Arrow McLaren narrowing IndyCar alliance options

Arrow McLaren is getting closer to making a decision on where and how the three-car NTT IndyCar Series outfit will form strategic alliances in the paddock.

Fellow Chevy-powered team Juncos Hollinger Racing is known to be a strong candidate to dress one of its cars in papaya orange, but Arrow McLaren racing director Gavin Ward says there’s more than one team on their radar.

“We're talking to a number of parties about strategic alliances,” Ward told RACER. “We’re pretty close to having something finalized that we will be in a position to announce in the coming weeks. But it's not just one option on the table, and there are some options that might not even be mutually exclusive. We’re looking at a number of ways that we can make ourselves a better race team and really, that's what we're trying to do by building ourselves into the strongest IndyCar operation we can be.”

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Ward provided deeper insights into what a strategic alliance could represent for Arrow McLaren.

“We're looking at some options that could be commercial, could be talent, whether it's crews or drivers, trying to develop a pipeline,” he said. “Those are the kinds of strategic alliances we’re looking at.”

The potential to develop a technical alliance is also among the range of options for Arrow McLaren, but not for next season.

“We're not ruling out technical partnerships of that ilk that seem to be out there right now like between Andretti [and Meyer Shank Racing] and Penske [and A.J. Foyt Racing] kind of relationships for the future, but we are really ruling that out for ’24,” Ward said.

“We've got enough to do on our own just to consolidate with the growth we've had in the team, and I don't want to distract ourselves from just nailing it for next year as best we can. It's flattering to have teams reach out and want technical support. It shows faith in what we're doing and where we're going.”