Michael Shank insists his team’s IndyCar ambitions remain alive, despite his eponymous squad selling its unused DW12 chassis to Schmidt Peterson Motorsport.
MSR attempted to enter the series last year with driver Paul Tracy, but could not secure an engine deal.
The team sold its chassis to SPM, which recently expanded to two cars to accommodate rookie Tristan Vautier, but Shank says that he hopes to collaborate with another team on an Indianapolis 500 entry.
“There are a lot of teams that are focused on the Indianapolis 500, and this group [MSR] could be a way for some of these teams to partner up and support that effort while not having to commit to that kind of infrastructure for the full season,” said Shank.
“We’ve moved on from car ownership at this point, but we are working to continue to do what is right for my guys and try to find the right opportunity in the future.”
Shank, whose Grand-Am squad was recently penalised for a technical infraction after finishing third at the Daytona 24 Hours with AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Oswaldo Negri Jr, Justin Wilson and John Pew, said that the decision to not pursue a full-time IndyCar entry had been difficult, but that it was in the best interests of his team.
“I can’t tell you how much blood, sweat, and tears went into building this team to even be in a position to try to go IndyCar racing,” he said.
“But we also have to make some tough decisions along the way to make sure we have the footing we need to continue to grow, and this was just another of those decisions.
“I don’t see this as the end [of our IndyCar aspirations] at all. You simply can’t be in my position and not be completely driven to want to compete in the Indianapolis 500, so we will just have to keep working and exploring all the options and see what happens.”
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