The last time Team Penske had two drivers delivering oval wins in the same season, it was 2020 with Josef Newgarden and former teammate Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman’s oval victory – the last of his IndyCar career so far – came at Race 1 of the Iowa …
The last time Team Penske had two drivers delivering oval wins in the same season, it was 2020 with Josef Newgarden and former teammate Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman’s oval victory — the last of his IndyCar career so far — came at Race 1 of the Iowa doubleheader.
Fast forward to 2024, and it was Pagenaud’s oval student, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who earned his first oval win at Race 1 of Iowa’s Hy-Vee doubleheader, who also gave the team its first pair of oval winners with McLaughlin joining Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden.
The victory was a full-circle moment for McLaughlin, who sought out Pagenaud during the preseason to help improve his oval form. The 2019 Indy 500 winner had an immediate impact as McLaughlin earned pole at Indy in May — the first oval of the year — and went on and won the second oval of the season on Saturday night in front of an adoring crowd in Iowa.
Pagenaud has been instrumental in helping McLaughlin improve his oval form. Geoffrey Miller/Motorsport Images
Shortly after the race, McLaughlin showered Pagenaud with praise, and also spoke fondly of Ben Bretzman, his race engineer on the No. 3 Chevy who won that last Iowa race with Pagenaud along with the rest of the Frenchman’s IndyCar victories and the 2016 championship.
“He’s been unreal for me, as you know,” McLaughlin said. “Such a good teacher. It’s special to work with someone like that. For him to basically give me everything, it’s crazy. You should see the notes I get. He sends me notes every morning before I go on track. I don’t even have time to read it sometimes. It’s crazy. It’s like essays, longer than your reporting stories. It’s crazy.
“Ultimately, I treasure them. I save them. I’ll never give them to anyone else ’cause they’re just that good. Yeah, I’m very proud to do it for him, do it for Benny as well. Benny has been a huge help for me in that regard, Benny Bretzman.
“I’m very thankful to have the people, blessed to have the people in my corner. That goes from the people I work with, but then I’ve got my wife, (I’m) soon to be dad. All that stuff. It puts into perspective. It’s called winning races, but it’s always good having good people in your corner.”
We haven’t seen Simon Pagenaud on track for almost a year, but that doesn’t mean we’ve missed his influence being applied to NTT IndyCar Series. As the Frenchman continues to recover from the frightening crash last year at Mid-Ohio, the 2016 IndyCar …
We haven’t seen Simon Pagenaud on track for almost a year, but that doesn’t mean we’ve missed his influence being applied to NTT IndyCar Series.
As the Frenchman continues to recover from the frightening crash last year at Mid-Ohio, the 2016 IndyCar Series champion and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner has found a second calling as a performance advisor and mentor to Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin.
It’s a homecoming for Pagenaud, who earned his greatest achievements in the sport with Penske and race engineer Ben Bretzman. With his departure from Team Penske at the end of 2021 – after spending the season with McLaughlin during his rookie campaign – Pagenaud has come back at the request of the New Zealander, who has Bretzman on his side with No. 3 Chevy which they fired into pole position for Sunday’s great race.
“It’s been a lot of fun; obviously my activity on track has been a lot less and my love for the Speedway and being a student of it is the same,” Pagenaud told RACER. “What I love the most about the Speedway is the details of it all, and I think Ben and Scott really knew that.
“Scott contacted me at the end of January and said he was wanting to improve his craft. I thought, ‘You know, the guy’s a champion, and a multiple champion with Penske in V8 Supercars, and it is very unusual for a guy of his achievements to want to get some advice at this level.’
“I was baffled by it. That’s so rare. He basically came up and said, ‘Listen, I need to improve my craft. I want to win Indy so bad. I’ll do anything. Can you help me?’”
The late Gil de Ferran mentored Simon Pagenaud. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Known for his highly analytical ways, and a complementary Zen-like approach to the sport, Pagenaud is a mirror image of his late friend and mentor Gil de Ferran, who won two CART IndyCar Series championships and the 2003 Indy 500 while driving for Penske. Given his first chance to share his unique views and methods to navigating the month of May at Indy with McLaughlin, Pagenaud had strong feelings on how such a relationship might work with the Kiwi.
