Meyer Shank Racing
The Ohio-based team increased its IndyCar participation in 2019, running ten races, four more than 2018. The increase in races was not a mistake as the team had some stellar days and outperformed the expectations of many.
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| Jack Harvey and Meyer Shank Racing might be one of the happiest teams heading into 2019 offseason |
Harvey's third partial season in IndyCar was his best yet. He and MSR were mixing it up with the big boys and brought home terrific results as a part-time outfit. This season makes full-time aspirations not only seem more likely but this team could be a notable player in IndyCar's future.
What objectively was his best race?
Harvey was third in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and it was a race where he was at the front for the entirety of the affair.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is hard to top third in any race but Harvey started third in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and he was keeping up with the big boys. For a portion of that race he was quicker than Scott Dixon and it appeared Harvey had what it took to win the race! It didn't work out that way and when the rain started late in the race Dixon got stronger and Simon Pagenaud got stronger as well. Not to mention the superiority of the likes of Penske and Ganassi was made clear through pit stops and that put Harvey behind. It was still a great outing and an encouraging sign from this team.
What objectively was his worst race?
It was 22nd at Long Beach after Harvey made contact with Marcus Ericsson into the fountain section and Harvey ended up in the flowerbed. Harvey was able to continue but he had already lost a pair of laps and he would lose another before he would see the checkered flag.
What subjectively was his worst race?
It was Portland because Harvey started fourth and was taken out from behind while running fourth after only 13 laps. Ryan Hunter-Reay completely missed the braking point and he bowled into Harvey and Harvey got the worst of it. Hunter-Reay was able to continue but Harvey lost the opportunity to at least match if not better his career best finish. It was completely out of Harvey's hand.
Jack Harvey's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 21st (186 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 5
Average Start: 14.5
Average Finish: 14.2
The American-owned sports car operation entered the single-seater fold and it brought Ben Hanley back to single-seater competition for the first time in a decade. Even facing low expectations, DragonSpeed out-kicked the coverage.
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| Ben Hanley was a new face in IndyCar circles |
Hanley had been out of single-seater racing since 2010 but his return went much better than anyone could have planned. He might not have been the fastest driver out there but he got a surprise qualifying effort at St. Petersburg and made the Indianapolis 500, his first time on an oval, when most had penciled DragonSpeed as the team going home.
What objectively was his best race?
Hanley's best finish statistically was 18th at St. Petersburg and that came after a red flag in qualifying led to a surprise result. Hanley ended up advancing to the second round of qualifying on debut and he started 12th! The car wasn't close to that position on pure pace. It was a bit of beginner's luck for this lot but while Hanley wasn't lightning at St. Petersburg he had a respectable debut.
What subjectively was his best race?
It isn't a race but subjectively the best thing Ben Hanley and DragonSpeed did in 2019 was make the Indianapolis 500. This team didn't get in by the skin of the its teeth but Hanley qualified 27th ahead of Andretti Autosports' Zach Veach and Chip Ganassi Racing's Felix Rosenqvist.
Many had pegged Hanley and DragonSpeed to miss the race. It was a new team with a driver who had never raced on an oval before and a driver that had been out of single-seater racing for nine years. It was hard to see how this group could get in the race but Indianapolis is a place where if you focus on just having enough speed, not a blazing amount but just enough, you will make the race. DragonSpeed was never going to be competing for pole position or the Fast Nine but it shot to be in the mid-to-low 20s and the team got it with Hanley ending up 27th.
What objectively was his worst race?
It is Indianapolis because Hanley was classified in 32nd but that was after a differential problem led to the end of his race after 54 laps.
Hanley wasn't setting the world on fire but I wish he got more an opportunity to run the Indianapolis 500. He would have likely finished two or three laps down but it would have been a valuable experience for this team to run as many miles as it could and something completely out of the driver's hands failed. That is part of racing.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Hanley only ran three races in 2019 and since we talked about St. Petersburg and Indianapolis, let's mention Barber, where he started 24th and finished 21st, two laps down.
It is not something to wildly celebrate but I should also say it wasn't a terrible showing. Hanley was learning in his few starts this year and he wasn't a hazard. I only wish we had gotten to see more of DragonSpeed and Hanley. We will have to wait for 2020.
