Happy Halloween to Dreyer & Reinbold, who are announcing the hiring of two engineers (Chris Finch and John Dick) who have recently worked for Fernandez Racing.
Pardon me for reading tea leaves but this looks like D&R is planning on staying in the IRL. At the same time it also appears Fernandez Racing is a sinking ship.
Then again, it could mean neither of those things and simply be a coincidence.
UPDATE: D&R spokesman Klint Briney addresses today's news by simply saying "We have hired two engineers to add to our race team. At this time, we are exploring all options."
Looks like we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.
UPDATE 2: Here are some thoughts from IRL-Live.
While there have been no official announcements, rumors throughout the Indianapolis area combined with the fact that that Dick and Finch were available to DRR indicate the mothballing Adrian Fernandez IndyCar Series operation is imminent. Fernandez reportedly is holding on to some employees for his new ALMS LMP2 program backed by Acura, with the IndyCar Series program now waiting for sponsorship.
The unconfirmed exit of Fernandez from the IRL is not expected to have a direct effect on the IndyCar Series car count. Former Fernandez drivers Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsuura have considerable personal backing and are expected to announce 2007 plans with different teams.
Sharp is expected to become a driver for Rahal Letterman Racing in a move that will also include his taking on the role of team manager. Matsuura, the beneficiary of Aguri Suzuki's ARTA program for Japanese driver development, is shopping his backing with a second Panther Racing car one of his leading opportunities.
DRR hiring Fernandez enginers is a big tip that Fernandez is belly up. Done. Can't swing a dead cat around Indy without hitting someone from Fernandez with a resume in hand. I believe DRR has been contacted by Champ Car multiple times. Tony better pay attention. Kevin Kalkhoven ain't going to just roll over and let him run the show. If teams don't feel loved in the IRL, I'm sure KK will be glad to send them a fruit basket with a Panoz DP01 chassis attached.
Rather than moving toward unification, the two series are obviously getting more competitive. Fun to watch..
Something is going on at D&R. Sarah seems confident that she will be racing in '07, they hired more people and not a word about their plans, but expect an announcement...