Fisher and Rice Take Seats for 2007 Season
Written by Allan Brewer · January 31, 2007
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Sarah Fisher. Photo: RonMcQueeney,IRL
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Dreyer & Reinbold Own Up to Two-Car Team
Indianapolis-based Entries Bring Field to Eighteen
by Allan Brewer
allan@fastmachines.com
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced during an Indy Racing League teleconference on Wednesday a dynamic step toward a multi-car presence in the IndyCar Series with a surprising two-car, two-driver entry for the 2007 IRL season.
The small, Indianapolis-based team put both 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice and fan-favorite Sarah Fisher (photo right) onto the podium to boast their plans for the new year.
For Fisher, the return to the D&R stable in tandem with another driver fully returns her past to the future–the twenty-six year old female driver was D&R team co-owner Robbie Buhl’s partner during the 2002 IndyCar campaign.
Her return, however, bears one caveat for her fans: until the team decides otherwise she will only be fielding a car at the IRL schedule’s non-road course events (which includes this week’s pre-season test at the Daytona International Speedway).
“I’ll be doing all the oval races for Dreyer & Reinbold, and that’s neat,” said Fisher.
“I’ve had a great time with those guys and they have the equipment and the people to be able to put me back on the podium again and to be able to compete up front. They have wonderful people working with them. In the off-season they (D&R) showed their commitment to growing as a team. I’m excited about being back. I love the IndyCars.”
“This is something we talked about for a while,” said Buhl. “Sarah drove for us the last two races last year, Kentucky and Chicago (both ovals), and she didn’t put a wheel wrong. There were things we need to do improve on our race cars to give her a better ride, but Sarah showed her desire to be back in a car and make a statement in open wheel. We’re excited to have Sarah with us to complement Buddy and his knowledge of open-wheel cars.”
For Rice, the step into the D&R cockpit ends a winding road through Champ Car and GrandAm racing since his release from Rahal/Letterman Racing following the conclusion of the 2006 season at Chicagoland Speedway in September.
“It was something I wanted to do,” said Rice. “I wanted to stay in IndyCar racing.”
“Some people took things out of context by my running with another series, but I felt it was important to keep myself sharp to be able to drive,” he said.
“I drove in another open-wheel series and a lot of people took that different ways. I started talking with Dennis and Robbie, and knew the steps they were taking to make their team more competitive. They wanted to move up the ladder and make sure that they were competitive and a front-running team.”
Rice’s career has long been linked to the IndyCar series, and to the RLR team, for which he took the rain-shortened 2004 “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for team owners Bobby Rahal and late-nite TV star David Letterman.
The move back to the IRL brings Rice full circle back to his open-wheel roots. Of D&R he said: “They’re a long supporter of the (IndyCar Series), and to be honest, I’m excited to be back on a full-time basis. I’m looking forward to being back at the Indy 500. It’s the biggest race in the world, and I was fortunate to win it before. I’d like to do it again.”
In custom with the season, and the optimistic hopes everyone shares for the seventeen-race trek ahead, Rice thinks D&R can end its “also-ran” status and move upward on the grid over the coming months.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to catch the four red cars, but I’ve been talking with a lot of people, and I think it’s going to be great. Working with J.D. and Chris Finch I’ll get my car going and get an understanding of everybody’s language,” Rice said.
“The car is going to be competitive, and there is no reason we shouldn’t be running inside the top 5 and be competitive.”
Stay tuned to Fastmachine’s continuing coverage of pre-season Indy Racing League fanfare as we follow American open-wheel racing from first turned wrench to the final checkered flag in 2007.
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Looking forward to watching this fine team this year. I am a big fan of Fisher, and am expecting great racing from her. I just wish she would drive ALMS also.