Ben Hanley's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 30th (31 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 1
Average Start: 21
Average Finish: 23.667
Juncos Racing
It was a year of highs and lows for Juncos Racing. The team did not run as many races as it in 2018 but it left a greater impression in two races than it did in 12 races in 2018.
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| Kyle Kaiser was the underdog that won over the masses in 2019 |
The 2017 Indy Lights champion returned for two races but what Kaiser left on the 2019 season was everything he did at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
What objectively was his best race?
Kaiser made two starts in 2019 and his best finish was 18th at Austin from 21st on the grid. Even better for Kaiser it was the first time he finished on the lead lap in his IndyCar career.
What subjectively was his best race?
Similar to Hanley, the best thing Kaiser and Juncos Racing did all year was qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and Kaiser did it with his back against the wall.
Practice was looking good for Kaiser and Juncos Racing. It seemed this car was going to make the field comfortably and then he had his accident on Fast Friday an hour into the practice session. The team's car that it dedicated to qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 was gone and the scramble was on to turn the backup car around into something that had previously raced at Austin to qualify at over 227 MPH and make the Indianapolis 500.
We have seen every story play out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We have seen the little teams show up, fight as hard as they can but not come close or have an accident end the dream early. We have seen the little team pull it out of nowhere. Juncos Racing and Kaiser did something incredible.
The team made one qualifying attempt on Saturday but was not quick enough. It pushed all its chips to the center of the table for one final run on Sunday. It drew the final spot in the Last Row Shootout, on the bubble were McLaren with Fernando Alonso and Kaiser got in the field by 0.0129 seconds. McLaren being knocked out alone was a stunner but to have the minnow Juncos Racing do it after the drama of the previous 48 hours is the legendary story that will be told for years to come.
What objectively was his worst race?
The Indianapolis 500 itself was not as kind to Kaiser and Juncos Racing. Kaiser spun exiting turn three and his race was over after 71 laps, leaving him with a 31st place result.
What subjectively was his worst race?
No one wants to have an accident, especially in the Indianapolis 500.
If there is a bad thing about 2019 it is we did not get to see more of Juncos Racing after the team started 12 of 17 races in 2018. I would have been fine with the team getting a driver with a paycheck to fund 4-8 races.
Each team takes its own path to full-time competition and a reduction in races does not mean things are bleak for the future of Juncos Racing. I think we can all agree we are pulling for Juncos Racing. We want this team to make it because Ricardo Juncos has put his life into this operation and this team existing and competing in IndyCar is great for IndyCar. It shows what IndyCar can be. It can bring together the giants of Penske, Ganassi, Andretti and McLaren and those giants can fall to the humble Juncos.
Kyle Kaiser's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: 32nd (22 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 27
Average Finish: 24.5
McLaren
Last year, everyone thought McLaren would come into IndyCar and be a disruptor. Everyone thought McLaren could come in and take Scott Dixon away from Chip Ganassi Racing and pair him with Fernando Alonso. At the end of 2019, that could not seem more unconceivable.
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| Speaking of Fernando Alonso... |
I am not sure what else we can say about McLaren, Fernando Alonso and the combo's failed Indianapolis 500 effort for 2019 but let's go back and look at what I wrote in February and see how wrong it was:
What I Wrote:
McLaren is not going to be tripped up when it comes to the smaller stuff. McLaren did its homework. It has prepared for this race but there is always something that you cannot plan for and can only learn through experience. Those could be the things that catch this team out.
I am not worried about Alonso. We have seen the Spaniard take on challenge after challenge the last two years and he has never been unprepared. He doesn't think he has got it and tries to figure it out on the fly. The dedication he put into his 2017 program was outstanding and that was with six weeks of preparation. He has been working on 2019 since he left the banquet on Memorial Day 2017. He stepped into sports cars and won Le Mans on debut and won the 24 Hours of Daytona in his second shot at it. He is not going to be a problem and after all, he is going to have the most to gain out of everybody in that race. This isn't some type of bucket list event for him. This is attempting to ascend to a higher level.
