INDYCAR 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 at the age of 65. (NTT IndyCar Series photo)

Team-owner Dennis Reinbold, whose Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has fielded cars in INDYCAR and the Indianapolis 500 for more than 25 years, died on Saturday, June 13, 2026 surrounded by family. Mr. Reinbold was 65.

A longtime, successful Indianapolis automobile dealer, Reinbold 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 during the 1930s as well as championship-winning Sprint Cars, Midgets and Quarter-Midgets.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing started competing in INDYCAR full-time in 2000 and achieved instant success, winning the Indy Racing League’s 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 of Great Britain in 2010 and four third-place results between 2001 and 2012, its last full INDYCAR season.

The Indianapolis-based team 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 of employing a year-round, tight-knit crew to prepare his cars for the Month of May, attracting Indy 500 standouts including 2012 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, J.R. Hildebrand, Townsend Bell and Conor Daly to multiple May starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

DRR’s best Indy 500 finish is fourth by Oriol Servia of Spain in 2012. But the team was in 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 the fact that all 53 cars his team entered in the Indianapolis 500 qualified for the 33-car starting field.

That success rate, meticulous preparation and Reinbold’s passion for the sport and “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” led to a who’s who of drivers competing for the small team. In addition to Buhl, Hunter-Reay, Hildebrand, Daly and Wilson, DRR cars were driven by two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., 1996 500 champion Buddy Lazier, 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice, 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud of France, Sarah Fisher and INDYCAR champion Paul Tracy of Canada.