Ruoff Mortgage is returning to the Indianapolis 500, and it may be in line for a bigger profile than when it was on Takuma Sato’s winning ride in ’17. That is because the Ft. Wayne-based company will be the primary sponsor for Fernando Alonso’s entry into the race. Arrow McLaren SP yesterday announced the former F1 champion will try to qualify the No. 66 Chevy for this year’s Indianapolis 500, making it the team’s third entry alongside its two full-time IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward and Oliver Askew. Ruoff previously has been a sponsor at Andretti Autosport, including its stint in ’17 with Sato. However, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said that Michael Andretti gave his blessing to Ruoff joining Alonso at McLaren once talks between the driver and Andretti did not pan out for this year. Ruoff’s livery for this year has yet to be revealed. Brown additionally said that both Ward’s and Askew’s cars are close to selling out of sponsorship for the race, while the Alonso’s No. 66 still has a fair bit of associate space left to sell. Some of that space may be upsold to current McLaren partners (Adam Stern, THE DAILY).
FIRING UP HIS ENGINE: In Indianapolis, Nathan Brown reports Zak Brown and Arrow McLaren co-Owner Sam Schmidt confirmed talks with Alonso “had been on-going for some time, though they were initially fighting an uphill battle against Andretti Autosport.” Michael Andretti “didn’t shy away from publicly stating his team’s desire to field Alonso in a car for the second time” following his ’17 debut. However, Honda officials in Japan “vetoed the proposal … with Alonso and Andretti inches away from the finish line.” That was due to hard feelings that existed from what Alonso said in ’15 “about the poor performance of his Honda F1 engine.” Meanwhile, Alonso is “rejoining forces with McLaren Racing after his brand ambassador sponsorship was allowed to expire at the end of 2019.” That followed Alonso failing to qualify for last year’s Indianapolis 500 while driving for McLaren (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/26).
