Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has made the trip up north today to Canada for the first IndyCar Series race in the country, the Rexall Edmonton Indy, with drivers Buddy Rice and returning driver, Townsend Bell, who will make his first start since the Richmond round.

Bell will be driving the #23 William Rast machine with the same, eye-catching scheme ran in this year’s Indianapolis 500.  The  army-green “scud” will feature camouflage-schemed stripes running along the bodywork of the car.

Rice comes into this weekend after having a disappointing race in Mid-Ohio.  He had one of the fastest cars on the track all weekend.  Besides posting the fastest time in his first qualifying group, he barely missed making the Firestone Fast Six, finishing in seventh.

In the race, he was one of only five drivers that posted lap times under the 69.5-second range.  An electrical issue kept him out of contention, however, as the compressor activating the paddle shifting system would sporadically malfunction.  A post-race inspection found the specific issue causing the problem, but nonetheless, the result was a disappointment given how fast Rice ran all weekend.

He looks to carry that speed onto this track, even though he and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing have never seen it before.

Taking a race weekend off is CITGO driver Milka Duno.  She will return to the cockpit at the next round at the Kentucky Speedway.

Practice for this weekend’s event begins on Thursday with two sessions — 3:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. EST.  The third practice will be on Friday at 12:30 p.m. EST.  Qualifying will be later that afternoon at 5:15 p.m. EST.  A warm-up session will take place on Saturday at 11:55 a.m. EST.  All of these sessions can be seen live via streaming video on indycar.com

The race itself can be seen Saturday live on ESPN in HD at 5 p.m. EST.

QUOTES

#15 DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Buddy Rice

On Mid-Ohio: “That was a missed opportunity for us.  The Dreyer & Reinbold team, Honda, and Roll Coater, did a great job putting together a fast car for me on the track.  A problem out of our hands took a good result away from us.  It’s a disappointment, but we’ll have to shift our focus to the next race.”

On Edmonton: “I always enjoy coming to Canada.  I’ve spent a lot of time on the eastern part with races there, but I’ve never seen the track here in Edmonton.  It looks like it’s really fast, and I’m excited about it.  The Dreyer & Reinbold team have had to work really hard to get things turned around from Mid-Ohio, and hopefully we can show the same speed as we did there and get back on a streak of putting up solid results again.”

#23 WILLIAM RAST/DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Townsend Bell

On Edmonton: “I’ve been ready to get back in the car.  I’m excited to jump back into the ‘scud,’ the William Rast car.  Like many others, this will be my first time to Edmonton, so my only exposure to it is through videos and track maps, but I’m looking forward to running there.  The fans in Canada are great, and it should be an exciting event.”

#23 CITGO/DREYER & REINBOLD RACING Honda Dallara Driver Milka Duno

On Mid-Ohio: "We were happy to see the checkered flag (on Sunday).  I made a mistake by spinning out on Lap 36 and lost several laps.  We will continue learning and move forward to my next race in Kentucky."