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“When he asked if it’s possible, I said ‘I don’t know,’” Pagenaud added. “I’m not gonna be a driver coach and I don’t want to be a coach. That’s not my thing. But I said, working with the elites like you, that’s a much different story that I would enjoy.
“But I said, ‘I’m not gonna be out there on the turns with a camera and tell you to do this and do that. I’m going to guide you and give you the tools for you to use because you don’t need me to tell you what to do. You just need to learn the manual.’
“We raced the 500 together as teammates one year, we got to see each other’s work, and I always really liked him. I love the way that he is as a person as a driver. So I said to him, ‘Unfortunately, nobody gave you the manual. So I will do that. So we started working together.”
The Indy 500 will see the culmination of their work in recent months as Pagenaud’s model for how to execute the event – which he crafted with Bretzman for so many years – has been further applied to McLaughlin.
“Obviously, the [Indy] Open Test (which was hit with rain) was a bit short in April but we already had started with the approach of it,” Pagenaud continued. “And a lot of it has been to help him manage his very large intensity…he’s very intense about winning. And help him with that understanding of when it’s time to do what and when it’s time to focus on these different things.
“One day, you focus on downforce. One day, you focus on pit lane work. One day, you focus on what tools you can use in the race and how to interact all these tools together with the downforce and your mechanical setup.
“And with him, it’s about understanding exactly the criss-cross between all those tiny little details and how those details make a better driver. So the funny thing with him is he’s infusing himself in the manual and it’s really working for him.
“It’s really not me. I’d hate for people to think that it is. It’s just the work that he’s putting in that’s making him better.”
McLaughlin has benefitted from Pagenaud’s winning experience. Photo by Geoffrey Miller/Motorsport Images
McLaughlin is an unabashed Pagenaud fan.
“He’s a very keen observer of many things, a note taker, and we’ve been exchanging notes all week,” he said. “I asked him to do this [in] like January or February, and we’ve been analyzing a lot of things since. But at the same time, he’s always been a Team Penske member. He’s won the 500 for us, and at the end of the day, we all just want him to be okay. So this is for me an opportunity for me to work with him but also an opportunity for me to help maybe bring him back to the race and get his name back involved.
“Whether that’s not driving a race car, at least he’s involved, and he gets that feeling of being at the 500 again. I’m sure it’s so hard for him right now. It’s his first 500 he’s missed in a long time. He’s a 500 winner, and he’s at a point in his career where he could easily keep going for many, many years.
“He’s just a nice guy. I’ve always got along with him from Penske, and he’s been a lot of help. Yeah, there’s definitely a lot of things I’ve used this week that have helped, but at the same time, we’ve had great car speed, which has made it a lot easier. But just leaning on him has been nice.”
Pagenaud will take part in pre-race meetings on Sunday morning with Chevrolet and Team Penske as part of the effort to help McLaughlin try and win his first 500.
There’s no timeline for the married father of two to make his own attempts to return and try to win again at the Speedway, but being here and being involved as a performance advisor has been helpful for Pagenaud, who likes the idea of continuing in the role after he’s retired from driving at some point in the future.
Working with McLaughlin has given Pagenaud a glimpse of what a post-driving career could look like. Simon Pagenaud
“It is something that has an interest for me to do while I’m getting better now, and more later in my life,” he said. “It’s providing guidance more so than anything and just giving the tools to a driver like Scott. That’s what Gil de Ferran did with me. All these hours of talking about everything, how to do things the best way, and I’m trying to transfer the knowledge to a guy that’s willing to learn, a guy that respects this place, and a guy that respects the game.
“And to me, the game is sacred. And there is a real game to play by here. The Speedway is very, very, very special, and it is very specific game you have to play and understand and to quest to perfecting that game. It is fascinating to me and I have the chance to live through Scott as well this year.
“I am glad I can help him. I’m very honored, actually, that he asked me. As drivers, we can have huge egos and never want to ask anybody for help, but Scott is not this way. That’s part of what makes him an amazing driver, and why it’s such an honor to be asked. And it’s also great to be able to help Team Penske, who’s done so much for me.”
