Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Bio
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motorsports organization founded in 2000 and based in Carmel, Indiana. The team was established by Indianapolis automotive dealer Dennis Reinbold and has campaigned at the highest levels of open-wheel and rallycross competition, including the IndyCar Series and Nitro Rallycross.
Across its program history, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has combined factory and technical partnerships with selective part-time entries to remain competitive while supporting broad charitable outreach. The team has recorded a total of 33 race victories and three drivers’ championships across Global RallyCross and Nitro Rallycross disciplines.
Early Life and Background
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing grew from Dennis Reinbold’s Indianapolis-area automotive business into a professional racing operation after its founding in 2000. The organization established its base in Carmel, Indiana, and quickly entered top-level American open-wheel competition with an emphasis on leveraging commercial partnerships and dealer support for race programs.
From its earliest seasons the team prioritized visible results and community engagement. Dreyer & Reinbold became national spokespersons for the Racing for Kids foundation, a long-running charitable effort through which the team reports more than 20,000 hospital visits across over 400 facilities and nearly $5 million raised for children’s health initiatives.
Path to MotorSports
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing debuted in the IndyCar Series in 2000, building its reputation by fielding competitive entries and recruiting experienced and emerging drivers. The team ran a variety of engines in its early years, including Infiniti engines and later manufacturer partnerships with Chevrolet and Honda, reflecting the shifting technical landscape of the series.
As the team matured it expanded into multiple disciplines. Dreyer & Reinbold entered rallycross competition in 2016, first in the Global RallyCross Championship, and later in Americas Rallycross and Nitro Rallycross, where technical alliances and factory partnerships helped scale the program into a multi-car effort in Group E competition.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Career
Early Career (2000–2006)
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s most notable early result came at the 2000 IndyCar season opener at Walt Disney World Speedway, when Robbie Buhl scored the team’s only IndyCar victory, coming from 22nd on the grid to win the race. That breakthrough gave the new operation national visibility and established the team as a capable competitor in oval and road-course events.
Through the first decade the team cycled through drivers and technical suppliers. In 2002 the team ran a second car for Sarah Fisher, who won the pole at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the first woman in North American major-league open-wheel competition to earn a pole position. The team also fielded veteran drivers such as Buddy Lazier and Al Unser Jr. in marquee events like the Indianapolis 500.
IndyCar Program and Development (2007–2013)
In the late 2000s Dreyer & Reinbold continued to field competitive IndyCar entries with a mix of established and rookie drivers. The team recorded strong road-course pace at times and produced top-10 points finishes and podium runs, though long-term sponsorship challenges sometimes constrained full-season efforts. In 2010 Justin Wilson joined the team and delivered pole speed and consistent results, including a competitive showing at Toronto.
The team pursued factory and technical partnerships to strengthen its program. In late 2011 Dreyer & Reinbold announced a Lotus engine partnership and later formed a strategic alliance with Panther Racing to access additional Chevrolet engine support. That strategic shift yielded improved results and multiple top-five finishes in 2012, with driver Oriol Servia scoring solid top-10 results and ending the year inside the top 15 in points.
Part-Time IndyCar Era (2014–Present)
After losing primary sponsorship following the 2013 Indianapolis 500, Dreyer & Reinbold scaled back and transitioned to a part-time model focused on select premier events. The team returned to the Indianapolis 500 in 2014 through a partnership with Kingdom Racing and driver Sage Karam, who delivered a ninth-place finish from a deep starting position. Dreyer & Reinbold continued to field entries at the Indy 500 and other marquee events with a variety of drivers including Townsend Bell, J. R. Hildebrand and Sage Karam.
In 2020 the organization announced an expanded schedule that included at least four road and oval races, while preserving the part-time approach that balanced competitive outings with financial and technical realities. This model kept the team present in IndyCar while allowing resources to be directed to growing efforts in rallycross categories.
Rallycross and Nitro Rallycross Breakthrough (2016–Present)
Dreyer & Reinbold entered rallycross competition in 2016 with a Global RallyCross program. The team fielded entries in GRC Lites where Cabot Bigham claimed the series’ Lites championship, and later expanded into Americas Rallycross for ARX2 competition, with strong runner-up and podium results for drivers such as Christian Brooks and others.
In 2021 the team formed a technical partnership with KYB EKS JC to contest Nitro Rallycross, and for the 2022–23 NRX season Dreyer & Reinbold allied with JC Raceteknik to operate a four-car Group E program. That effort culminated in a championship-winning campaign: Robin Larsson claimed the drivers’ title while teammates Andreas Bakkerud and Fraser McConnell finished second and third, and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC operation won the team championship.
Driving Style and Strengths
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s strengths reflect adaptability across disciplines: the team has delivered raw pace on road and street circuits in IndyCar and demonstrated strong vehicle development and short-course aggression in rallycross. Technical alliances and multi-car programs in Nitro Rallycross have enhanced setup development, while selective part-time entries in open-wheel racing have allowed the team to concentrate resources on competitive outings.
Notable Events and Milestones
Key milestones for the organization include its shock victory in the 2000 IndyCar season opener with Robbie Buhl, Sarah Fisher’s historic pole at Kentucky in 2002, the 2012 performance rebound after the Panther Racing alliance, and the multi-car Nitro Rallycross championship campaign of 2022–23. The team’s cumulative total of 33 race victories spans open-wheel and rallycross disciplines and underscores success across varied formats.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Career Wins
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s recorded victories total 33 across multiple series. That aggregate includes the team’s lone IndyCar victory alongside numerous wins in rallycross categories, where most of the organization’s modern success and championships have been earned.
IndyCar Highlights
The team’s sole IndyCar victory came at the 2000 IRL season opener at Walt Disney World Speedway when Robbie Buhl rallied from 22nd on the grid to take the win. Subsequent IndyCar seasons produced sporadic podiums and strong road-course pace, but primary successes later shifted toward selective entries and partnerships rather than a full-season championship push.
Other Wins & Perfromances
Rallycross has become the primary wellspring of Dreyer & Reinbold victory totals: the team accumulated wins in Global RallyCross and Americas Rallycross before expanding into Nitro Rallycross, where it secured multiple event wins and back-to-back drivers’ championships that contribute to the team’s three total drivers’ titles.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
The team was founded and long owned by Dennis Reinbold, an Indianapolis automotive dealer who used his dealership connections and industry experience to build and sustain the operation. Dreyer & Reinbold’s identity has been shaped by that dealer origin and by technical partnerships with manufacturers and other race organizations.
Personal Life
Beyond on-track activity, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has maintained an active charitable profile through sustained work with the Racing for Kids foundation. The team’s outreach efforts have included thousands of hospital visits and multi-million-dollar fundraising that form a core part of the organization’s public-facing work.