McLaren considering Kyle Busch for Indy 500; team hires veteran executive Brian Barnhart

Arrow McLaren SP is interested in an Indy 500 entry for Kyle Busch as the NTT IndyCar Series team shores up its executive ranks in the wake of its president leaving.

The head of McLaren Racing held a town hall Thursday at its IndyCar shop to introduce new hire Brian Barnhart and quell any concerns over this week’s sudden departure of Taylor Kiel.

Zak Brown did not give a title for Barnhart, an industry veteran who spent the past season as strategist for Alexander Rossi at Andretti Autosport. Rossi will be part of Arrow McLaren SP’s expanded three-car lineup next season, and Barnhart will report to Brown.

Brown told The Associated Press he was still finalizing the structure of the IndyCar arm’s senior management team and “hiring like crazy” in advance of the additional third car. McLaren is also building a state-of-the-art shop in Indianapolis designed to be similar to its Formula One factory in England.

And the team is in serious conversation about running a fourth Indianapolis 500 entry for two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Busch, who has wanted to race the Brickyard in May for several years. The effort likely would be backed by Menards as Busch, who last week left Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years to sign with Richard Childress Racing, has permission to compete in the Indy 500 with a Chevrolet team.

Busch is a Las Vegas native and Arrow McLaren SP was founded by longtime Las Vegas resident Sam Schmidt. Busch’s older brother, Kurt, was the most recent NASCAR driver to run both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Kurt Busch was the 2014 Indy 500 rookie of the year with a sixth-place finish for Andretti Autosport.

It’s been a hectic season for McLaren – and Brown – as the organization has tried to