Reigning Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist will make his long-awaited NTT IndyCar Series debut this weekend at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville aboard the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda.
The young Swede is the newest substitute for Simon Pagenaud, whose crash nearly a month ago at Mid-Ohio has left the Frenchman with concussion-related symptoms that continue to linger and prevent the resumption of his season. To date, MSR has used Conor Daly and its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title winner Tom Blomqvist to keep the No. 60 Honda in motion.
With Blomqvist committed to race the No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-06 IMSA GTP car this weekend at Road America, and the team’s desire to sample new talent as it evaluates its 2024 lineup, Lundqvist was at the top of Shank’s list to stand in for Pagenaud if his recuperation time extended through Nashville.
He’ll have big shoes to fill and plenty of peril to avoid on the Tennessean street circuit that’s produced high attrition in its first two runnings. Last year, Pagenaud was one of the lucky few who started in the midfield and survived, motoring from 13th to ninth at the finish.
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“This is a moment I’ve been dreaming of literally since the start of my career. I could not be more excited about the prospect of finally making my NTT IndyCar Series debut; I am extremely grateful to Meyer Shank Racing for this opportunity,” Lundqvist said. “This will be an incredible experience, but also the toughest challenge of my life. Sitting on the sidelines all year, it would be a massive task to join any championship towards the end of the season – let alone the NTT IndyCar Series on the streets of Nashville.”
Lundqvist was previously scheduled to make his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in the LMP3 class, but with the chance to start his IndyCar career, the 24-year-old was given a release to reroute himself from Road America to Nashville where he’ll have four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves to guide the way.
“There’s been very little time to prepare, but I feel like the sheer excitement of this moment will make up for some of that,” he said. “Of course, working alongside Helio – one of the true legends of this sport – will also be a huge asset. Last but not least, I would like to wish Simon Pagenaud a continued speedy recovery. While fully aware of everything I have to learn this weekend, I will do my very best to make him and everyone else on the team proud in Music City.”