Miles not surprised by McLaren’s entry into IndyCar

Mark Miles

INDYCAR CEO Mark Miles told NBC Sports.com he has known about the McLaren deal with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for several weeks and is “delighted" it is now official.

“We’re delighted," Miles told NBC Sports.com from France, where he was spending last week with Indy 500 winning driver Simon Pagenaud on a victory tour. “It’s great. It’s important. I have thought for some time this day would come. It was more of a matter of ‘when,’ then ‘ever.’

“It’s just great to have this done, but it doesn’t come as a surprise. It’s something Zak Brown (McLaren CEO) has been working on for a very long time, including this relationship. He and I were talking about this back in May, at least. It has been a long time coming, but that has been quite deliberate. I think they are committed to this strategy."

“I’ve known they were working on this approach for several months," Miles admitted. “It’s not something they came to in the last week or so. My reaction is if it is good for Schmidt and Peterson and McLaren and it’s a strong foothold for McLaren to start in the series, then it is a good result.

“McLaren is a great brand in the automotive industry with a great following. They are rich in racing history. Zak Brown, who is leading the charge at the moment, appreciates IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“He is a great promoter in whatever he is involved with. I think it will help bring attention and another level of competitiveness with the Schmidt team. I can’t wait to see them out on the track."

Honda now has two less cars in the lineup and Chevrolet gains two cars, creating a closer balance in car count in the series.

“I think there is great balance with Chevrolet and Honda in every way between teams and the drivers they each have and great strength," Miles said. “The McLaren guys compete in Formula One, so they are used to big budgets and doing everything right and I think that is good for the series."

Does this create the fourth major team in the NTT IndyCar Series?

“I think so," Miles said. “Everybody can score the teams the way they want. I’ve thought Arrow Schmidt Peterson were in the top four all along. This adds strength to them. This makes it more apparent. It’s just terrific.

“It’s such a well-known brand. It’s a prestigious brand. They do everything in a first-class way. I’m in France now and have been here close to a week with Simon Pagenaud promoting his victory in the Indianapolis 500 in IndyCar. That was big news, and this is big news for our series."