Kiel’s surprise decision comes after two years as president of the team he first joined nearly 15 years ago when it was still Sam Schmidt Motorsports and was primarily in Indy Lights with annual forays into the Indy 500.
According to IndyCar.com, Kiel wrote on social media: “What a ride it was with the Arrow McLaren SP. It has been an honor to work at Arrow McLaren SP for over ten years. When I started as a junior Indy Lights mechanic at Sam Schmidt Motorsports, I saw the potential for learning and growth in the organization under the leadership of Sam and Chris Griffis.
“As I leave, I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve turned this team into an organization that can compete for championships and wins every week. I am now looking forward to spending time with my growing family and looking forward to an exciting new chapter.”
Many believe it was Kiel’s calm demeanor on the radio calling out Pat O’Ward’s strategy that was key to getting the most out of the driven youngster, who has finished fourth, third and seventh in the championship over the past three seasons. During that time, O’Ward scored five poles, four wins, nine other podiums and another ten top-5 finishes.
Motorsport.com has learned that Kiel’s “new chapter” will begin at Chip Ganassi Racing, where he will learn from or replace managing director Mike Hull, who is also his stepfather. Hull has been with Ganassi for more than three decades.
Neither party immediately responded to a request for comment.
Kiel’s departure from AMSP comes at an opportune time as the team expands to three full-time entries: O’Ward, the new Alexander Rossi and the newly confirmed Felix Rosenqvist, who was in a precarious position for most of the summer when McLaren Racing signed Alex Palau.
The messy case was settled out of court when it emerged that Palou’s management admitted he had breached the terms of his contract with Ganassi by negotiating with a rival team so early in the season, and that Chip Ganassi exercised his option on the Spanish star a third of the way into the season . The 2021 IndyCar champion will therefore be a test driver for the McLaren F1 team, but will remain in Ganassi’s #10 car for 2023.
Kiel’s departure was confirmed in a brief note from AMSP, which read: “As of Tuesday, September 20, Taylor Kiel is stepping down as president of Arrow McLaren SP after two seasons.
“When the team grows to three cars for the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, team management announcements will be made in due course.”
Motorsport.com understands that will happen sooner rather than later. Some sources believe the strongest candidate is Brian Barnhart, former president of racing operations and IndyCar race director. Barnhart joined Harding Racing in 2017, which later became Harding Steinbrenner Racing and was subsequently absorbed by Andretti Autosport, with whom it had a technical relationship.
Having spent the season as Rossi’s strategist, a move with the seven-time race winner to the Arrow McLaren SP and taking on a management role – perhaps retaining the strategist role – would make sense as the pair have built a strong working relationship.
However, Motorsport.com believes the team’s competition director Billy Vincent is also being offered a promotion to a senior role, possibly working with McLaren’s British unit and applying lessons learned in Formula 1 to the IndyCar team. Vincent joins the team after several years as crew chief at Team Penske, where he won the title in 2016 with Simon Pagenaud. In early 2019, he took over as Director of Competition at what was then called Schmidt Peterson Motorsport, a position he holds to this day, as well as managing strategy for Rosenqvist in the #7 AMSP-Chevrolet.
One notable change to the #7 car for 2023 will be the absence of Craig Hampson, who has been Rosenqvist’s race engineer since mid-2021. Hampson will move into Rossi’s new position in ’23, while Rosenqvist will get a race engineer promoted from within – possibly Chris Lawrence, who set strategy for Vincent.