Davey Hamilton began
2001 in the car and drove five races, including the team's first
Indianapolis 500, ending with an injury at
Texas Motor Speedway. He was replaced by
Jaques Lazier who drove four races and three other drivers who drove a few races each.
Richie Hearn made nine starts for the team in
2002 as he switched between the team's two cars, the No. 99 and No. 20.
Anthony Lazzaro drove in the first three races of the year in the No. 99, but handed over Indy 500 driving duties to
Mark Dismore, who made his only start for the team in that year's '500'. Also, in
2002, the Indy Pro Series was founded and Schmidt eventually refocused its efforts on that series, running only the Indy 500 as its sole IndyCar series race with a car driven from 2003 to 2005 by Hearn and in
2006 by
Airton Daré. In
2007 the team fielded a car in the Indy 500 for
Buddy Lazier. In
2008, while the team did not field a car of its own, it prepared and engineered
Rubicon Race Team's entry for
Max Papis that failed to qualify after suffering numerous gearbox problems during qualifying. The team made a joint entry with
Chip Ganassi Racing for the
2009 Indianapolis 500, piloted by
Alex Lloyd. The arrangement with Chip Ganassi continued in
2010 for the Indy 500 with
Townsend Bell driving. For 2011, SSM purchased the assets of
FAZZT Race Team, retaining some of the personnel and all sponsors, including
Alex Tagliani.
Townsend Bell,
Jay Howard, and
Wade Cunningham also drove for SSM in the
2011 IndyCar Series season.
Chris Griffis, the team manager for Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Indy Lights team, died on September 12, 2011. He was 46. Just over a month later, at the 2011 season finale,
Dan Wheldon died after he was involved in a 15-car wreck at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Wheldon was driving the No. 77 in a joint deal between SSM and
Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2012 SSM fielded a car for Frenchman
Simon Pagenaud for the full season backed by
Hewlett-Packard. Davey Hamilton joined Schmidt to field the number 77 car. Pagenaud went on to win the IZOD IndyCar Rookie of the Year Award. Pagenaud would score four podiums that year, while Bell returned for the Indianapolis 500" finishing 9th. In 2013, Pagenaud would be teamed with another Frenchman,
Tristan Vautier, for the season. Schmidt would also bring on another investor, former Champ Car Atlantic owner Ric Peterson. While Vautier had a best finish of 10th, Pagenaud would score two wins for Schmidt at Detroit Round 2 and Baltimore, finishing third in points. Vautier was released at the end of 2013 and replaced by Russian driver
Mikhail Aleshin. Pagenaud would go on to win the inaugural GP of Indianapolis and finish 5th in points. Aleshin would carry multiple top-10 finishes with a best finish of second at Houston round 2. However, a crash at Fontana ruled him out of the finale, and visa restrictions forced Aleshin to sit out 2015. Pagenaud would leave for
Team Penske, with SPM taking on
James Hinchcliffe and
James Jakes. While the team would have a 1-3 finish at
2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana with Hinchcliffe winning, the season would come undone at Indianapolis. During qualifying. Hinchcliffe crashed hard in turns 1-2 and was airlifted to a hospital. Eventually forced out due to his injuries,
Ryan Briscoe and
Conor Daly (who drove a No. 43 car at the Indy 500) shared the car for the remainder of the year. For 2016, Hinchcliffe and Aleshin (who drove a third No. 77 car at the 2015 season finale at Sonoma) would return to SPM. While neither driver scored a victory, Hinchcliffe would lose a close battle in Texas to
Graham Rahal, while Aleshin would win his first pole at
Pocono Raceway and Hinchcliffe sat on the pole for the 100th Indianapolis 500. The No. 77 would return for Indy, with
Jay Howard driving with support from
Tony Stewart. The team's lineup would remain unchanged for 2017. While Hinchcliffe would win at Long Beach, Aleshin would struggle heavily during his second year. During the
Road America weekend, Aleshin was delayed by visa issues coming from France (where he participated in the
24 Hours of Le Mans).
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters driver
Robert Wickens filled in for Aleshin during practice, though Aleshin later arrived at the track and raced. By Toronto, Aleshin was parked by SPM and replaced by
Sebastián Saavedra. It was announced on August 12 that Aleshin would no longer race for SPM and would be replaced by Saavedra and
Jack Harvey for the remainder of the season. In 2018, SPM announced it had extended James Hinchcliffe's contract, as well as signing fellow Canadian
Robert Wickens to drive the No. 7 (later renumbered to No. 6) for 2018.
