BUSINESS
Longtime Indy 500 Team Owner Dennis Reinbold Dies After Cancer Battle
Dennis Reinbold's love for the Indy 500 including fielding two, top-notch efforts even though he didn't have a full-time team in IndyCar. Reinbold passed away on June 14.
By Vannessa Viljoen ·
One of the most loyal Indy 500 “one-off” team owners, Dennis Reinbold, has passed away, it was announced on Sunday, June 14. The Indianapolis car dealer and longtime team owner had been battling cancer but appeared to be making an improvement before taking a turn for the worse.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced the team owner’s passing at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. He was 65.
"We are heartbroken to share the news that our owner, leader, and friend, Dennis Reinbold, has passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family. We ask you to join us in supporting the Reinbold family and respecting their privacy during this painful time. Dennis was a proud son of Indianapolis. He built a successful family of automobile dealerships across the state, and he loved the community of Indianapolis that gave him so much in return.
“That same devotion fueled his passion for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—its history and the relentless pursuit of an Indy 500 win drove him every day. We can think of no better way to honor Dennis than to chase a victory in the 111th Running of the Indianapolis 500. We ask race fans to join us in remembering the man, his passion for our sport, and the memories we shared."
Dennis Reinbold’s Love For IndyCar
Reinbold grew up in the sport of IndyCar racing and was a successful car dealer in Indianapolis.
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 in the 1930s and built championship-winning sprint cars, midgets and quarter-midgets.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing began as a full-time team in the Indy Racing League in 1999 with driver Robbie Buhl winning the team’s first race at Walt Disney World Speedway.
Since that time, the drivers for the team included Al Unser, Jr., Ryan Hunter-Reay, Buddy Lazier and Buddy Rice – all drivers that won the Indianapolis 500 before joining Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Other drivers included Graham Rahal, Sarah Fisher, Ryan Briscoe, Sage Karam, Roger Yasukawa, Mike Conway, Ana Beatriz, John Andretti, Justin Wilson, Paul Tracy, Oriol Servia, Townsend Bell, JR Hildebrand, Conor Daly and Jack Harvey.
In the 110th Indianapolis 500 on May 24, Daly started eighth and finished 12th, leading four laps. Harvey started 33rd and finished 22nd.
In the 109th Indianapolis 500 in 2025, Hunter-Reay led 48 laps, the second most of any driver in the race, but ran out of fuel by using a fuel-stretching strategy late in the race. When the engine failed to refire after it was fueled, Hunter-Reay finished 21st.
Dennis Reinbold A Very Unique Team Owner At Indy 500
But what made Reinbold’s Indy 500 efforts so unique is that was the only IndyCar race the team participated. It was a full-time IndyCar team until the 2013 season. After that, it focused on the Indianapolis 500 and other forms of racing, such as rallycross.
It focused 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.
Team partners Chase Selman and Brett De Bord will continue operation of the team, which began an engineering alliance and partnership earlier this season with Juncos Hollinger Racing.
Dennis Reinbold left a lasting legacy at the Indianapolis 500, competing against the best full-time teams with a top-level Indy-only operation.