Simon Pagenaud talks with RACER’s Marshall Pruett about his emotional return to the cockpit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he will drive his mentor Gil de Ferran’s 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner in honor of the late Brazilian during pre-race …
Simon Pagenaud talks with RACER’s Marshall Pruett about his emotional return to the cockpit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he will drive his mentor Gil de Ferran’s 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner in honor of the late Brazilian during pre-race ceremonies.
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Simon Pagenaud hasn’t been in a race car since the brake failure and heavy crash that ensued last year at Mid-Ohio, but he’ll make a tearful return to the cockpit on Sunday when he drives his mentor Gil de Ferran’s 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner in …
Simon Pagenaud hasn’t been in a race car since the brake failure and heavy crash that ensued last year at Mid-Ohio, but he’ll make a tearful return to the cockpit on Sunday when he drives his mentor Gil de Ferran’s 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner in honor of the late Brazilian during pre-race ceremonies.
“Gil de Ferran has been my role model, not only as a racer but also as a father,” Pagenaud said. “I got to be very close to him, (his wife) Angela, (kids) Anna and Luke through the years. Through this tribute I am so happy we will get to remember Gil winning Indianapolis in this iconic Team Penske livery. The colors, the helmet, the sound, the memories, and the fact that he taught me everything about this place. I remember late nights and countless hours with my Yoda talking about all the fine details to get to victory lane at the Speedway.”
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Pagenaud will climb into the newly restored Team Penske GForce-Toyota and sport a new tribute helmet that celebrates his hero, who died in late December.
“When I got the call from Angela, Luke and Anna and they asked me to drive Gil’s car, I could not help the tears as I feel so thankful to have the chance to remind everyone on this amazing day of racing of the great racer, father and man he was,” he said.
Kurt Busch knows better than anyone what NTT IndyCar Series driver Simon Pagenaud is going through after a concussion prematurely ended the open-wheel ace’s season. Pagenaud suffered a suspected brake failure on the back straightaway at Mid-Ohio in …
Kurt Busch knows better than anyone what NTT IndyCar Series driver Simon Pagenaud is going through after a concussion prematurely ended the open-wheel ace’s season.
Pagenaud suffered a suspected brake failure on the back straightaway at Mid-Ohio in late June, sending his Meyer Shank Racing Honda off the course and barrel-rolling through the gravel. It came to rest against the tire barriers.
Simon Pagenaud will NOT be in today’s race on @USANetwork and @peacock after this crash in Saturday’s practice.
Although the former series champion and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner was checked and released by the IndyCar medical team, lingering concussion symptoms kept him from the final eight races of the season. Pagenaud is still not cleared to race.
“His marketing agency and scheduling agency are the same as mine,” Busch said Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway when asked about Pagenaud. “I was able to get his phone number very quickly and I’ve communicated with him. Texts, phone calls, even things with his wife just to add in where I can help and to offer different doctors that I’ve seen and different procedures that I’ve gone through. His [injury] is very similar.”
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Busch, the 2004 Cup Series champion, was forced into retirement sooner than he anticipated after being sidelined by a concussion in July 2022. A rear impact from a qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway took Busch out of his 23XI Racing Toyota for the second half of the season as he struggled to get clearance to race again.
Kurt Busch crashes HARD in qualifying at @PoconoRaceway!
The @23XIRacing driver made it into the final round, but this crash likely puts them in a backup and at the rear of the field. #NASCAR
Hopeful to return to racing, he said he wouldn’t be full-time in 2023 as 23XI Racing welcomed Tyler Reddick into the fold, and Busch continued to work with his doctors. Last month, Busch officially retired.
There is no way to determine a timeline for Pagenaud to return.
“At the end of the day, working with different neurologists, I’ve learned there are six different major types of concussions, and then there are 20 to 30 variants of each,” Busch said. “Age can come into play. The violent accident that was the final one of you couldn’t pass the concussion protocol. Then there is quantity of wrecks and other things over time that add up.
