Popular IMSA team has hopes to expand to NASCAR, IndyCar in 'coming years'

A new report today signals that AO Racing is hoping to make a move from IMSA to NASCAR and even the IndyCar Series. AO is known for its two Porsche 911 GT3s, lovingly known as “Rexy” and “Roxy,” as well as its LMP2 car, “Spike.”

The brand for AO Racing has exploded in a short amount of time due to the dinosaur and dragon paint schemes that the team uses for Rexy, Roxy, and Spike, respectively. This has led to the team gaining a ton of popularity in recent years.

The team was founded in 2022 and has already won a couple of championships. In 2024, they captured both the Team Championship in GTD Pro as well as the European Le Mans Series title with a trio of drivers.

IndyCar driver Christian Rasmussen has raced for the team. Laurens Vanthoor, a decorated endurance racer, has also competed for the organization.

Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal reported today that AO Racing is looking at expanding into other series. Notably, NASCAR and IndyCar. With how strong the branding is for their cars, it could be a possibility. You throw a strong brand out there and a sponsor is bound to take a chance.

“… [AO Racing] is considering entering other forms of racing in the coming years including NASCAR and IndyCar…” Stern wrote. He attributes that information to the CCO of AO Racing, Brian McKinley.

So, AO Racing has an interest in NASCAR. That makes sense given the fact that IMSA is owned by NASCAR currently. RFK Racing, more so Brad Keselowski, has talked about possibly expanding their organization the other way and dipping into IMSA. The thinking is that the Next Gen car is more like a sports/touring car than ever before.

AO Racing to NASCAR – how serious and how committed?

Now, when you hear that a team or an owner wants to get involved in NASCAR, the first question really has to be, “How serious are you?” There are levels to being involved in the sport of NASCAR.

Does AO Racing want to be a full-time organization in the Cup Series? Or does a part-time schedule make more sense? Is it buying a charter or is it running as an Open team? Or, is it a partnership with an already existing team, but throw AO funding and branding on the car?

There are many questions to ask, but the interest is really what is important. AO Racing is a global brand, but an American-owned team. Right now, they are becoming a hot commodity in IMSA and endurance racing around the world. To have them come be part of NASCAR would be a great way to marry the two series together in a productive way for all involved.

Not to mention the implication for IndyCar. Now, we are seeing IndyCar move to a charter system moving forward. So, perhaps it is more difficult to get involved now. But one of those charters will come up for sale soon. That is a series that AO Racing could really be part of and shake up quickly. They