Indianapolis, IN (May 23, 2010) -Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers Mike Conway (No. 24 Dad’s Root Beer), Justin Wilson (No. 22 Z-Line Designs), Tomas Scheckter (No. 23 Mona Vie), and Ana Beatriz (No. 25 Ipiranga) were able to relax today and prepare their cars for the race.  All four qualified in the top-24 yesterday, securing them a starting position for the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 and as a result they were able to concentrate on getting their cars ready for the big show next weekend.

It was pretty much smooth sailing for Conway and Wilson today.  They both worked on long race runs and got lenty of valuable practice time in.  Both drivers locked in their positions yesterday and only had to make one qualifying attempt to earn them strong positions for the race.  Wilson will be making his third start and it will also be his best qualifying position for the Indianapolis 500 to date.   Wilson recorded a 225.050 mph qualifying average to place him in 11th position.  Conway will make his second Indianapolis 500 attempt.  He earned an average lap time of 224.583 mph yesterday and claimed the 15th spot in next Sunday’s starting grid.  Due to their strong performance yesterday the duo was able to completely focus on preparing their cars for next weekend.

Things got a little tricky for Ana Beatriz and Tomas Scheckter.  The two were sitting comfortably as they diligently worked on race runs. Unfortunately, as the times started to get quicker the team brought both cars in and changed back to the qualifying set-ups just to be safe.  In the end it all worked out.  Luckily Beatriz kept her time, which was an average speed of 224.243 mph, and she remained the highest qualified female driver.  Scheckter was able to keep his time as well.  The 29 year-old earned an average qualifying speed of 224.261 mph, putting him 20th on the grid for next week’s race.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be on track Friday, May 23rd for the final practice before the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500.  For more updates on the team, please visit http://www.dreyerreinboldracing.com.

What they have to say about qualifying for the Indianapolis 500:

Justin Wilson, No. 22 Z-Line Designs: “Today we just focused on our race set-up and just tried to make our car work well in these warmer conditions. We had a really good car three or four days ago but it was much cooler and the wind was blowing a different way. We went out and had a lot of under-steer, which is better than over-steer, but it meant we had to start tuning it in again. It will hopefully give us something for the different conditions. Whether it’s hot or cold on race day, we’re going to need something either way. I’m pretty pleased with the car right now, it feels really good, seems good in traffic, seems good on my own – we’ll just have to wait and see!”

Tomas Scheckter, No.23 Mona Vie: “Today was a good day.  It looked a little bit sketchy there for a second, which is a pretty nerve wracking thing, because you just want to do race runs.  Luckily we were able to do our race runs and didn’t have to re-qualify.  All in all, I’m really happy with the car.”

Mike Conway, No. 24 Dad’s Root Beer: “Today was all about getting the Dad’s Root Beer car right for the race.  We had all day to work with it and had plenty of time to perfect things.  As the day went on we kept getting better and better and at the end we were pretty close and happy with what we got.  I think all of the cars are the same and we are all pretty happy.  I think come Sunday we will have good chance of moving forward.”

Ana Beatriz, No. 25 Ipiranga:  “We focused today on our racing set-up. We did three or four long runs so we could test a couple of things. The car is looking pretty good, now I have to check what my teammates did. They looked pretty fast, so we need to sit down and check what they’ve done. So far, the car looks great. We had to change the set-up to qualifying just in case we had to go back out, but luckily we didn’t have to.”

About Dreyer & Reinbold Racing:

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is entering its 11th season of full-time competition in 2010, making it one of the longest-tenured teams in Indy Racing League competition.  Current co-owners, Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl, first teamed in full-time competition at the Walt Disney World Speedway in January of 2000.  With Buhl behind the wheel, the two owners tasted victory in their debut race.  The 2009 IZOD IndyCar Series season-opener on the streets of St.Petersburg marked Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s 200th series start.  DRR now has over 240 starts to tuck under its belt and has qualified a total of 23 cars for the Indianapolis 500.  In its history, the team has boasted a
championship list of alumni drivers.  Besides Buhl, the team has run Indianapolis 500 winners, Al Unser, Jr., Buddy Lazier, and Buddy Rice, along with IZOD IndyCar Series race winner Ryan Briscoe.  The team has one of the longest lines of heritage in American open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500 as Dennis Reinbold’s grandfather, "Pop" Dreyer, built leading roadsters that raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

More information on the team can be found at www.dreyerreinboldracing.com 

More information on the IZOD IndyCar Series can be found at www.indycar.com.  

Media Contact: Elizabeth Cannon (317) 341-2222       ecannon@dreyerreinbold.com

Photos by
1 Forrest Mellott / IndyCar

2 Chris Jones / IndyCar

3 Dana Garret / IndyCar

4 Dan Helrigel / IndyCar

5 Ipiranga DRR

6 Shawn Payne / IndyCar

7 Chris Owens / IndyCar

8 Ipiranga DRR

9 Chris Owens / IndyCar

10 Chris Jones / IndyCar