Leena Gade became Hinchcliffe's lead race engineer for the 2018 season, becoming the first female lead race engineer in Indycar. Wickens then suffered a horrific crash during the 2018
ABC Supply 500 at
Pocono Raceway, a crash that left him a paraplegic. Wickens issued a further statement clarifying that he was hopeful to be able to walk again, due to his spinal cord being bruised rather than completely severed and that he had felt 'some feeling and movement' back in his legs although the nerves were not in a state to walk, with Wickens hoping that he will be able to walk on his own within two years of the accident. In 2019, Arrow became title sponsor of SPM, with the team name changing to Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In addition, the team also signed former
Sauber Formula One driver
Marcus Ericsson to become one of the team's drivers for the 2019 season. Marcus will drive the No. 7 as the No. 6 is reserved for Wickens should he be able to make a return in 2019.
McLaren partnership and ownership (2020–) In August 2019, SPM entered into a collaboration with
McLaren for the
2020 season onwards, with the team named Arrow McLaren SP. Ericsson would leave the team at the end of the season for
Chip Ganassi Racing and Hinchcliffe would be dropped;
Pato O'Ward and
Oliver Askew drove for the team in 2020. During the
COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted the season, the team was revealed to have received a loan from the
Paycheck Protection Program along with numerous other race teams and race tracks to keep employees on the payroll and protect from any potential loss of sponsors. Askew was let go by the team after the season and was replaced by
Felix Rosenqvist. In
2021, Arrow McLaren SP became the first Chevrolet powered team other than
Team Penske to win an IndyCar race since 2016, when Pato O'Ward took his first IndyCar series victory at
Texas Motor Speedway. This was also Schmidt Peterson's first victory since 2018 and McLaren's first open wheel racing victory since
2012. O'Ward would take a second victory on the season at Race 2 in Detroit, the first time the team had two wins in a season since
2014 and their first road or street course win since
2017. For the
105th Indianapolis 500 the team would expand to three cars, with
Juan Pablo Montoya driving the third car. Oliver Askew returned to the team briefly for Race 2 in Detroit after Rosenqvist was injured in a crash the previous day while former McLaren F1 driver
Kevin Magnussen would fill in for Rosenqvist at
Road America. On August 8, 2021, McLaren announced they had purchased a 75% ownership stake in the team, with Schmidt and Peterson sharing a 25% stake in the team and remaining on the team's board of governors. Lead sponsor Arrow Electronics also signed an extension with the team that would have them as the primary sponsor through the 2029 season. during the 2022
Chevy Detroit Grand Prix. For the
2022 IndyCar Series, the team's first under McLaren ownership, both O'Ward and Rosenqvist would return to the team as full time entries. The No. 6 car would again return on a part-time basis for the
GMR Grand Prix and the
2022 Indianapolis 500 driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. O'Ward and Rosenqvist would finish second and fourth in the Indianapolis 500 respectively, the team's best finish at Indianapolis to date. The team announced they had signed
Alexander Rossi to drive a third full time car from 2023 and beyond. For
2023, the team announced they had signed
Alexander Rossi to drive a third full time car. In conjunction with McLaren's 60th anniversary celebration, the team raced a special livery for the
2023 Indianapolis 500 to celebrate McLaren's
Triple Crown achievement. The liveries of the Nos. 7, 6 and 5 were painted as the
McLaren M16C/D that won the
1974 Indianapolis 500, the
McLaren MP4/2 that won the
1984 Monaco Grand Prix, and the
McLaren F1 GTR that won the
1995 24 Hours of Le Mans respectively to honor the three winning McLaren cars that forms the Triple Crown. In October 2023, McLaren entered into a strategic alliance with
Juncos Hollinger Racing. For 2024, Rosenqvist moved to
Meyer Shank Racing and was replaced by
David Malukas who moved from
Dale Coyne Racing. Malukas was released by the team after breaking his wrist in a pre-season accident and missing four races without a recovery timeline.
Callum Ilott and
Theo Pourchaire would sub for Malukas before his release, with McLaren later signing Pourchaire for the remainder of the season, bar the Indy 500. The team would sever its ties with Juncos Hollinger Racing following a social media controversy that involved Juncos Hollinger driver
Agustin Canapino sending death threats to Pourchaire following the 2024 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Pourchaire was soon dropped by the team, who signed
Nolan Siegel in his place. during 2008
Freedom 100 == Indy Lights ==