IndyCar teams approved for millions in federal loans for COVID-19 relief

Several full-time NTT IndyCar Series teams were approved for as much as $10 million in total loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, according to data provided Monday.

The U.S. Small Business Administration posted a list of PPP loan data on the U.S. Department of the Treasury website. The Paycheck Protection Program was included in the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was established to help businesses weathering the financial stress of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The data included the range of the loan, the number of jobs retained and the date of the loan approval.

The list included virtually all full-time IndyCar teams in the series aside from Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing.

With NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA teams, Penske’s payroll size might have precluded eligibility for a PPP loan (which was open to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees). Ganassi’s NASCAR team in Concord, North Carolina, was listed as having been approved for $2-5 million.

IndyCar teams that were on the SBA’s list:

Team	Loan range	Jobs	Approved
Andretti Autosport	$2-5 million	138	April 10
Arrow McLaren SP Motorsports	$1-2 million	58	April 13
Carlin	$350,000-$1 million	23	April 30
Ed Carpenter Racing	$350,000-$1 million	n/a	April 9
Dale Coyne Racing	$350,000-$1 million	20	April 15
AJ Foyt Enterprises	$350,000-$1 million	34	April 28
Meyer Shank Racing	$150,000-$350,000	20	April 15
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	$350,000-$1 million	56	April 16

The list includes teams, tracks and organizations from across auto racing.

Wayne Taylor Racing and core Autosports are among IMSA teams that were approved for PPP loans, and several NASCAR teams and racetracks also made the list.

The Sports Business Daily reported that Richard Childress Racing was approved for a $5-10 million loan.

In a statement accompanying the data, the SBA said the data was for businesses that were approved for PPP loans but “does not reflect a determination by SBA that the borrower is eligible for a PPP loan or entitled to loan forgiveness. All PPP loans are subject to SBA review, and all loans over $2 million will automatically be reviewed.”

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”

IndyCar teams approved for millions of federal loans in COVID-19 relief

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024