LANE VACALA RETURNS TO DREYER & REINBOLD RACING

Dreyer & Reinbold announced rallycross driver Lane Vacala of Antioch, IL, has signed to compete in the new five-race 2021 Nitro Rallycross (NRX) series set to begin on Sept. 24-25 at the Utah Motorsports Campus as he leads the DRR NRX NEXT rallycross program in the No. 55 DRR NEXT car. Former Indy 500 champion, Buddy Rice, serves as DRR NRX NEXT technical director in 2021.

Vacala returned to rallycross competition in North America after serving as a member of the Factory Compkart racing team in the J3 Competition. Lane has been a top nationally-ranked karting racer for the past five years and won the Great Lakes Sprint Series Championship in 2014. Vacala also competed in the Rotax International Trophy Race in LeMans, France.

“It was a dream come true for me to join the DRR rallycross effort in 2019,” Vacala said. “Now I am so excited to return to the DRR NRX NEXT lineup this year with an all-new Nitro Rallycross tour. I learned a lot in the few races I drove with DRR in 2019 and have worked hard with Buddy (Rice) in other competitions to gain more experience. I’ve been doing a lot of training and preparation for this season and I’m excited to finally race now.”

Vacala established a very successful karting career before moving in rallycross and open-wheel racing, he drove in 2019 Rallycross Lites with DRR on a limited schedule. However, Vacala competed in various rallycross events in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden as part of the RallyX Nordic Championship.

Vacala plans several testing runs in the updated DRR NRX NEXT cars before the NRX season-opener in late September.

“We are very pleased to bring back Lane Vacala to our DRR NRX NEXT program in 2021,” said Dennis Reinbold, team owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “He worked well with our crew and really showed some potential after just a few events in 2019. We wanted to run Lane in 2020, but the COVID pandemic put a hold on that schedule. Now, after quite a few Nordic Rallycross events, he has gained a lot of experience in the Lites cars. Plus, Lane has worked closely with Buddy Rice in developing his car control. We are anxious to get Lane back in the car and on track. He will be a contender in the NRX NEXT class this year.”

Vacala will lead the DRR NEXT lineup in this year’s NRX series events starting at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantville, UT, on September 24-25; ERX Motor Park in Minneapolis, MN, on October 2-3; Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, AZ, on November 13-14; Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA, on November 20-21, and The Firm in North Florida on December 4-5.