Dennis Reinbold, owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing IndyCar team, car dealerships, has died

Dennis Reinbold, owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and an Indianapolis car dealer, has died, the team announced Sunday afternoon.

>Reinbold's team has been an Indy 500-only team in IndyCar in recent seasons, as it also competed in multiple rallycross series, including as a partner team for the upcoming RallyX Americas season. He owned Volkswagen, BMW, Infinity and Subaru dealerships in the Indianapolis area.

>"Dennis was a proud son of Indianapolis," the team said in a statement. "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."

>Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was founded in 1999, but his family's history with the Indianapolis 500 dates back to 1927 when his grandfather, Floyd "Pop" Dreyer, served as a crewman and mechanic for Duesenberg. Dreyer built Indy 500 cars in the 1930s and sprint cars, midgits and quarter midgits.

>Reinbold grew up less than two miles from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

>"We would ride our bicycles to 16th and Georgetown and listen to those awesome sounds of the engines going around the speedway," he said to The Current. "Then we would ride around a makeshift oval at the church parking lot near our house as if we were the drivers in the race.

>"I was always Lloyd Ruby since my uncle was on his pit crew."

>Dreyer & Reinbold Racing picked up its only win in the first race of the 2000 season as Robbie Buhl won at the Walt Disney World Speedway in the team's first IndyCar race. Buddy Lazier, Sarah Fisher, Buddy Rice, Al Unser Jr., Ryan Hunter-Reay and Townsend Bell have also driven for the team.

>Jack Harvey and Conor Daly ran the Indy 500 for the team this year. Daly secured his best starting position (eighth) in his 13th career start and finished 12th. Harvey finished 22nd after starting 33rd.

>Reinbold held a degree from the University of Indianapolis and an MBA from Indiana State University.

>Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.

>This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dennis Reinbold died, owner of IndyCar's Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, dealerships