It takes a tremendous number of people to field an IndyCar team. As they travel around the continent for the 17-race season, the entire team has to be housed and fed, and everything that the cars might possibly need has to come along too. To move most of the gear, teams employ a set of 18-wheelers with trailers, and there’s usually a sizable setup for feeding and refreshing the team members, but that’s often located well away from the cars and wrenches.
Meyer Shank Racing, (MSR) which fields drivers Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong, and Helio Castroneves in IndyCar, as well as a team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, has a total schedule of 26 event weekends per year – precisely half the weekends in the calendar year.
Every team in INDYCAR and IMSA scours racetracks for consistent, distraction-free spaces to serve as home base, with mixed results. However, MSR has a unique solution that keeps the team principals as well as the on-track monitoring staff close to the action. The MSR Command Center is a motorhome reimagined as a mobile HQ for Meyer Shank Racing, complete with a custom conference room and work-ready amenities created to provide a comfortable home for the team.
“As a team that competes in both INDYCAR and IMSA full-time, we need to be able to have a place where we can work without distraction and host meetings with guests and partners,” explains Team Principal and co-owner Mike Shank. “The MSR Command Center, powered by American Coach, does just that. This coach provides a little quieter space, with air conditioning, where we can do our work. I find it incredibly valuable. Not even half an hour ago, we had a prospective sponsor in here talking. Otherwise you’re carside under the canopy with the team or at a table somewhere.”
The coach is as comfortable as any office building, with overstuffed chairs and an expansive kitchen area in front, a conference room with table in the center, and a three-desk office in the back. There’s a half-bath with shower near the conference room, and even a laundry setup sharing space with the office. Large-screen TVs are strategically mounted to allow guests and team members to watch the action from any seat, and to provide privacy for the people working in the office.
“The conference room in the middle would’ve been the bedroom in a normal coach,” Shank explains. “It’s tight, but there’s space. The office at the back is where our team manager, myself and Tim Meyer have a little nook we can work out of. The people who are working back there can shut the door and have their privacy.” And while there’s no way to prove its how much it has contributed to the team’s success, it is interesting to note that MSR’s two full-time drivers finished the season in 6th and 8th place in 2025, up six and eleven places from the previous year.
The command center also provides a luxurious behind-the-scenes space for entertaining the team’s sponsors.
“When they’re here on the track, this is a place where they can come and sit down after a garage tour, have a clean place to go to the bathroom, grab a water, and sit down for a couple of minutes. It adds a bunch of validity to us for our current partners because we have top shelf things and high-end refreshments for them to partake in when they’re here. It’s just been a nice added layer for us.”
Building the Perfect Beast
A specialized coach with data connectivity, offices, a conference room, and more isn’t something you can buy at an RV dealer. This mobile command center is the result of a careful partnership with American Coach. The company has had a long history in racing including a multi-year collaboration with four-time Indy 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, who is a driver for MSR. Castroneves travelled for several years in a custom designed American Eagle.
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Meyer Shank Racing and be able to create and supply the MSR Command Center,” said Jeff Bigelow, general manager of REV Recreation Group, Inc. “We are excited about the potential offered by the alternative work and meeting space floorplan. In place of a bedroom, this floorplan allows for a conference room along with necessities such as a kitchen and bathroom.”
Underneath the amenities, the coach is powered by a 600-horsepower Detroit diesel engine with an automatic transmission.
“This thing will haul ass,” Shank laughs. “We tow a little support trailer with it, with some of our pit equipment and stuff like that. That’s another way this bus provides a great value. And it’s easy to drive. It’s just like you’re just riding on air and the motor’s way back there, so there’s no motor noise. A coach like this retails for around $600,00 or $700,000.”
For more information on the MSR Command Center, visit the American Coach website. Information on the Meyer Shank racing team can be found here.
