IndyCar: Carlin eyes future IndyCar Series expansion

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"My personal ambition is to race in IndyCar, and to have Carlin enter the Indy 500," he said. "It's a dream of mine; the Indy 500 is one of the crown jewels in motorsport. There's the Indy 500, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and the Monaco Grand Prix.

"I'm very unlikely to be entering Le Mans in a competitive situation because of the manufacturer alliances; I'm unlikely to enter Monaco for similar reasons; but there's no reason I can't go enter the Indy 500 over the next 10 years and be competitive. That's what I want for this team."

Carlin's love for the Indy 500 dates back to the 1980s, and he's left the timetable to make the IndyCar leap somewhat open.

"Ever since I first worked in America in 1985, I've had this ambition," he explained. "Watching Danny Sullivan spin and win was remarkable. Once I saw that, I was pretty much hooked. To be part of that event as a team principal would be wonderful. That's where I want to go as a company, and it could take us one year, two years, or 10 years. By making this first step in America, I'm closer to that goal than I was in Europe."

It's too early to say where Carlin will look for his Indy 500 driver, but with the ultra-successful Carlin Racing program preparing to bring young drivers over from Europe, he could move upward with one of his Indy Lights clients.

"We're trying to open up the American scene to European drivers who might have never considered it, and give them that option," he explained. "If they have a friendly face in the paddock, that will increase their chance of coming over.

"I'm hoping it benefits Schmidt and Belardi and all the other [Indy Lights] teams; I'd love to see 10 European drivers coming over and signing with teams, because that's where health and strength comes from for any team in the junior categories. Hopefully we can start a new wave of interest so the whole pool of talent increases and grows to feed IndyCar."​