INDIANAPOLIS -- As McLaren Racing considers an NTT IndyCar Series future, it is casting a wide net.

IndyStar has learned that while the European-based racing team continues to explore the idea of establishing its own IndyCar program, it is also looking into the idea of buying out an existing one.

Among the possibilities: Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

According to team Arrow SPM co-owner Sam Schmidt, McLaren officials have spoken to just about every team about this possibility, including his own.

A McLaren official told IndyStar he could neither confirm nor deny this information.

While he said he can't speak for other teams, Schmidt said SPM isn't looking to sell,

"No," Schmidt said definitively when asked whether his team was for sale. "(Co-owner) Ric (Peterson) and I finally got our heads above water (chuckles). We got our heads down, good program here, five-year deal with Arrow.

"Look, I know where all this is coming from. It's a former employee. But I think from last June to last December, (McLaren) has talked to everyone in the paddock about everything from partnerships to equity to whatever. I think if there was a deal like that to be had, they'd probably be with us this month. But they're not. Out on their own, and now they've bought all their equipment."

In recent weeks, there had been whispers circling the paddock that a potential McLaren purchase of SPM might be a possibility.

The whispers grew louder when last week McLaren announced a partnership with Arrow Electronics, bringing the global technology giant to Formula One for the first time. Arrow also owns a piece of real estate on Fernando Alonso’s No. 66 McLaren Racing Chevrolet car.

Combined with Arrow SPM President Jon Flack's history with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown -- he once served as Global COO and President, Americas, of Just Marketing International (JMI), the firm founded by Brown -- some thought there was a fire to go along with all of the smoke.

But Schmidt says that's precisely what it was: smoke.

"It's as simple as this," said Schmidt, who confirmed that he helped broker the deal between McLaren and Arrow. "We found a bunch of business with McLaren Automotive and did a (business-to-business) deal with the Formula One team. And that's really as far as it's gone. Literally, that's as far as it's gone. ... We're happy with the way things are going."

McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who recently detailed what a potential McLaren IndyCar program might look like, said at Long Beach that McLaren's entrance into the North American open-wheel series is "more of a when, not if."

"Inevitable would be a 100%, and I wouldn’t say we’re there," Brown added at Long Beach, where IndyStar learned Brown had met with multiple drivers about the potential of piloting a McLaren Indy car. "But we’re doing this with a purpose and a reason, and it fits well within the McLaren Racing umbrella, and it’s something I’d like to see us do in the future."

Follow IndyStar Motorsports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @jimayello.