“It’s not just a playbook that says, ‘Hey, you broke your arm, and you’re going to be back in three weeks or six weeks.’ A guy like Aaron Rodgers just tore his Achilles tendon, and is his schedule the same as a young guy that would tear and have that same injury? We don’t know.”
I find myself deeply in love with motor racing about 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent is spent in a state of hate with some aspect of the sport that’s either dumb or cruel, and it’s here where I’ve been struggling to stave off those …
I find myself deeply in love with motor racing about 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent is spent in a state of hate with some aspect of the sport that’s either dumb or cruel, and it’s here where I’ve been struggling to stave off those sentiments whenever I think of Simon Pagenaud and the painful reality he’s been dealing with since the end of June.
More than one month removed from the frightening brake component failure and repeated barrel rolls he endured at Mid-Ohio, the Frenchman’s plight is a reminder of how the time required to make a full recovery from a bad concussion is hazy at best, and confusing at its worst.
The sheer violence of Pagenaud’s crash was astonishing. But more so, what stood out was his remarkable ability to climb from the battered car and walk unaided across the sand trap at Mid-Ohio’s Turn 4 — on unstable ground — without any apparent signs of difficulty.
His interview afterwards with NBC also gave no indications of cognitive issues, and based on the smooth walk to the emergency vehicle and fully lucid interactions on the broadcast, the full effects of Pagenaud’s concussion went largely undetected in the 30 minutes that followed the impact. Any notion that he emerged from the crash unscathed was soon dispelled as IndyCar’s doctors conducted testing that confirmed he was unfit to drive for the remainder of the weekend.
Today’s news of Pagenaud’s ongoing absence from the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, which will reach six consecutive races after Saturday’s IndyCar race on the IMS road course, draws a bolder line beneath the unpredictable nature of brain injuries. There’s no answer to when the lingering effects of a concussion will subside and allow for a return to the cockpit.
It also raises the uncomfortable question of whether he’ll be able to resume his career before the championship concludes on September 10.
There are just over 30 days left in the season, and for his sake as a free agent, Pagenaud is facing a heart-wrenching urgency to demonstrate he’s at full strength and capable of delivering great results to secure a new contract to stay in IndyCar.
There were few hints of the full implications of Pagenaud’s Mid-Ohio crash when he first emerged from the car. Travis Hinkle/Motorsport Images
Without the necessary clearance from IndyCar’s medical staff to get back to work, he’s in a situation that’s becoming more precarious as the clock winds down and the opportunities to drive are surrendered to time. Pagenaud will have the August 27 oval race at World Wide Technology Raceway, the road course at Portland on Sept. 3, and Laguna Seca circuit on the 10th as the last chances to compete before the offseason arrives and nearly five months of inactivity ensues.
My sympathy for Pagenaud is immense. As a former champion and Indy 500 winner, his acquisition by MSR was a huge thing for the team as it went into 2022 with Helio Castroneves as his teammate. And despite a few bright spots along the way, 2023 — the second year of their two-year contract — was filled with disappointment prior to the crash.
The sympathy from his team is also a powerful thing, and as Mike Shank told me after Linus Lundqvist made a strong case to be given the keys to the No. 60 for the rest of the season, they aren’t rushing to move on from Pagenaud.
“We’re just not those people,” he said. “We’re not going to let Simon out of our lives because a part failed on our car. That’s heavy for me. So we want to see him get better, on his time.”
Where the difficulty for Shank, fellow co-owner Jim Meyer, and Pagenaud is found is in the need for MSR to raise its game in 2024.
The team arrived at Mid-Ohio with Castroneves sitting 20th in the championship and Pagenaud in 24th, which is miles below expectation. And while MSR’s drivers by no means shoulder all the blame for the team’s poor form, the Ohio-based outfit must improve if it wants to keep its partners and sponsors fully invested in the program.
Going forward is the only acceptable outcome next year, and being able to continue running with Pagenaud over the last three races would give MSR a chance to make an informed decision on whether he’s ready to lead the team in that process. Without that chance, MSR will need our sympathy as well.
“We have a very delicate balance we’re dealing with, because we’ve also got 45 people that work here full-time and we have to start figuring out our Plan A and Plan B and what our future could look like,” Shank said. “It doesn’t feel so good for anyone; not knowing what that will be. I can tell you that we’ve made no decision on that yet, and we’re literally taking it week by week with Simon.”