Bob Fernley has been placed as head of McLaren's IndyCar effort. Fernley had previously worked as team principal at Force India. It would be more surprising if McLaren struggles than if McLaren succeeds. I don't think McLaren is going to come in and be 26th but I don't see the team replicating what it did in 2017 and, as I said before, that has nothing to do with Alonso. It is a new car, it is a new engine manufacture and it will be a new group working on the car. There are too many differences to expect Alonso to waltz back in and be back in the top five. I think he is going to have to work harder this time around and even if that is the case I think he can be competitive and be in the top ten.
Well...
Almost all of that is wrong.
McLaren did get tripped up on the small stuff. The team's backup car wasn't ready because it was the wrong shade of orange and was still in the paint shop.
The team couldn't make the top 33, let alone the top 26 or top ten.
We can talk about what would have happened if Alonso does not have his practice accident, if the team doesn't lose a day waiting for paint to dry and if the team wasn't scrambling for a setup to put the car in the field. If the practice accident never occurs, perhaps Alonso is 25th but that didn't happen in this universe.
It is hard to fault Alonso. Yes, he is the pilot and he was in control when the practice accident happened but he gave it his all and each day he was the first car on the outside. Each day he missed it by 0.02 MPH and 0.019 MPH. I am not sure any driver has come as close as he did to qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 on multiple days and not made the field!
I think Alonso prepared as best as he could. There wasn't much else he could have done but it turned out the people around him were not on the same level of preparedness.
Fernando Alonso's 2019 Statistics
Championship Position: Not Classified
Wins: Not Applicable
Podiums: Not Applicable
Top Fives: Not Applicable
Top Tens: Not Applicable
Laps Led: Not Applicable
Poles: Not Applicable
Fast Sixes: Not Applicable
Fast Twelves: Not Applicable
Average Start: Not Applicable
Average Finish: Not Applicable
An Early Look Ahead
Let's tackle these team's one at a time...
Meyer Shank Racing is on the cusp of full-time competition. The only races MSR did not run in 2019 were the four ovals that aren't Indianapolis, Belle Isle and Toronto. Ten races is a healthy schedule. The team has not committed to a full season in 2020 and if the team chooses to run ten races again in 2020 then that is good but this team could shake things up if it were to run full-time. Jack Harvey is a talented driver and this team could be on the cusp of the top ten in the championship if it were full-time. MSR will be back in 2020 but the question is for how long?
DragonSpeed withdrew from FIA World Endurance Championship competition to turn attention to its IndyCar effort and European Le Mans Series operation. The only reason the team was unable to run more in 2019 were team members were denied visas and the team could not compete at the final two rounds because of ELMS commitments. If DragonSpeed is going to run more or be full-time in 2020 it is going to have to expand. It is going to need a dedicated IndyCar team and probably a dedicated driver. I like Ben Hanley and I would love to see him get more of a shot but if he is split with the ELMS program then that is not going to be for the best of the IndyCar program. If Hanley is not going to be the dedicated IndyCar drive there are plenty of drivers out there that DragonSpeed could bring into the fold.
Juncos Racing had a successful Road to Indy operation in 2019 but the team's IndyCar effort took a step back and the team's expansion into IMSA's prototype class was going well until Victor Franzoni had a hard accident at Mosport. I just want to see Juncos Racing make a step forward from 2019. There is nothing to suggest that will be the case in 2020 and the team might not be so fortunate next year in the month of May.
McLaren is in bed with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and we touched upon that already but let's focus this on Fernando Alonso's future with the IndyCar program. Everything points to there being an Indianapolis 500 entry for him but how long will Alonso stick with McLaren? He cannot have another qualifying hiccup and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is a team with its own Indianapolis 500 qualifying struggles. Would Alonso give up on the Triple Crown if McLaren is not able to properly support him or would he move to another IndyCar operation? McLaren is the only one footing his salary and other than Penske, I am not sure any other IndyCar team could match his first offer.
There are a lot of questions surrounding McLaren and its increased presences in IndyCar and in typical McLaren fashion none of them are answered quickly nor clearly. Why would the same be different regarding Alonso?
