– The first charter sale in IndyCar Series history is finalized. As officially confirmed on Wednesday, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) is giving up one of its three charter agreements – and thus the entry right for one of its three cars – for the upcoming 2027 season and selling it to another team. This move had already been hinted at behind the scenes in recent days, and now it has been officially confirmed.
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Specifically, this means that RLL will scale back from three to two full-time cars for 2027. The entry right being sold concerns the team’s third car, which is piloted by Mick Schumacher with car number 47 in the current 2026 IndyCar season.
Schumacher’s future with the Rahal team beyond 2026 is not yet confirmed, but also not entirely ruled out. The same applies to a possible team change for the 27-year-old German, who is currently in his rookie season and achieved his first top 10 finish in the recent race (Nashville).
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The team that acquired the charter from RLL for 2027 at an undisclosed price is Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR). Team founder Dennis Reinbold passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 65. However, his racing team continues to exist and is now led by his son, Derek Reinbold.
What’s more: in 2027, thanks to the charter acquisition, DRR will compete in the IndyCar Series on a full-time basis for the first time since 2012. Since 2013, they had been competing part-time, mainly at the Indy 500. The team had only a few exceptions in the form of additional races, namely in 2013 and 2020.
“I have always had great respect for Dennis Reinbold. His commitment to the IndyCar Series and the legacy he built over many years earned him the respect of everyone in the paddock,” says Bobby Rahal, team founder and one of three owners at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The other two co-owners at RLL are David Letterman and Mike Lanigan.
Bobby Rahal, who was a three-time IndyCar champion as a driver, continued on the charter sale to the team founded by Dennis Reinbold: “In evaluating the long-term direction of our team, we made the strategic decision to revert our full-time program to two cars starting in 2027. We believe this will make our team more competitive. At the same time, we believe we will be able to deploy our resources more effectively as we prepare for the introduction of the new car,” said Rahal.
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Not yet for 2027, but for 2028, the Dallara IndyCar spec car, which has been in use in its basic form since 2012, will be replaced by a completely new vehicle. The new spec car for all IndyCar teams will also come from Dallara but has not yet been presented.
Regarding the sale of a charter from RLL to DRR, this is the first such transaction since the charter system was introduced in the IndyCar Series for the 2025 season. Derek Reinbold, son of the late team founder Dennis Reinbold, comments on behalf of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, where they will compete on a full-time basis again from 2027 thanks to the acquisition of the entry right for a car.
“I want to thank Bobby Rahal, Mike Lanigan, David Letterman, and Jay Frye (RLL Team President; Editor’s note) for how they approached this matter from our very first conversation. They viewed the whole thing as a partnership between two teams that wish each other success. Today’s announcement reflects that,” says Derek Reinbold, who has been leading the team since his father’s death.
“My father built Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and put his entire life into this team. Our family has been involved at the Speedway [in Indianapolis] for four generations. Being able to compete in a full season again in the future is the most authentic way to honor my father’s legacy. We want to make him proud,” says Derek Reinbold.
Which driver will pilot DRR’s car, used in all season races, in the 2027 IndyCar season is currently not yet confirmed, nor is the question of how the RLL team, scaling back from three to two cars, will precisely position itself driver-wise for 2027, and whether Mick Schumacher will remain on board or move to another team.
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Mick Schumacher expressed his desire and confidence to remain in the IndyCar Series beyond 2026 at the beginning of this week, immediately after his best race result to date – 8th place in the oval race in Nashville, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday.
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