it. You know, it’s reassuring, you know, you make a change. And you have read on it. And you’re like, Okay, this is my read. And then you like, wait with bated breath. Like, what’s Ryan gonna say about the same change. And then when he comes in and has the same feedback, it’s like, it’s encouraging. It’s encouraging. It’s reassuring that your feedback is pretty, pretty accurate. Yeah, so it’s like a it’s a nice way to check yourself. Because he knows what’s up. He’s one here. So if my feedback matches, and that’s a good thing,” Wilson said.

Wilson was happy with yesterday’s practice.

“We’re close. I think we’re really close. If we can find a little bit more than will be fine,” he said. Wilson was 15th Wednesday, and Hunter-Reay was eighth.

Today the team will work on qualifying setup.

“We’re just gonna put the ball line set up on, see how fast it is. And then tomorrow, I think the weather is gonna come in late. So I think we might get a couple of runs in tomorrow with the qualifying boost.”

Wilson said they are not thinking about future expansion of the program just yet.

“I think right now, we talked about it, we thought about it, but right now it’s not in my mind. I’m just totally focused on the next two weeks. Next weekend, and trying to make the most of this opportunity. I think after that when the dust settles, we’ll think about okay, what do we need? “

Wilson likes the way the team is setup now ansd wants to continue.

” I think this is such a great combo me and Ryan. If I had my choice would be to just keep the same group together and just hold again next year, so that’d be the goal.”

Hunter-Reay Returns to 500

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Dreyer and Reinbold Racing announced this afternoon that 014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay will return to the Indianapolis 500, driving the team’s car 23. Hunter=Reay, the 2012 series champion, returns after not driving in the race in 2022.

There are now 33 confirmed entries with drivers.

The team announcement from rom Ryan Hunter-Reay via Twitter: