Honda in talks with Meyer Shank to run 2028 factory entry

Honda Racing Corporation US president David Salters says talks are already under way with Meyer Shank Racing to field HRC’s single-car manufacturer charter entry starting in 2028.

Under the new engine supply agreements struck with the IndyCar Series, Chevrolet and Honda will have the ability to field lone factory entries of their own once the new chassis and engine formulas come online, and with the charter rules limiting teams to three cars, both brands would need to seek two-car outfits to enter cars on their behalf.

For HRC, the Meyer Shank team already serves as its factory partner in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and in that unique arrangement, MSR runs the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 GTP car for HRC with MSR’s staff and the sister No. 93 ARX-06 is led and engineered by a significant number of HRC employees.

With what Salters has in mind for IndyCar, the HRC/MSR model in IMSA would be replicated in having HRC take a direct role on the engineering and strategy side of the car, and likely with the same MSR team.

“We're in discussions with Meyer Shank on how we would run a car with them,” Salters said. “So we do it already. We know what to do. We run car 93 and we would think of a similar model for IndyCar, really. We're there to build on what we've invested in. We're there to further develop our people. It works very well with MSR. So right now, that's how we would envisage proceeding, and those are the type of discussions we're having.”

Shank hopes to expand MSR’s two-car Honda-powered effort in IndyCar to three with an HRC entry under the tent in the coming years.

“The IMSA relationship has really worked over the last 18 months that we do with Honda and Acura and HRC,” Shank told RACER. “It's a relatively young program with the 93 car approach and getting stronger. And we’re over-the-top excited about the potential of this on the IndyCar side. We’re very happy and proud to be a part of Acura and Honda.”