Dreyer & Reinbold Racing timing full-time IndyCar return for 2027

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) has been a consistent name in the IndyCar paddock, but not as a full-time effort in well over a decade — since the 2012 season. Instead, the organization has focused mostly on solo efforts in the Indianapolis 500, and the occasional one-off and additional races. But the team is targeting a season-long return for the IndyCar Series 2027, when a new car is expected to be introduced. 

During a recent media call, when the DRR confirmed Jack Harvey and Ryan Hunter-Reay as its Indy 500 lineup for 2025, team owner Dennis Reinbold shared the aim is to be full-time in North America’s premier open-wheel championship, saying the 2027 season will allow for a fresh start with the new cars and new engine programs coming into the sport, something they’re looking forward to being a part of.

“If we’re going to go full-time, that’s the time to do it, is when everybody starts from ground zero and builds from there,” Reinbold said. “That’s what we would want to do. We’ve learned a lot just focusing on the Indy program. For us to do it the right way, that’s the only way we would come back and do it full-time in ’27, would be to do all the testing necessary to be competitive in every discipline.

Motorsport.com asked Reinbold if the scenario just being a matter of having a clean slate because of the car or also a matter of building a better infrastructure. The team owner shared there was a need for a deeper pool of resources. Overall, there would be “a full restructure” of personnel, along with increased testing needed.

“Why we haven’t done it is just budget-related,” he said. “We haven’t had the budget to be able to do a full season, so we just focus on Indy only.

We’re pointing toward ’27 to try to grow our budget, to be able to do it the right way and bring in additional engineers and really do the testing to do it the right way. If we can pull that off, that’s our goal.”

Another element that will come into play as well is IndyCar’s newly-implemented charter system, which runs through 2031. As things stand currently, 10 teams occupy the 25 entries, with the only exclusion being Prema, who will field two cars in its debut season in 2025. Any entry under the charter receives a guaranteed starting spot in all IndyCar rounds other than the Indy 500, which is still set for the fastest 33 qualifiers.

“At that point in time, the charter becomes an issue,” Reinbold said. “For the near future or for the next two years, it’s not an issue at all at Indy. They have said they’re not going to carry that over to Indy, which I appreciate and hope that that continues long-term no matter what. Indy was basically founded on the fastest 33 go out and race each other, we see what we have. May the best man or woman win is kind of how it is.

“I like the purity of that, the history and nostalgia of that aspect of the Indy 500. Just the traditions in general, it’s just such a great place to go to and be part of. It’s an honor to be part of that program.”