INDYCAR: Hamilton Evaluating Next Ownership Steps

IndyCar driver turned owner Davey Hamilton tells SPEED.com he's evaluating which team to partner with in 2013.

Marshall Pruett | Posted January 29, 2013

Where will the HP sponsorship land this season? (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

IndyCar Series veteran Davey Hamilton, co-owner of the Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports team that placed fifth in the 2012 championship with Simon Pagenaud, is now on the lookout for a new team to join with longtime sponsor Hewlett-Packard in tow.

In an interview held Tuesday afternoon, the Idaho native tells SPEED.com that returning to the re-named Schmidt Peterson Motorsports outfit isn’t a guarantee, and a final decision on where he’ll land could take a few weeks to sort out.

“I'm definitely not signed with Sam [Schmidt], and I don't know that I will,” said Hamilton. “There's other opportunities out there that make sense for my program a little better. And so I've got to make a decision quickly.”

Hamilton’s enduring relationship with HP has been a source of interest for many teams needing an infusion of cash. Without Hamilton, it’s likely Pagenaud’s 2012 season would have never gotten out of the starting blocks, and there are a few teams that would presently benefit from an alliance with Hamilton and HP to complete their funding requirements.

Returning to SPM to assist with the funding for Tristan Vautier’s newly-announced entry is a possibility, according to Hamilton, as is signing elsewhere.

Davey Hamilton has helped a lot of IndyCar teams and drivers with his Hewlett-Packard sponsorship. Now he's hoping to find a new situation where his best interests are prioritized. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

“I'm very, I guess, fortunate in our sport that there's a lot of people looking for what I have, and so that's a good side of it,” he explained. “The bad side is that I hate to be in limbo and not thinking that I would be, but Sam had to make some decisions that was best for him and his team, which, I'm not so sure it’s going to include me. We'll just see. It could include me as well.

“I'm not saying that he’s not in the running. I really kind of have it narrowed down to three teams but two really, really serious ones. And Sam is in the game. I have some meetings this week including with Sam and his new partner (Ric Peterson) and we're going to work it out and figure out what's best for Hewlett-Packard. And once we figure out who and what's the best for them then that's the way we’re going to go.”

Hamilton has been on a roller coaster ride since transitioning from driving to team ownership. While he’s not keen on owning and running a team by himself, his desire to work in a co-ownership role has had its merits and more than a few drawbacks.

“I'm shocked, I'll be honest with you, I'm shocked that I'm going through this right now,” he explained. “Sam did what was best for his team and I don't blame him one bit. I'm not putting any blame on him. I mean, it was a good opportunity for him (with Peterson’s bigger investment). But I need to find a relationship that will last. So here on out I’ve got to definitely look at that. I'm trying to look at three, four, five years down the road on a partnership that, like I say, that’s stable from all this.

“For example, it's been odd because I started with Vision Racing and I was there till they went out of business, right? And then I went to Dreyer & Reinbold and I had a great relationship with Dennis [Reinbold]. But then business-wise, we went to Luczo Dragon. And I’d been there a long time but, I don’t need to tell you the story, they went out of business. That put me back with Dennis, and we’re good friends and we've done good for each other. But then when I had an opportunity at partnership, Dennis already had one with Robbie Buhl.

“But I thought with Sam’s situation, where he wasn't even going to run a full season, I thought this could be the perfect opportunity because of our friendship and we know each other so well. And we chose to go this route and had a great year, a fantastic year on all sides. But, just like I said, I want a home, where I could be there for five, six, seven years, long-term, as long as I want to be doing this, let's put it that way, and making sure that HP’s side is out of this world and well taken care of. And that's most important to me.”

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. Now in his 27th year in the sport, Pruett was an open-wheel mechanic, engineer and manager before joining SPEED. He also contributes to RACER, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett.