Meyer Shank Racing will conclude its years-long enterprise relationship with Andretti Applied sciences on the finish of the NTT IndyCar Sequence season and embark on a brand new relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing.
The multi-year association will see the group co-owned by Mike Shank and Jim Meyer obtain full technical assist the reigning Honda-powered IndyCar champions who will provide full engineering staffs for the Nos. 60 and 66 Hondas, setup info for each vehicles, dampers, information from CGR’s drivers, and have MSR’s drivers take part in group debriefs with six-time champion Scott Dixon, two-time champion and present championship chief Alex Palou, and the remainder of CGR’s roster.
“There’s lots of questions on the market, and I simply need to say, sure, we’re coming into into an settlement with Chip Ganassi Racing and we couldn’t be extra enthusiastic about it,” Shank instructed RACER. “And I’ve bought to offer an enormous because of Andretti International with all they’ve completed for us.
“All the time open communication with (Andretti COO) Rob Edwards, who’s an absolute prince of a man to me and the group, and so they’ve completed what they stated they’re going to do. We’ve had good success and we had a giant resurgence this 12 months. That’s all resulting from them. However I feel this cope with Ganassi may doubtlessly take us to a different degree.”
The timing of the brand new connection between CGR and MSR is advantageous for each groups. With CGR anticipated to downsize from 5 entries to a few in 2025, the technical alliance creates a pathway for its gifted engineering corps to stay intact by means of the deployment of some members to run Felix Rosenqvist within the No. 60 Honda and whoever Meyer and Shank resolve to rent for the No. 66 Honda.
Rosenqvist entered IndyCar with Ganassi in 2019 and produced a career-best end of sixth within the championship and gained his first race with the group in 2020. And for MSR — which entered IndyCar in a one-off Indianapolis 500 cope with Andretti International, moved to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (identified in the present day at Arrow McLaren) as its technical accomplice, after which returned to Andretti when SPM remodeled and switched to Chevy engines — the upcoming alignment is one other massive step because it pairs with the very best group in IndyCar over the past 4 seasons.
It additionally, as Shank explains, maintains the identical decision-making autonomy MSR held in its earlier technical assist contracts. Amid hypothesis that CGR would use MSR as a satellite tv for pc group to run an additional automobile or to put its drivers amid downsizing, Shank says MSR is the only real voice on who will drive its vehicles. The group has probably the most coveted obtainable seat within the collection — the No. 66 entry pushed by AJ Foyt Racing-bound David Malukas — to fill.
“Going ahead, it’s precisely how our earlier technical agreements had gone with Schmidt after which Andretti,” he added. “We run the group, we decide the drivers, we decide the group members, after which we’ll work collectively on the technical aspect. There’s no involvement in me telling them the way to run their group and there’s nothing coming again like that our approach from them.
“It’s a respectful association prefer it has been with the opposite groups we’ve labored with. We’ve got a bunch of fine drivers to select from with the 66 automobile and we’re in all probability 30-60 days out from making that decision.”
Exploring a relationship with CGR was expedited after MSR was awarded a brand new manufacturing unit contract by Honda Racing Company US to subject its Acura ARX-06 hybrid IMSA GTP vehicles subsequent 12 months. It offers the Ohio-based group two important applications to facilitate throughout the Acura/Honda camp.
The Acura ARX-06s, that are at the moment fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, might be handed over to MSR within the coming months as WTRA shifts to working manufacturing unit Cadillacs. Together with Andretti’s desired launch of a Formulation 1 group with Cadillac, the heavy involvement with Basic Motors was one other issue that led Shank to seek for a technical accomplice whose hyperlinks to Honda have an prolonged runway.
“We wished to ensure we’re united throughout the entrance, and I’m not completely positive — I type of know short-term — the place Andretti goes, however I don’t know long-term,” Shank stated of Andretti International, which is known to have a Honda contract by means of 2025. “I felt like we wanted to make a change now earlier than it grew to become a giant, massive challenge, particularly with the addition of our IMSA program.
“We’re hiring so many individuals on the technical aspect for GTP, however with IndyCar, we’re nonetheless not able to exit on our personal; we expect it will be tough to get the suitable group collectively. Based mostly on the place our total enterprise goes with applications in two massive collection, we felt it was finest to create one other alliance for IndyCar for ourselves and for Honda. And I really feel like we’ve completed that with Ganassi.”
The association with CGR is proscribed to MSR’s IndyCar effort; CGR, which is parting with Cadillac on the finish of the season in GTP, is actively trying to find a brand new IMSA program to backfill the emptiness.
MSR has 4 extra races to contest with assist from Andretti Applied sciences, and within the time he’s spent to this point with Ganassi’s management, Shank is happy with the place the union is headed.
“Our alliance with Andretti has at all times been excellent,” he stated. “However on this case, I really feel extra built-in. On the Andretti aspect, they’ve completed precisely what they promised us and nothing much less. So I don’t need to take away from that, however I do really feel there’s a possibility right here to develop into extra interwoven with the 2 corporations. That’s large for us, and hopefully, for them.”
