Dreyer & Reinbold Racing took to the track on Friday at the Richmond International Raceway with high expectations for the weekend, and driver Buddy Rice supported those expectations by practicing in the top three all day and notching a fifth-place starting spot for Saturday night’s race.

Throughout the day, Rice demonstrated that he and the team were looking to rebound after the disappointing race last weekend in Iowa.  On old tires and new, he posted quick times throughout every session.

Teammate Townsend Bell also had high expectations for qualifying, but when he took to the track for his run, the car didn’t handle as he had anticipated.  The resulting time was a disappointment, but he and the crew are confident for a good showing during the race.

The 300-lap SunTrust Indy Challenge can be seen live and in HD on Saturday night at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.

QUOTES

#15 DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Buddy Rice

“We’ve been chasing that car all day.  This is great for Dreyer and Reinbold, Roll Coater, Rigid, and all the guys right now.  It’s disappointing that last weekend in Iowa, we had a wheel bearing failure.  We had a really strong car there.  We wanted to come here and run strong.  This is one of the places that’s kind of an equalizer.  It’s good for us.”

#23 DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Townsend Bell

“We just picked up a handling issue we haven’t had all day on new tires.  It’s just so frustrating.  I’m surprised at the time we ran.  I’m disappointed.  We made some tweaks for qualifying.  The part of the car we fixed, it got better, but we made one end worse.  It’s just the way it is on these ovals.  I was hoping for a lot more than that, but we just have to take what we got.  That’s all we can do.  The guys have done a great job all weekend, and I’m sure we’ll come back stronger on race day.”