ONE-MAKE SERIES: Plans are also underway for the creation of a single-make series for Vantage GT4s, which Buckler hopes to launch next year under the sanctioning body of a major sports car championship. A six-to-eight race national championship is planned, offering drivers an affordable opportunity to get behind the wheel.

"If there was one thing that we truly underestimated was the power of this little GT4,” Buckler said. “Since going out for a month and meeting people and shopping the different program, the track day car is going to be a huge success.

Plans are underway for a one-make series of Aston Martin Vantage GT4s, based on the car that runs in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. (Photo: Brian Cleary/GRAND-AM)

"There's also a huge need beyond racing. Guys want to go out and drive their cars fast and they want a solid track day car and don't want two engineers standing there costing them $30,000 to run it for the weekend.

“So if you can give them a track day car that's really cool to drive and safe, and doesn't require a lot of maintenance, and is under $200,000? You're probably going to sell a lot of them."

DAYTONA PROTOTYPE: First revealed by SPEED.com last year, the possibility of an Aston Martin-powered Daytona Prototype still exists, and according to Buckler, has been a part of his weekly discussions with the British manufacturer.

"It is definitely on the radar and is in development right now,” he said. “We would have loved to have it ready [by now] but it requires a lot of time and a lot of money. We are developing a DP engine program that we will hopefully have for 2014.”

Based off the Vantage V8 powerplant, Buckler says detailed engineering schematics and drawings have already been completed. If the program is given a green light, it would not include brand-specific DP bodywork.

“We're going to have to get it done in the next six months and we'll have to find the right customer that's willing to buy the program,” Buckler added. “But it makes all sort of sense. Aston Martin Racing and Prodrive have committed to build a quality product if we can find the right partner to help us get it funded."

While the DP program is still in the pipeline, TRG has already made a significant investment in Aston Martin machinery, with no fewer than a dozen cars having been acquired and to be delivered to its Petaluma, Calif. base over the next four months.

Buckler emphasizes that 2013 will very much be a transitional year, as it finalizes programs in the ALMS, Rolex Series and beyond and slowly builds up its customer base. But it’s the prospect of the unified series in 2014 that has the longtime team owner enthused, not only for his new business but also for the sport as a whole.

"We would like to be the new poster child of bringing corporate America and real dollars, with a real ROI, to the this sport,” he said. “And we can do it. And this brand can do it. And this new series will be able to do it.

“We've been kicked into the corner for too many years by the other series, which in many ways, are floundering. A lot of the other racing series in the U.S. are having issues. I think ours is going to continue to tick up.

“I'm all in because this is what I do for a living. I believe in it and I think we have to be in a magic moment in time right now, not only for sports car racing but for us and Aston Martin Racing."

After a successful two decades with Porsche, Buckler is poised to build a new empire with Aston Martin Racing, in what just could be the most opportune time in the ever-changing landscape of sports car racing in America.

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at