The lingering effects from Simon Pagenaud’s massive crash in practice earlier this month at Mid-Ohio will sideline the 2016 IndyCar champion and 2019 Indy 500 winner for this weekend’s doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. In his place is former Iowa …
The lingering effects from Simon Pagenaud’s massive crash in practice earlier this month at Mid-Ohio will sideline the 2016 IndyCar champion and 2019 Indy 500 winner for this weekend’s doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. In his place is former Iowa polesitter Conor Daly, who subbed for the Frenchman at Meyer Shank Racing in Mid-Ohio.
“I’m thankful to Mike [Shank] and Jim [Meyer] to calling me up to fill in for Simon again this weekend in Iowa,” Daly said. “Obviously I’m wishing him the best and hope that he gets well soon. Iowa has definitely become one of my favorite tracks in the last couple of years.”
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Daly will pilot the No. 60 Honda carrying a special livery promoting the new SiriusXM channel for country singer Carrie Underwood, who is performing at the Iowa Hy-Vee IndyCar Weekend event.
“I have qualified really well there – qualified on the pole and started in the top three the last two years,” Daly continued. “Hopefully we can replicate that qualifying performance, but also deliver in the race. The team does an incredible job to prepare the car, so we’re going to do our best for Simon again. We’ll do everything we can to score some more points for the team and I’m thankful to drive this No. 60 car again.”
Pagenaud’s car was driven last weekend in Toronto by MSR sports car champion Tom Blomqvist, who qualified 20th and was taken out in a first-lap crash caused by another driver.
Reigning IMSA DPi champion and winner of last weekend’s GTP race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Tom Blomqvist will make his IndyCar debut for Meyer Shank Racing this weekend in Toronto as the substitute for Simon Pagenaud. The temporary move with …
Reigning IMSA DPi champion and winner of last weekend’s GTP race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Tom Blomqvist will make his IndyCar debut for Meyer Shank Racing this weekend in Toronto as the substitute for Simon Pagenaud.
The temporary move with Blomqvist comes after IndyCar’s medical team did not clear Pagenaud to drive after demonstrating concussion-like symptoms following a heavy brake failure-related crash at the most recent round in Mid-Ohio.
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“Simon says he’s feeling fine and absolutely ready to get back in the car once he is cleared, but he knows there is an IndyCar protocol in place to protect the drivers, so we just have to follow those guidelines,” Shank said. “I know he was disappointed to end his long streak of starts, but everyone wants him to be as healthy as possible so we just have to follow the IndyCar medical guidance on this.
“We are fortunate to have Tom available to jump in on such short notice. He’s a champion, has a little bit of experience in the car, and is coming off another big IMSA win last weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so this was not a tough call for us to make.”
Blomqvist, who is tipped to be taking a full-time role with MSR in IndyCar next year, was asked to stay in Canada after Sunday’s win with teammate Colin Braun in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, in case Pagenaud was unable to race, but flew back to the UK and is turning around to fly back to Toronto.
“First and foremost, I’m thinking of Simon and hoping that he recovers as quickly as possible so that he can get back behind the wheel,” Blomqvist said. “I have to thank Mike and Jim [Meyer] for considering me to fill in this weekend. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what IndyCar has to offer. Diving straight into the deep end is an understatement after only having one test in the MSR IndyCar last year. I’m excited but aware of the challenges getting up to speed during a race weekend, so I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Just going to go out there soak it all in and give it all I’ve got.”
Simon Pagenaud’s primary No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda chassis which protected the Frenchman during the wicked barrel roll caused by brake failure at Mid-Ohio will live to race on in the NTT IndyCar Series. Although Pagenaud was ruled out from …
Simon Pagenaud’s primary No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda chassis which protected the Frenchman during the wicked barrel roll caused by brake failure at Mid-Ohio will live to race on in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Although Pagenaud was ruled out from driving for the rest of the event after experiencing concussion-like symptoms and Conor Daly stepped in to take his place using a spare car, team co-owner Mike Shank says the battered Dallara DW12 from the Turn 4 crash is destined to make a return later in the season.
