DETROIT, Mich. — Expectations were high for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entering Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Firestone at the Raceway at Belle Isle, but a pair of incidents ended up knocking both Milka Duno and Buddy Rice out of the race.
Right at the green flag, Duno found herself spinning entering Turn 3 as a failed passing attempt by Bruno Junqueria led to contact with Junqueria punting Duno out of his way. Because of the move, Duno spun into the tire wall causing significant damage to her car. Much time was lost in the pits trying to repair the damage, including replacing the entire rear-wing assembly, but ultimately, not all damage to the vehicle was readily repairable, and the team was eventually forced to park the car due to its pace. The final result was a 23rd-place for the #23 CITGO Honda.
Rice entered the race with optimism as he and the crew had been improving the car with every on-track session. That, combined with their pre-race strategy gave the team confidence that a good result would be coming.
The team made its initial move on Lap 12 by being one of the early cars to make its first pit stop. As those in front, with multiple strategies in play, starting making their first stops, Rice found himself as high as 8th on Lap 33. As the race began playing out, it became more and more clear, however, that pit strategy, which had helped Rice on numerous occasions this season move through the field in races, wasn’t going to work out as he settled into 14th after his last stop on Lap 64. As he tried to maximize passing opportunities with the laps winding down, he brushed the wall with his left side on Lap 76, and the damage was enough to force him to retire with a 19th-place result.
#15 DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Buddy Rice
“I think we needed a little bit better car, and also, our fuel strategy wasn’t quite right. The other guys pitted a different way, but we had to try something coming from where we were at. To add insult to injury, I was trying to make a run on one of the cars, and I just got into the tire wall a little bit and bent the suspension with just a couple of laps to go. It’s just disappointing all the way around really. We’ll see what we can do in Chicago.”
#23 CITGO/DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Milka Duno
“Bruno’s over-aggressive move to try and pass during the first lap forced me to hit the wall. As a result, my rear wing was damaged and some suspension components. Unfortunately, I couldn’t maintain my race pace and the race was over for me early.”
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