Mike Shank expects to have Felix Rosenqvist’s 2025 teammate confirmed by the start of October.
Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 66 Honda is the most coveted seat to fill for the next NTT IndyCar Series season, due in part to the pace shown in the car by the A.J. Foyt Racing-bound David Malukas, and also because of the new technical alliance MSR has formed with the defending series champions at Chip Ganassi Racing. Despite continual suggestions that Marcus Armstrong has been signed to replace Malukas, the team’s founder and co-owner along with Jim Meyer says that’s not the case.
“We haven’t chosen anyone,” Shank told RACER. “But all those people you’re hearing about like Marcus Armstrong, Linus Lundqvist, Louis Foster, they’re all in play. We talked to Alex Rossi. We’re still working on it. And some of the reason it isn’t done yet is budget-driven. We’re trying to figure that side out right now, so nothing’s decided until we have the budget sorted.
“We need to have it done no later than October 1, but in one respect, I’m not in a gigantic hurry. We’re just kind of chilling for a minute. But yes, there will be a time somewhere around the beginning of October that we make the call.”
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After taking an unsuccessful gamble on MSR’s IMSA prototype champion Tom Blomqvist which necessitated the midseason switch the Malukas, Shank says he and Meyer aren’t rushing into the No. 66’s driver solution.
“This year has been hard on us that way and I’m really trying to make sure we make the right decision overall,” he added. “But we’ve also gained 30 percent with our performance and speed, even though we’re not all the way where we need to be, but we’ve gained massively in performance working with the Andretti Global team and I’m grateful for it.
“We’re trending in the right direction, but I just need to make sure I keep that trend going in an upward fashion. So we’re not making a hasty decision, right? I put Tom in there because I thought Tom deserved it and earned it. I think the world of Tom, but it didn’t work out in IndyCar. So it’s got me a little shellshocked.”