Carlin, Juncos eye IndyCar series (Update 8)
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| Ricardo Juncos |
02/14/17
UPDATE We now know that Trevor Carlin in not moving up to IndyCar in 2017 but it appears Juncos Racing is.
RACER.com rumors that championship-winning Indy Lights team owner Ricardo Juncos is preparing to bring his program into the Verizon IndyCar Series after purchasing two cars from KV Racing.
Calls to Juncos and KV owner Kevin Kalkhoven were not immediately returned.
It's believed both cars will be entered in this year's 101st Indianapolis 500; Kyle Kaiser is among the rumored drivers, and a steady recruitment effort to hire crew members for the program has been in motion.
09/13/16 New Indy Lights series champion team owner Trevor Carlin believes his open-wheel outfit is closer than ever to joining the Verizon IndyCar Series reports Marshall Pruett of Racer. Carlin's Ed Jones took home the $1 million advancement prize on Sunday after winning the Indy Lights title, and with the Indy 500 and two other races added to the 21-year-old Briton's calendar for 2017, it could result in the driver and team making the leap together.
"If I can win today that gives me more credibility and I will feel even more confident," Carlin told RACER prior to the Lights season finale. "Plus, Ed will have a million bucks, and that's a million bucks closer to me having an IndyCar team."
In addition to speaking to various drivers like Jones about moving into IndyCar, Carlin has also been linked to a current IndyCar team that has expressed an interest in moving from Indianapolis to the new Carlin Racing compound in Delray Beach, Fla. With the possibility of having Indy cars and all of the equipment necessary to field an IndyCar program under his own roof, some interesting developments could be on the horizon.
"I'm the sort of person that tries every possible way to achieve a goal," he said. "I've got probably four real strong leads into making it happen. They're all different ways of doing it. Maybe one of them will come off this time.
"The way the IndyCar market is going at the minute, I see there being more drivers than seats. So now is my time. Whether those drivers have got 4, 5, $6 million to do it, I don't know. I have spoken to IndyCar competition president Jay Frye recently, he's been very supportive in trying to help me with my path."
09/09/16
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| Trevor Carlin (R) |
The Verizon IndyCar Series is in need of new teams on its grid, and the two most likely newest teams to enter on a full-time basis, Carlin and Juncos Racing, are in agreement they'd rather build it the right way methodically for 2018 rather than attempt to rush into 2017.
While not impossible, it's doubtful either two of the leading Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires teams will step up on a full-time basis next season, although neither ruled out any "toe in the water" effort ahead of any potential step up.
Trevor Carlin has plenty of drivers who've come through his team in Europe who are now in IndyCar and courtesy of his team's impressive and first-class arrival into Indy Lights in 2015, it'd be nice to see the Carlin name join the IndyCar grid with the same level of anticipation.
Although the potential exists to run in 2017, a full-time Carlin bow seems likelier in 2018.
As Carlin explained, the planning and talking process takes a few years, and it may not be an immediate step up even though the rumors continue to percolate.
"We keep working on it," Carlin told NBC Sports. "We've tried lots of different approaches, with investors, with sponsors, with a partnership with another team.
"So we're looking at maybe six different options. If one of them came off, that would be the next couple of months, then we'll do it next year. But if they don't we'll keep working on it on the firm belief that when the time is right, that things happen.
"It's a bit like with Lights, I talked about it for quite a long time wanting to come to America. It was probably five years from the first time I mentioned it to us doing it. It's just the chain of events, and it will be the same with IndyCar."
Who could Carlin potentially have in IndyCar, if the team were to step up down the road?
"There's quite a few [alumni]," he said. "They know us. I would imagine those guys [Aleshin, Sato, Kimball, among others] would probably be beyond our reach initially.
"There's Ed and Felix, they'd be contenders for us. If we got a full sponsor or something, then why wouldn't I look further afield to people like da Costa and Vergne and people like that? New faces to the championship. Obviously Aleshin did it with us."
Carlin is targeting another pair of three-car efforts in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires in 2017, with three cars expected to continue in Indy Lights and three the likely number for the new Carlin Benik team in Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.
For Ricardo Juncos, who fields both a two-car Indy Lights program and three-car Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires program this year, the impending opening of its new shop in Speedway, Ind. – moving from Brownsburg – takes foremost precedence.
"Most likely, yes [to 2018]," Juncos told NBC Sports. "A big rule change is coming up for IndyCar [in 2018].
