INDIANAPOLIS (April 19, 2021) – The 500 Festival, AES Indiana, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing today announced a new partnership that will feature the 500 Festival Foundation, AES 500 Festival Parade, and AES Indiana branding with the new livery for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and its No. 24 Chevrolet-powered entry in the 105th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race driven by Sage Karam.

Due to unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 AES 500 Festival Parade will not be held this year and longtime parade title sponsor, AES Indiana (formerly Indianapolis Power & Light Company), has teamed up with the 500 Festival to create a unique partnership that will highlight the community initiatives of the 500 Festival and support the 500 Festival Foundation. As a former 500 Festival board director, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team owner Dennis Reinbold agreed to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor the 500 Festival and its partnership with AES Indiana.

The unique livery will feature the AES 500 Festival Parade logo as well as the newly introduced AES Indiana logo. Additionally, the No. 24 car will feature the Omaze logo. Omaze will be supporting the 500 Festival Foundation on their unique fundraising platform this May with a sweepstakes that will allow people to enter for the chance to win a very special prize and a dream-come-true package for Indy 500 fans. As a thank you for that support, they will be featured on the No. 24 car.

“We can’t thank AES Indiana and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing enough for this unique and exciting way to celebrate the month of May and the AES 500 Festival Parade,” said Bob Bryant, president and CEO of the 500 Festival. “We’re excited to highlight this incredible opportunity with Omaze, and build awareness of the mission of the 500 Festival to enrich lives, foster positive community impact, and celebrate the Indy 500. It’s a fantastic team effort and exciting way to cap off the month of May this year.”

“We are excited about showcasing our brand transition from IPL to AES Indiana at this year’s Indy 500,” said Kristina Lund, president and CEO, AES Indiana. “Our AES Indiana utilities are accelerating the future of energy, so that we can help our customers meet their most important objectives of reliability, affordability, and sustainability. This is a unique partnership and we are honored to team up with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and the 500 Festival as they share the same commitment to this community and the month of May in Indy.”

“The 500 Festival is near and dear to me, and the whole team, as we have always admired and supported the work that the non-profit organization does in our community as well as the traditions it upholds for the Indy 500 and the entire month of May,” said Reinbold, DRR team owner. “We are grateful to longtime sponsor WIX Filters for working with us to create a platform to highlight AES Indiana, the AES 500 Festival Parade, and the 500 Festival Foundation on our No. 24 car, and not to mention draw attention to the awesome Omaze prize that will benefit the 500 Festival Foundation.”

About the 500 Festival

Founded in 1957, the 500 Festival is a not-for-profit organization that produces more than 50 life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the spirit and legacy of the Indianapolis 500 and positively impact the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana. One of the largest festivals in the nation, each year more than half a million people attend an event or program produced by the 500 Festival. Since its founding, the 500 Festival has contributed more than $500 million in economic value to Indianapolis. To learn more about the 500 Festival, please visit www.500festival.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

About AES Indiana

AES Indiana, an AES Company, provides retail electric service to more than 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis, as well as portions of other Central Indiana communities surrounding Marion County. During its long history, AES Indiana has supplied its customers with some of the lowest-cost, most reliable power in the country.  Connect with AES Indiana on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  For more information about how AES Indiana is accelerating the future of energy, visit aesindiana.com/hellofuture.

About Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was founded in 1999 by Indianapolis car dealer Dennis Reinbold. The legacy of the Dreyer and Reinbold family dates back to the 1920s with Reinbold’s grandfather, the legendary Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, a former factory motorcycle racer. Dreyer served as a crewman and mechanic on the famed Duesenberg driven by Benny Shoaff and Babe Stapp in the 1927 Indy 500. Dreyer went on to build Indy 500 cars in the 1930s which many started on the front row. In addition, Dreyer constructed championship-winning sprint cars and midgets as well as quarter midgets called Dreyerettes. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing captured its first win in 2000 with driver Robbie Buhl at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla., and has fielded a variety of drivers including Buhl, Buddy Lazier, Sarah Fisher, Buddy Rice, Al Unser Jr., Sage Karam and J.R. Hildebrand. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has successfully qualified all 42 drivers for the Indy 500 in its history. DRR, who competed in the Rallycross for the first time in 2015, captured the 2016 Lites rallycross championship.

About Omaze

Omaze is an online fundraising platform that offers the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences and prizes to support nonprofits around the world. Omaze experiences connect influencers, nonprofits and donors to create lasting impact. Through the Omaze platform, people from more than 180 countries have made donations that support over 350 charities, driving substantial levels of awareness for their work. Omaze has raised more than $130M for causes to date, and was named to the 2020 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.