Linus Lundqvist Replacing Ailing Simon Pagenaud At Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard Weekend

Linus Lundqvist gets a second audition at Meyer-Shank Racing’s NTT IndyCar Series team for Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Last year’s Indy NXT
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champion will drive the No. 60 SiriusXM/AutoNation
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Honda as he fills in for the ailing Simon Pagenaud.

Once again, Pagenaud will sit out this race as he continues to recover from his violent barrel-rolling crash at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 1.

According to Meyer Shank Racing, the Frenchman had a manufacturer brake failure in that incident. He has not been cleared by the IndyCar Medical Team to participate in this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Although he crashed with just nine laps left in the race, Linus Lundqvist had an impressive IndyCar Series debut in last Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, running in the top seven.

Lundqvist will make his second IndyCar race start and once again be joined by full-season MSR driver Helio Castroneves in the Brickyard weekend which will see the NTT IndyCar Series run in conjunction with NASCAR. The quick two-day weekend will feature an 85-lap race on Saturday, the second time that the IndyCar Series has run on the IMS road course this year.

“First I want to say a massive thank you to Mike (Shank) and Jim (Meyer) for their trust to put me back in the car again,” Lundqvist said. “The Nashville weekend was great in so many ways. Obviously, a lot of impressions and a lot of new stuff for me going on that weekend and I was pretty disappointed with the way that it ended.

“It was my mistake and I enjoyed it up until that point. I think it also left me and the team wanting more, which I am grateful for another opportunity at Indy. I know it is going to be tough again, but now I have a whole race weekend under my belt.

“Hopefully we can string some good results together and find some good speed, but I feel like it is going to be a super weekend.”

Lundqvist is coming off a big IndyCar debut weekend in Nashville, which saw the 2022 Indy NXT by Firestone Champion advance into the Firestone Fast 12 in Qualifying and go on to post the fastest lap of the race on Sunday. Unfortunately, contact with the wall ended his race early, but Lundqvist will be looking for redemption this weekend.

The Swedish racer has four starts on the IMS road course in Indy NXT competition, starting on the pole in three out of the four races. He has two wins on his resume, both of which he started on the pole.

Castroneves returns to the site of his 2021 Indianapolis 500 victory, but this time on the road course layout. Castroneves will be making his 13th race start on the IMS road course this weekend. The IndyCar favorite has collected two podium finishes on the road course, finishing third in 2014 and 2nd in 2017.

“The IMS road course is a place that has been very good for MSR, so I am looking forward to getting back to one of my favorite places,” Castroneves said. “I think we learned a lot from the last race there in May, so that should help us this weekend. I’m ready to go.”

Team owner Michael Shank told me Sunday before the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville that he will announce part of his team’s lineup for 2024 this week. On Monday, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway released a media availability schedule that has Meyer Shank Racing making an announcement on Friday.

Both team’s current drivers including Castroneves and Pagenaud have struggled to put up the results this season and Shank has indicated that he has to make changes.

Last month, Meyer Shank’s IMSA driver Tom Blomqvist made his IndyCar debut in the Honda Indy Toronto, but was involved in a first-lap crash and never completed a lap in the race. Shank continues to rank Blomqvist high on his list but was asked if Lundqvist has risen after his impressive debut last weekend.

When asked if Meyer Shank Racing could become “Team Qvist” next season, Shank said, “We very well could be.”

Castroneves is expected to be an “Indianapolis 500 only” driver next season. Pagenaud was expected to return, but without IndyCar’s Medical team clearing him to repeat, it raises concern as to when he will be back.

Meantime, Lundqvist is making the most of his opportunity in the No. 60 Honda.

“Unbelievable,” said the 24-year-old driver from Sweden. “Every time people say, ‘Linus Lundqvist, IndyCar driver’, it just brings a smile to my face. It’s been something I’ve been waiting for and working towards for a very long time.

“That it’s actually here right now is a little unbelievable.”

Lundqvist appeared to be in line for a full-time IndyCar Series ride with Dale Coyne Racing before the start of the season, but when negotiations fell through, Sting Ray Robb took that ride.

“Obviously budget always comes into play when those decisions are being made, and we tried to put ourselves in the best position possible, but it didn’t work out,” he said. “And when I came into this season knowing I wasn’t going to have a full-time ride, I knew it could be a career-killer, but I was determined to make sure it wasn’t.

“I’ve been to every IndyCar race weekend except two this year, always bringing my helmet, because that’s rule No. 1 if something pops up. It’s an opportunity like this that you’ve been waiting for.”

After that, Lundqvist has been a race driver without a car.

“Honestly, it’s been tough,” Lundqvist said. “A lot of sleepless nights and a lot of thinking and planning and hoping and trying to position yourself where if something came up, this is where I wanted to be.

“When I got the call from Mike that something could be happening it was something I’d been waiting a long time for.

“Hey, if your phone comes ringing asking if you want to do an IndyCar race, I’m not going to say ‘no’ to that, no matter where it was going to be.”

Lundqvist made the “Fast 12” and ran as high as seventh in Sunday’s race before his late-race crash with nine laps to go.

“I actually have some good memories and experience from Nashville, and that was one of the things we did speak about that I have experience at this place,” Lundqvist said. “I think together with Detroit those were two of my favorite places out of all the races last year. I have that good thing going for me.”

Lundqvist indicates he has spoken at length with Pagenaud, Castroneves, and the team as he gets prepared with the higher-powered Indy car.

“It’s a good thing I’m the third new driver coming to the team, so they’ve mapped out a little bit what to focus on and what’s good for you,” Lundqvist said. “I think I’m coming at it from a slightly different angle in that I’ve never done pitstops, tire management, fuel saving and all that will be completely new to me.

“It’s the opportunity you dream of.”

As last year’s Indy NXT champion, Lundqvist has a $500,000 scholarship that can be used for an IndyCar ride.

“It is obviously a lot of money, but when you put it into perspective on what it costs to run an IndyCar season, it’s all a sudden not that much money,” Lundqvist said. “But hopefully we can get it to good use here and get some experience, and I have the opportunity to escrow the championship to 2024 as well, so even if I don’t use all of it this year, I will have some in ’24 as well.”