DRR working on full-time IndyCar return
12/04/2024 10:01 AM
The team founded by Dennis Reinbold is best known today for its annual runs in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the Indiana-based auto dealer is working with his partners to bring Dreyer & Reinbold Racing back to its full glory as a season-long entrant in the NTT IndyCar Series.
As a full-time team in the former Indy Racing League from 2000-04, and under the renamed IndyCar Series from 2005-12 and the early stages of the 2013 season, DRR shifted to its Indy-only program in 2014.
Other than a brief spell in 2020 when the team took part in three races, it has placed all of its energy on Indianapolis, and with the series heading towards a new chassis and powertrain formula in 2027, Reinbold sees the looming transition point as an opportunity to get back to its full-time roots.
"We are gearing up for when things change in ’27 with the formula and taking a look at that with new cars and new engines coming out, as what we can do to build our program to be full-time at that point in time. That’s our goal. So that’s where we’re focused. We’re focused on the next two Indy 500s and growing our program to be full-time in ’27," Reinbold told RACER.
"Don Cusick is back with us and involved in the program again. We get along great, which is sometimes rare in racing, but we share very similar philosophies, and he brings another aspect and some partners in as well, and we’ve just had a lot of good momentum that points toward our ability to expand the program, and we want to do it right when we’re ready. So we’re giving ourselves a two-year runway to be in that position."
Under IndyCar's new charter system, which protects and grants automatic entries (excluding Indy) for the cars fielded by the 10 full-time teams that participated through the 2023 season, DRR would need to buy a pair of charters to take part in the full championship — if two are available for purchase — or seek permission from Penske Entertainment to try and qualify at each race as a non-charter team.
Reinbold has been in communication with Penske regarding DRR's interest in competing at every event and says the response has been encouraging.
"They would love to have us back full-time, which is the feedback we get," he said. "So that’s going to be a key component in figuring out how we can navigate the charter situation."