"Next year I don't think technically, realistically we can do it. We're moving to the new shop. We need to solidify the Indy Lights team. That's too new. Yes, we won the championship last year and we're still in it this year but we need to get better at many things, and we will.
"So next year we'll focus on that, and the new shop will allow us to do things different and better. We need to optimize that first, and maybe '18 will be better to do something." Tony DiZinno/NBC Sports
08/04/16 Trevor Carlin told David Malsher of Motorsport.com: "I've got nothing concrete yet. I'm pressing as many buttons and opening as many doors as I can, it's something we're trying desperately hard to do, but I need a certain level of investment money to put everything together and a certain level of running money to put the first car on track.
"I'd say the chances of being on the grid next year are the best they've ever been, but there's a long way to go before we're confident of putting our entries in."
Regarding engine choice, Carlin says it wasn't something he was worried about, despite the fact that IndyCar seems set to freeze the current aero regulations for 2017, thereby maintaining Chevrolet's edge over Honda on all but the superspeedways for at least one more year. But by 2018 there is likely to be a standard aerokit.
"I think for us in Year 1, that's not a concern," he remarked. "It doesn't matter which aerokit we had. We'll have so much to learn and so much to pick up. We'll just be using the other teams with the same engine as our gauge of where we're at.
"I mean, yeah, to be honest, it would be more helpful if the new universal aerokit was brought in next year so we didn't have to learn the current kit and then swap it just a year later. But like I say, we'll cope with whatever we've got."
07/29/15 This Racer.com article echoes what AR1's Brian Carroccio reported a week and a half ago in Iowa. Carlin is unlikely to move up to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2016, however, the team has its sights set on moving to IndyCar sometime in the future.
07/17/15 This rumor is downgraded to 'speculation' today and will likely go to 'false' soon. Trevor Carlin told AR1.com's Brian Carroccio today in Iowa that it is unlikely the team will move up to IndyCar in 2016. While he did not go into specifics, when in doubt, follow the money. With TV ratings on NBCSN just above infomercial level, it's near impossible for a team from Europe to sell sponsorship for an IndyCar program. And it will remain that way for as long as IndyCar continues to feed from the NBCSN money trough.
05/14/15
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| Could Carlin be making the move to IndyCar as soon as 2016? |
As noted in this recent report from Carlin Media, the team is contemplating a move to the Verizon IndyCar Series as early as 2016. We imagine the decision may at least in part hinge on whether three-time 2015 Indy Lights Presented By Cooper Tires Series winner Ed Jones can win the championship and scholarship to 'move up.'
However, team owner Trevor Carlin has noted on numerous occasions his long-term desire to move up to IndyCar. And it appears it may happen sooner rather than later.
AR1 Staff Report
01/22/15
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| Max Chilton |
Max Chilton will join forces with British race team Carlin in a joint development program ahead of Carlin's 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series ambitions. Chilton will assist with Carlin's 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires preparations to help take the team to success in its first season racing across the Atlantic, while also carrying out an IndyCar test program in preparation for a possible 2016 campaign.
British racer Chilton is no stranger to top line racing and has completed two seasons in the Formula One World Championship for the former Marussia F1 Team. Chilton has a strong history with Carlin, having previously been a race winner with the team in both the GP2 Series and earlier in his career in British F3.
The 22 year old will carry out an important role helping the team get to grips with the new challenges of the Indy Lights Series, which races on the same circuits as the headline IndyCar program. Working alongside already confirmed driver Ed Jones, Chilton will use his experience to provide detailed feedback to the Indy Lights team while also building the team's IndyCar foundations for the future. Chilton will take part in the three days of official testing next week at the Homestead circuit in Florida.
Speaking about the program ahead, Chilton said "I'm very excited to be assisting Carlin in the USA. While I'm still considering my options for 2015, the IndyCar package presents an interesting challenge and by assisting with the development of the Indy Lights team I'm keeping my options open for an IndyCar program in 2016 based on a strong foundation of knowledge and experience. Hopefully I can also help the guys at Carlin get as much as possible out of their first season in the USA."
Trevor Carlin added, "We are very excited to embark on a long term program in America and to have Max involved in that from the very start will make us a strong package. This season is very much about finding our feet as a team in the USA and Max's experience will be invaluable to that. For Max we see 2015 very much as a chance to prepare him for a successful potential debut in IndyCar in 2016 and it made sense to help each other in those preparations."