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INDIANAPOLIS (May 16, 2009)— Co-team owners Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl had to take a sigh of relief Saturday evening as three more of the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers qualified for the 33-driver lineup in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race set for Sunday, May 24.
Reinbold, working from pit lane with each of his three drivers, John Andretti, Mike Conway and Milka Duno, and Buhl, working in the Versus television booth as a race analyst, already had Davey Hamilton in the field last Sunday when the Idaho veteran averaged 221.9 miles per hour to secure the 22nd position. But Saturday was tough for Reinbold and Buhl to watch at times in the windy conditions.
However, when the 6 p.m. gun fired, Andretti, Conway and Duno had placed their respective cars in the field entering the final day of time trials Sunday.
Andretti, seeking his tenth Indy 500 start, drove his No. 43 Richard Petty Window World Honda Dallara to lap speeds of 220.017, 219.478, 219.582 and 218.696 for an average of 219.442 and the 31st position.
Three drivers will attempt to bump into the 33-driver field on Sunday, and Andretti and Duno will be prepared to re-qualify if necessary.
Sunday action opens with practice runs at 10:15 a.m. Bump Day qualifying will begin at noon and conclude at 6 p.m., weather permitting.
DREYER & REINBOLD QUOTES:
DENNIS REINBOLD, Co-owner, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: " This is definitely one of the longer days I have spent here at the Speedway. We are in and qualified, and we are really happy to get numbers posted today. We know what we have to do for tomorrow, and it's supposed to be a nicer day. The wind was tough out there today, so if it's nicer conditions we can be more aggressive with the trim of our cars. We have more speed to go out and make the race. We wanted to start out by getting everyone in. I'm really happy with all the drivers for staying focused all day long and really stepping up when it came time to qualify."
JOHN ANDRETTI, No. 43 Richard Petty Window World Honda Dallara: "Right now, we are in the show. But we are in a spot that is an attainable speed for people to capture, so we have to look at that. I think if tomorrow is a really good day, it could go much deeper than that. This has been my roughest month of May. We are working hard and we will do our best to make it all happen. We will see what happens for tomorrow."