INDIANAPOLIS – Former IndyCar chief mechanic Chris Paulsen announces that his company, C&R Racing, will be a chassis constructor of the new generation pavement USAC Silver Crown car.

“I’ve decided to make this commitment because I think this is something that will work very well,” Paulsen said. “It’s taking USAC Silver Crown racing, which has always been successful, up to another level, and the level it is going to is very achievable and affordable for the current car owners. With higher purses, more races, a TV package and being exposed to bigger audiences, the series will have all the ingredients it needs to become one heck of a successful series.”

Paulsen, known for his mechanical abilities and credibility ranging from grassroots racing to NASCAR’s top tier divisions, will construct four cars initially, with others to be built on a by-order basis. The C&R team expects to finish its design process by mid-October, and intends to complete the cars by the beginning of December. One of the four initial cars will be Paulsen’s house car, which will be used for development and testing purposes. A driver of that car will be named soon.

“This is something we feel we can do a very good job of, going to the high-speed tracks fits right in to what we do everyday,” he said. “That’s why we’ve decided to take C&R Racing to the business of building these chassis. It’ll be a first-class racecar, and we’re noted for our quality in what we do.”

Paulsen is no stranger to racing on the grassroots level. He began working on Sprint cars and Supermodifieds as a teenager, and moved through the ranks, working with such drivers as Rich Vogler, Billy Vukovich and George Snider.

He moved to IndyCars in 1980, assisting Roger Rager’s efforts in putting a machine equipped with a stock block powered engine from a school bus into the Indianapolis 500. Over the next decade, Paulsen worked for Alex Morales Autosports, crewing cars for Al Hobert, Pancho Carter and three-time “500” winner Johnny Rutherford. Even after he established C&R, Paulsen continued to crew one-off deals at Indianapolis, working with Kevin Cogan, Didier Theys, Gordon Johncock, Billy Boat and Donnie Beechler.

Paulsen also found time to engineer Sprint cars during the 1980s. He built and designed the cars Sammy Swindell took to two World of Outlaws championships. He furthered his knowledge of cars in 1985, racing his own Sprint car. He also partnered to own a Silver Crown car with Brad Noffsinger for several seasons.

Paulsen – whose C&R team includes former IndyCar chief mechanic George Huening and Peter Wilska, former General Manager of Lola USA – said he feels his company’s knowledge, reputation and integrity should assist in bringing newcomers to Silver Crown racing.

“I think our company will add credibility to this project because we are known across the racing circle,” Paulsen said. “I think the Silver Crown contingent, as well as many others in the racing world, look up to us. We’re heavily connected to NASCAR teams, and I know there is a desire on some of those team owner’s parts to participate in this series. More importantly, I believe this is going to be a very, very strong series.”

Paulsen, who approached USAC with the idea of becoming a chassis builder, said the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget ranks provide his greatest interest in motorsports.

“This is my favorite type of racing,” Paulsen said. “My heart lies in open-wheel short track racing. I see a lot of opportunity in this, and it’s something I really like doing. It’s my favorite racing, bar-none, and it should be a good deal.”

C&R Racing is the preferred radiator builder and supplier to NASCAR Nextel Cup teams and supplies its products to several of NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck Series teams, as well as teams from the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, Champ Car, USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint and Midget Car Series. In addition, C&R Racing provides other products to Formula 1 and NHRA teams.  C&R Racing has built several different types of chassis over the past three decades, including GT-40 and other sports car frames. The company utilizes the latest in CNC machine tools, metal fabrication equipment and CAD/CAM technology.