Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has signed IndyCar Series veteran driver Townsend Bell to drive in selected races during the 2008 season, including the Indianapolis 500, it was revealed during the Sebring test.
The 32-year old will share the team's #23 car with Venezuelan Milka Duno, but will head into the season having not been involved in the IndyCar Series since the 2006 Indianapolis 500.
"I'm ready to get going," Bell insisted, having taken over from Duno on the final day of the Sebring test, "There are a few new things [associated with the car] and, obviously, the driver has a lot of rust. That showed up on the very first lap.
"I've done 15 laps in one of these cars on a road course at Sonoma a year-and-a-half ago and, prior to that, I hadn't been on a road course in three years. This is just a lot of cobwebs getting out of the system. The first couple of laps when the track was green it was like 'oh, yeah, these things are pretty fast'.''
Bell's first race for Dreyer & Reinbold will be the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on 6 April, the second round of the 2008 season, and will add to the total of twelve starts he ahs in the series, dating back to 2004. His best finish came in his debut season, when he finished fifth at the Nashville Superspeedway with Panther Racing.
"Townsend fits right into the Dreyer and Reinbold mould," co-owner Dennis Reinbold said, "We've seen what he's done in the past in this series, and we're excited to see him in one of our race cars for this year.
"We're confident that we're making great strides with our race team. To bring in someone like Townsend allows us to gather information from an experienced driver and, at the same time, he can help share information with Milka and help her continue to improve and gain."
Bell and Duno are expected to partner veteran and former Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice in the Dreyer & Reinbold line-up although, despite running the #15 car in testing, final plans for the car are still in the works.
