Dreyer & Reinbold Racing won its debut race in the IndyCar Series in 2000. It hopes a series of key off-season moves can help it return to the winner’s circle.
The biggest move comes behind the wheel as the team expands to a two-car operation for the first time since 2003. Sarah Fisher, who drove two races for the team last season, joins 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice as the team’s drivers.
“We expect to be much more competitive this year, †team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. “We have devoted the off-season toward overall improvement and expansion in order to meet this goal. We are very excited to get started; I think that we are ready. â€
With preparation for 2007, the team revamped its engineering department, hiring John Dick and Chris Finch and adding gearbox and shock departments – programs that were outsourced in the past.
“With the changes and additions we’ve made internally to grow Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, we are in as good as a position to consistently be in the hunt at a lot of events, †team co-owner Robbie Buhl said. “Part of this change is our growth and evolution as a team. We have hired key manpower and this shows the commitment we are willing to put forth race in and race out. â€
With Rice the team adds a driver it expects to contend for wins on ovals and road/street courses. Rice had a breakout season in 2004 at Rahal Letterman Racing, but failed to show consistent form over the last two seasons. He enters this season with the same approach he took when he joined Rahal Letterman Racing.
“I think with the engineers they brought in, myself and teaming up with Sarah, I think we’re going to run quite well this year – a lot better than people think, †Rice said. “With the efforts that Robbie and Dennis have put into this team, the money they spent to make us run up front and be competitive, I think it’s going to end up showing. It should be a very exciting year for us at Dreyer & Reinbold. These guys are really smart. I think we can put together a really good car and a very good year.
“It’s no different than what happened in 2004 when I came out with Todd Bowland. It took us a few rounds to get acquainted, figure out what we needed to do, things started rolling really well after that. There’s no reason why we can’t do that this year. â€
Fisher, who has made more than half of her 50 IndyCar Series starts with the team, will join Rice for oval events and could make her road course debut if sponsorship can be found. Still, she looks at her return to the team as a new beginning.
“I’ve looked at 2007 since I got the shot to return to the series in Kentucky back in August, †Fisher said. “I’ve trained the hardest I’ve every trained; it’s amazing how much I know that is going to help me. To have a team that backs up that focus is a really great feeling. It’s the first time I’ve been able to train towards something I believe can be a winning situation. â€
She’s also excited to work with Rice, who she said is an ideal teammate.
“We’ve worked together really well already during spring training, †she said. “I think this year we are working like a proper team should be working together. We know the areas we have to consistently work on. As a team, we are all pumped up for the season to start. Everyone has been working so hard. â€
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