“The first thing I thought of was how lucky we are to have the aeroscreen and all the safety stuff IndyCar’s built into these cars over the last however many years,” Shank told RACER. “They’ve just saved so many lives at this point. Once we knew that Simon was going to be OK, and the crash was not his fault whatsoever, we went into race mode to get through the weekend.
“Then, after we got Conor sorted out — and I thought he did a great job for us and he gave us some good feedback on our car in the race — we went into repair mode with Simon’s car. The tub has some cosmetic damage, but it survived and will race again.”
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Most of the components that bolt directly to the DW12’s tub and its drivetrain were destroyed in the crash, but the majority of those items — from suspension to bodywork — can be replaced with relative ease. Readying the tub to receive the new components is where added time is required.
“We won’t have the tub done before we go to Toronto; trucks have to leave on Tuesday, so we’ll use the same car we used with Conor, and then go from there on when it will go back into rotation, but it will return,” Shank said.
“We’re still figuring out if we need to send it out for fixing, or if we can do it ourselves in our composite shop. But more than anything, we have Conor’s race car from Mid-Ohio that’s ready to go again, so I’m trying to get the crew to have the weekend off to rest up after how crazy things were last weekend.”
Shank and fellow co-owner Jim Meyer will learn early next week if Pagenaud will receive clearance from IndyCar’s medical team to drive at Toronto, and like the plans to repair his broken car, the team is also working through its driver options for the series’ lone visit to Canada.
“Next, we’re having to look at if Simon gets cleared or if he isn’t, because we have to keep the car running,” Shank said. “And if he can’t, who are we gonna put in it, and how are going to do that? We’re going through that cycle right now, looking at people that have done IndyCar before, people we’re maybe planning on doing something with and stuff like that.
“We’re really just waiting to know when we can have Simon back, and I think on Monday, he gets evaluated again, so then we’ll see how he’s doing. Right now, he’s got a headache, and these things can take time, so we’re not gonna rush him at all, but he’ll have a car waiting for him as soon as he can go again.”
Conor Daly will drive Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda in today’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio after regular driver Simon Pagenaud was ruled out following his accident during Saturday practice. After a brake failure, Pagenaud took …
Conor Daly will drive Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda in today’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio after regular driver Simon Pagenaud was ruled out following his accident during Saturday practice.
After a brake failure, Pagenaud took quick action to initiate a spin to reduce his speed, leaving the track sideways, but going airborne as the car was caught by the run-off gravel outside Turn 4. The No. 60 entry made a series of rolls at high speed before coming to a stop against the tire wall.
Pagenaud was evaluated and released by the NTT IndyCar Series medical team, but required to be signed off per protocol to return to action. A follow-up test did not provide the clearance for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner to race, although the team says Pagenaud is feeling OK and is in good spirits and will be on hand to support the team on Sunday.
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“First and foremost, I have to speak to the safety of these cars,” said MSR team owner Mike Shank. “To walk away from an accident like that is incredible and we cannot thank everyone at IndyCar, the AMR IndyCar Safety Team and the IndyCar medical team for everything they did to get Simon out and evaluated as quickly as possible.
“This is obviously not a scenario that we had planned for, but everyone at MSR has pitched in to get our backup car ready for Sunday. It’s actually Helio (Castroneves)’s Indy 500 car and the one he won the 500 with in 2021. We have to thank Conor for being here and stepping into this, he’s been super great through all of the chaos. Now we will get back on our feet and see what we can do in the race.”
For Daly, who was released by Ed Carpenter Racing following the Detroit Grand Prix, it will be his eighth IndyCar start at Mid-Ohio. He’ll start 27th in Sunday’s race.
“Obviously I have to think about Simon — you hate to see someone wreck like that,” said Daly. “The most important thing is to get him as healthy as possible, as soon as possible. This is his car and his group of folks and I am here to do the best job that I can for this team. I’ve known Mike (Shank) for a long time and I’ve tested for his sports car team many years ago. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this organization. It’s an honor to be a part of this group and fill in – we will just do the best job that we can.”
