#06 – Helio Castroneves, 18th in the championship standings (217 points) – 17 races
#60 – Simon Pagenaud, 28th in the championship standings (88 points) – 8 races
#60 – Tom Blomqvist, 34th in championship standings (16 points) – 3 races
#60 – Conor Daly, 25th in championship standings (134 points) – 11 races, 3 w/ MSR
#60 – Linus Lundqvist, 31st in championship standings (35 points) – 3 races
Joey Barnes: There are so many elements to Meyer Shank Racing’s 2023 campaign that are bizarre to me. I didn’t expect some of the woeful performances in its second year of being a two-car team, especially with the technical alliance with Andretti Autosport.
Obviously, Pagenaud’s terrifying crash at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course drastically derailed the season in more ways than one. That said, results showed a tough start to the year as Castroneves and Pagenaud combined for one top 10 and two top 15 finishes through the opening six rounds.
The Frenchman had a runner-up and six additional top 10s in 2022 compared to none in 2023 prior to the Round 8 practice crash that kept him out for the remainder of 2023. It’s hard to fathom there was that much regression by Pagenaud and the team, which is why I view it more as something simply not meshing between the two.
There were flashes of promise when Lundqvist came in to substitute drive Pagenaud’s ride. The 2022 Indy NXT champion set the fastest laps in two of his three appearances, which only added to the debate on gauging MSR’s progress or if Lundqvist’s talent was that much more superior at this point in time over Castroneves and Pagenaud.
Given all the elements this team endured in 2023, there is some degree of me that views the report as incomplete. The combination of a veteran driver alongside what ended up as a rotation of talent in the second car was reminiscent of past years by Dale Coyne Racing.
If MSR is going to take that next step and not live in backmarker hell, and I expect them to be very much improved for reasons my colleague shares below, it’ll come down to the details and being closer to the mark when they unload each and every race weekend.
Source: Autosport