Arrow McLaren SP set for rebranding

Arrow McLaren SP will move forward with a plan it crafted earlier in the year to shorten its name to Arrow McLaren at the onset of 2023.

The change removes the initials of co-owners Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson, who sold 75 percent of the team to McLaren Racing in 2021. Despite dropping "SP" from the team’s name, Schmidt and Peterson’s roles remain unchanged and both will be actively involved in the three-car effort.

Among IndyCar teams, the organization founded in 2001 by Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports has undergone more name changes than any other outfit. Competing as SSM through the 2011 season, the team was rebranded as Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports in 2012 in deference to Davey Hamilton, whose sponsorship from Hewlett-Packard allowed the team to continue racing in the series as a full-time entrant with new driver Simon Pagenaud.

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SHM ran through 2013 and by the end of the year, Canadian trucking magnate Ric Peterson bought into the team which led to Hamilton’s departure and a return in 2014 as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. As SPM, the team competed through 2018 with no name changes, but with the elevation of Arrow Electronics’ involvement, SPM became Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2019.

ASPM lasted one season. In 2020, the team became Arrow McLaren SP as McLaren Racing partnered with Schmidt and Peterson, albeit without an ownership stake. AMSP had a three-year run through the 2022 season and in a few weeks, Schmidt’s original team will undergo its sixth name change in just over 20 years.