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Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 Full of Twists and Turns for Dreyer &Reinbold Racing

Kansas City, Kansas (April 26, 2009)- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s first oval of the season was full of twists and turns for the team. The Indianapolis-based squad battled windy weather conditions and plenty of action during the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 in Kansas City, Kansas today.
 
 
As the green flag dropped, both Milka Duno (No. 23 CITGO) and Mike Conway (No. 24 Dad’s Root Beer) were off to a very good start.  They had a clean first lap and immediately began to get into the groove. Conway gained two positions going from 16th to 14th, while his teammate, Duno, went from 12th to 13th position.  Both drivers were running a steady race until the first full course yellow on lap fourteen.  The duo came into the pits for their first stop on lap 16, and from that point on it started to change.
 
Rookie Mike Conway was taking advantage of his opportunity, as he gained positions and experience during his first oval race.  The Brit had a taste of what it was like to run through traffic and battled Justin Wilson for a couple of laps. Things started to turn for Conway on lap 68 when came into the pits for his second stop.  He received a minor pit infraction that resulted in a drive thru penalty, putting him in 19th position.  On lap 104 the 25 year-old had too much under-steer going into turn one and brushed the wall damaging his front right wishbone, ending his day early.
 
It was a similar story for Duno.  The Venezuelan started off strong, but unfortunately struggled with under-steer due to the windy conditions in turns three and four.  On lap 97, Milka came in for her second stop and as she tried to get around another team’s air hose, she made contact with it, which resulted in a pit infraction and she had a drive thru penalty.  After Duno’s final stop the car stalled, but she finished the race in 16th position.
 
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing looks forward to the month of May.  The team heads back to Indianapolis as they prepare for the Indianapolis 500.

What they have to say…

Mike Conway:  “I enjoyed my first oval.  I was moving up a little bit at the beginning of the race, buying my time and keeping it safe.  We were looking good, but when I came into the pits I locked the front left and I’m sorry to the crew, because I clipped one of the guys and luckily he is okay.  We got a drive thru and lost two laps.  The Dad’s Root Beer car felt really good after that and we were making great time, but unfortunately our day ended early.  I feel that Kansas prepared me well and I look forward to the month of May.”

Milka Duno:  “We had a great car all weekend, but the weather conditions created too many problems in turns three and four.  There was a lot of under-steer and when we left the pits the car was good for two laps, but then I started to have under-steer and I wasn’t able to keep the car flat, because I would lose the front of the car every time I took that corner.”  

Dennis Reinbold:  “With Mike we had a pit incident that put us down two laps, but once we sorted through that we were running pretty quick. In fact we were running times that were equal to, and at times, faster than what the leaders were doing.  We made some adjustments to the car and Mike got out and did a great job of passing people and got a lot of experience running in traffic, which is what we wanted to accomplish.  Unfortunately, his car had some push and caught a gust of wind and brushed against the wall, which is what ended our day.  With Milka, she did a great job qualifying yesterday.  She had a good start to the race.  Everyone was having trouble in turns three and four where the wind was so strong.  She had pretty severe push with the car and couldn’t stay on the gas all the way through there, but she held on and drove through all of those stints like she was supposed to and held on.  We are disappointed with our finishes, but we learned a lot heading into Indy.”

About Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing enters its 10th season of full-time competition in 2009, 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 IndyCar Series season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg marked Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's 200th series start.  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 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 IndyCar Series can be found at www.indycar.com.  
More information on Milka Duno can be found at www.milkaduno.com.

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