IndyCar: Carlin continues to evaluate IndyCar program

Carlin Racing's introduction to American open-wheel racing has been as impressive as expected. The British team has long served as one of the premier junior formula entrants in Europe, and with its expansion into the new-look Indy Lights series, the success has continued.

Winning the first three Lights races on street courses and the most recent round on the 0.875-mile Iowa oval has established the New York-based outfit as serious players in North America, and with rookie driver Ed Jones holding a close third in the championship, a title is within reach during Carlin's debut season.

Team owner Trevor Carlin's American plans also include a move to the Verizon IndyCar Series, and at the rate they've adapted to Indy Lights, a jump to the big series might not be far away.

"The interest is still there and very strong. It's the reason we came to the United States," Carlin (LEFT) told RACER. "Our first step was Indy Lights on that journey, and we're the sort of team and I'm the sort of guy who will do things when the time is right instead of trying to force things."

Having raced alongside IndyCar throughout its fast-paced season, Carlin has an inkling of what's needed to field a competitive program and how long it would take to assemble what's needed.

"I think next year might be too early for us; we need to establish ourselves with a proper base of our own and add more staff," he said. "The one thing I've seen is that to be ready for the April-May-June rush we saw this year, it would be a struggle to get prepared for it with the world's biggest race thrown into the middle of it. It was good to see it firsthand and showed us the type of resources you have to have to push through the peak of the season."

The roster of drivers who've driven for Carlin includes 4-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, F1 race winners Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, and Robert Kubica, and plenty of young guns like Daniil Kvyat, Kevin Magnussen, and Felipe Nasr, among others, have been groomed by the team.

With a foothold in America, Carlin says he'd like to create more opportunities for the next generation of stars by building a bridge to move from Indy Lights and European open-wheel into IndyCar. He'd also like to be considered by funded IndyCar drivers who are looking for more options than currently exist.

"I'd like to think someone is out there who realizes they could be part of something that's really, really good," he noted. "It would be done properly; we don't race to make up the numbers, and we'd love to have an American driver who's looking for a team where maybe he or she hasn't found what they need elsewhere. And we'd love to have a European driver who knows the caliber of our programs and sees Carlin Racing as the right partner to choose for IndyCar. We haven't gotten to that stage yet, but we're talking and listening."

Carlin also sees the team's quick adaptation to oval racing as a positive and crucial component for those interested in IndyCar.

"After finishing 1-2 at Iowa, I think that improved our chances," he added. "It certainly didn't hurt, and as we all know, being competitive on the ovals is just as big a part of success in IndyCar as the results you earn on the road courses. If we continue having success on ovals and everywhere else, I'm confident we'll be in IndyCar sooner than later."