Playa Del Racing was founded in 2001 on the sunny shores of Playa Del Rey, California. The name of the team is loosely translated to "Beach Racing", which directly reflects the team's personality. The organization is well-known for having a fun loving atmosphere combined with a fierce appetite to put the car in victory circle. The team is based in Indianapolis, where all operations take place.

Playa Del Racing (PDR) has competed at the highest level of motor sports since entering the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, and has been a regular in the Indy Pro Series since 2006. In 2005, Jaques Lazier was behind the wheel of the PDR machine that landed a solid 16th place finish. Jaques managed to climb from his starting position of 27th into the top ten where he ran as high as 7th position before an incident forced him to fall back in the field.

In 2006, PDR returned to Indy to field two cars. Jaques Lazier returned to pilot the No.21 Videopoker.com machine, and Indy Racing League veteran Roger Yasukawa was behind the wheel of the Ethos Fuel Reformulator No.12 car. The cars finished a solid 15th and 16th, despite Lazier encountering an incident mid-race. PDR plans to enter at least one car, possibly two, in the Indy Pro Series in 2007. The team has plans to also enter at least two cars in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 this year.

The team continues to hold true to it's original philosophy, which is to do things the old fashioned way by surrounding the team with the best personnel, while having fun with the racing industry.

Gary Sallee is an Indiana native, who resided in Playa Del Rey, Calif. when PDR was born, has enjoyed previous success in open-wheel racing prior to the birth of PDR. Sallee co-founded other successful IRL teams such as Team Cheever and ISM Racing. Team Cheever managed to score the JPMorgan Chase Bank "Rookie of the Year" honors with Jeff Ward behind the wheel after a third place finish in the 1997 Indianapolis 500. Sallee had continued success in 1998 when ISM Racing finished third and earned a "Rookie of the Year" award with Steve Knapp in the cockpit. Sallee earned his law degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and practices law in both Indiana and California. Sallee resides in Indianapolis, and is father of two sons Benjamin and Patrick.

Susan Schafer hales from Lena, Illinois with deep roots in Playa Del Rey, Calif., where the inspiration for the team philosophy was established. She owns and operates Race Performance Marketing, which is a sponsorship acquisition company for both the Indy Racing League, and NASCAR. Schafer first came to Indianapolis in 1996, when she coordinated team efforts for Racin Gardner. Schafer is breaking down racing barriers, by founding Playa Del Racing. She is one of only a select few female co-owners in the IRL’s history. Schafer graduated from the University of Santa Monica with a master’s degree in Psychology, and is currently in Barron University’s Psycho Neurology Doctorate program. She is mom to cats Rockie and Mogul, and dogs Cabo and Bear.

Jeff Brougher is an Indianapolis based entrepreneur who is chief executive officer of the National Association of International Travelers, which specializes in identity theft insurance.