D&R close to engine deal.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing are expected to finalise their 2003 plans in the very near future according to team manager John O'Gara with Honda engines favourite to fill the biggest piece of the puzzle.

John O'Gara, team manager for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, said the team is "about a day away" from ordering cars and finalizing its engine plans for the 2003 season.

O'Gara said it seems pretty certain the team will field cars for both co-owner Robbie Buhl and Sarah Fisher again next season.

"Nothing is etched in stone for the full season," he said. "But the planning is right on target. We should get our cars around Dec. 23-24. We'll have a car for each driver.

"We want to have a good car. We want to get some reliability. We fell out of nine races last season with engine problems."

Buhl started the season qualifying seventh and sixth and placing 12th and 13th, respectively. A crash at California Speedway caused him to miss the next two races, and it wasn't until the 13th race of the season, at Gateway International Raceway, that he earned a top-10 finish by placing sixth.

Fisher joined the team as a replacement for Buhl at Nazareth and drove to fourth. She missed two races after Indy and had back-to-back eighth-place finishes at Michigan and Kentucky. At Kentucky, she became the first woman to win a pole for an Indy style race.

At the shop, the team has done some remodelling and was preparing one of last year's cars to provide a rookie with his IRL test at Kentucky, O'Gara said.

With Infiniti bowing out of the IRL, Dreyer & Reinbold were left without an engine deal as the 2002 season closed. However team boss Dennis Reinbold and several D&R personnel were seen in discussions with Honda people during the final couple of IRL races.