Belardi eyeing Indy 500 return, IndyCar ascent, Indy Lights expansion

Jim Ayello | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – The first time was stress-filled and anxiety-riddled, but it also was a lifelong dream come true.

This past May, veteran Indy Lights owner Brian Belardi partnered with A.J. Foyt Racing, Jonathan Byrd's Racing and Hollinger Group Motorsports to make his long-awaited Indianapolis 500 dream a reality. He enjoyed (nearly) every minute of his debut, but now he can’t wait to get back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for another crack at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“It was wonderful,” said Belardi, whose No. 33 car – helmed by James Davison – barely survived a tumultuous Bump Day before qualifying on Row 7. “It was everything I hoped for. … Those last 30 minutes of Bump Day were probably the most stressful of my life (laughs), but it worked out.”

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While allowing himself to soak in the experience for the thrill of a lifetime that it was, Belardi said he also learned a lot about himself and how to operate a 500 program.

Now he intends to take that knowledge and apply it to his return to the field next year. Belardi told IndyStar on Wednesday that while some might think it’s a bit early to be talking about the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, he’s already begun having conversations with Verizon IndyCar Series teams about a potential partnership.

“This year, I went in there with my eyes wide open, just observing,” Belardi said. “I really didn’t give a lot of input until I got acclimated with program, just because it was my first time. But I’m a quick learner. … For next year, I’m up to speed 100 percent.”

Belardi also revealed that he’s not just speaking with teams about the Indianapolis 500 but also about a potential ascent into IndyCar.

For years, Belardi has studied how fellow team owners such as Sam Schmidt and Bryan Herta have slowly maneuvered their way from Lights up to the top series with partial programs and technical partnerships. He envisions a similar, measured climb for himself.

“Along with the 500, I’d like to try a few more (IndyCar) races as well,” Belardi said of the 2019 season. “But I’m very cautious when it comes to jumping in and splashing around the splash pool if you will, trying to figuring things out. I’ve seem quite a few teams just jump right into deep end and see what happens. I don’t want to do that. I’d want to slowly move in with a partner. I think you need that technical support.”

There’s ample reason to believe a number of IndyCar teams would be interesting in partnering with Belardi. Not only has he owned and operated a championship-caliber Lights program for years, but he also is closing in on hooking one, maybe even two big sponsorship fish.

The Wisconsin native said he has engaged in encouraging talks with a pair of large, Wisconsin-based companies in regards to future sponsorship. Be on the lookout for an announcement for a partnership with one or both of those companies, because, Belardi said, that would absolutely accelerate his rise to IndyCar.

Another potential benefit of pairing with Belardi — or another Indy Lights program — comes on the heels of IndyCar’s announcement Wednesday of a five-year plan to boost Indy Lights’ modest ranks. Within that plan, IndyCar outlined some incentives for IndyCar teams to form their own — or partner with existing — Indy Lights programs. Belardi believes that Wednesday's announcement was only the first draft of their plan to beef up IndyCar's top ladder series and that more incentives could be added in the future.

Finally, the team owner also expressed optimism that his highly successful Indy Lights program will expand to three or maybe even four cars. Belardi currently operates a two-car program (Santi Urrutia, Aaron Telitz) but ran four full-time cars as recently as 2017.

“We’ve already had several talks with several drivers, which is encouraging that it’s this early in the year,” Belardi said. “You always want to try and start laying groundwork in June for things like this to happen.”

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Facebook: @jimayello.