The fourth IndyCar Wrap-Up looks at the expanding Meyer Shank Racing organization. This was the first season for MSR as a full-time two-car program, and it saw a new driver added to the lineup, a past champion at that. After winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2021, MSR had high expectations for the following season. There were a few good days, but they were more infrequent than the team would have hoped for and the team saw a slight dip from past seasons.
Simon Pagenaud
After seven seasons with Team Penske, Pagenaud joined Meyer Shank Racing looking for his seventh consecutive top ten championship finish. The Frenchman went winless in 2021 and was looking to avoid a second consecutive winless season. Meyer Shank Racing had one victory to its name, but it was looking for its first road/street course triumph after a few close calls in the last few seasons. Pagenaud had good days with MSR, but the second half saw a downturn in form as the team struggled for speed and reliability in the final races.
What objectively was his best race?
One of probably only two cars not to have any contact or off-track excursions during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Pagenaud wound up second to Colton Herta. Pagenaud kept Herta honest, but the Frenchman was not going to repeat his 2019 Grand Prix of Indianapolis performance in the wet when he chased and overtook Scott Dixon for the lead with two laps to go. Second was always going to be Pagenaud's prize for that Saturday afternoon.
What subjectively was his best race?
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis is likely number one on this list, but in the Indianapolis 500, Pagenaud spent much of the race in the top ten and ended up finishing eighth. He never looked like a threat for victory, but he was one of the most consistent drivers throughout the entire Indianapolis 500 festivities as he was around tenth in almost every practice session as well.
What objectively was his worst race?
While arguably his best two races came at Indianapolis, so did one of his worst races of the season. He looked set for a top ten finish in the July IMS road course race, but Pagenaud run out of fuel during the second stint of his race and ended up 25th.
What subjectively was his worst race?
It is hard to beat the Brickyard weekend, but Pagenaud was 23rd in both Iowa races and both Meyer Shank Racing cars were dreadful during the doubleheader. He also had two wasted runs late in the season. He was moving forward at Portland before gearbox issues halted his progressive and had him finish ten laps down. At Laguna Seca, he qualified tenth, but wound up a lap down in 17th at the checkered flag.
Simon Pagenaud's 2022 Statistics
Championship Position: 15th (314 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 7
Average Start: 13.647
Average Finish: 14.176
Hélio Castroneves
Returning to full-time IndyCar competition for the first time since 2017, Castroneves looked to use his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory the year before as a springboard for his 2022 season. The Brazilian had finished in the top five in the championship in nine of his final ten full IndyCar seasons, but five years removed from his last full championship push, it was expected he would not be at that same level. For some, Castroneves was further off than anticipated.
What objectively was his best race?
It was at the race that made Castroneves famous, the Indianapolis 500, but it wasn't a victory, rather a seventh-place finish from 27th on the grid. Castroneves spent the entire race climbing up the running order and in the final run he got ahead of his teammate Pagenaud. Not a race victory, but a victory in terms of bragging rights.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is really Indianapolis. Not much else comes close. A ninth at Long Beach and an eighth at Mid-Ohio don't quite cut it.
What objectively was his worst race?
Electrical issues took Castroneves out of Belle Isle after 21 laps, placing him in 25th after he qualified fourth. To add insult to injury, it was one of only two retirements for Castorneves this season.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Belle Isle is particularly bad, but the worst part of Castroneves' season was how often he was anonymous. He had four finishes outside the top twenty alone and another four finishes worse than 15th. His qualifying pace didn't do him any favors with only two top ten starts but 12 starting positions outside the top fifteen. It is hard to have good days when you are starting the day at the back especially that often.
It should also be noted in his only other top ten start, Castroneves was collected in the Devlin DeFrancesco-Graham Rahal incident. Castroneves had already lost ground from sixth on the grid, but he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time in that accident.
Hélio Castroneves' 2022 Statistics
Championship Position: 18th (263 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 3
Laps Led: 1
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 18.412
Average Finish: 16.471
An Early Look Ahead
The 2023 season will have a lame-duck feel to it.
This will likely be Castroneves' final full season in IndyCar unless he pulls off a remarkable turnaround. His 2022 season was always going to be difficult being so far removed from full-time IndyCar competition, and to give him credit, Castroneves finished on the lead lap or only one lap down in 14 of 15 races he finished but keeping up to finish on the lead lap feels like his ceiling. He can hold on to 15th but not push for much higher. He is 47 years old and will turn 48 in the middle of next May. Castroneves has had a full career. It is time to move on. He could still be an Indianapolis one-off for the next few years. I would love to see him race into his 50s, but the full-time gig is done.
MSR is likely disappointed its best driver was 15th in the championship and it probably thinks it should be contending for at least the top ten in the championship. That is a realistic expectation. The middle is quite tight in IndyCar. There is not much separating MSR from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Dale Coyne Racing and even Andretti Autosport is falling to that middle tier. Top ten is within reach for this group.
MSR has shown the competitiveness of a top ten team, but since it became a full-time operation there is always one element the team cannot quite get a handle on. There have been strategic decisions and mechanical problems that have set this team back. The biggest problem for this team is it just can't seem to get out of its own way.
The team was lost at Iowa and running Pagenaud out of fuel at the second IMS road course race likely cost the team a top ten, possibly a top five result. Then the team had another unexplained mechanical issue at Portland on Pagenaud and when it looked like the team would end on a high note at Laguna Seca with both cars making the second round of qualifying, both cars dropped like rocks in the race.
The flashes of speed are there, but the team doesn't really maximize them.
I don't think Pagenaud has lost it as a driver and frankly he was his same old consistent self in 2022, but with Pagenaud and Castroneves being the second wave of drivers for MSR after Jack Harvey these results expose the problems at the team level. There is no more wondering what is on the driver and what is on the team. These results should point where improvements need to be made in the 2023 season, and I think MSR can make those adjustments and become a more competitive team, but there is the lame-duck element in this group.
The loyalty to Castroneves is understood, but MSR is a team with big ambitions. It tested Formula E champion and potential 2023 Formula One driver Nyck de Vries last offseason. I think the 2022 season looks pretty different if de Vries was in that car, and it would also show what the team's five-year plan is. Even when Castroneves was first announced as a returning to full-time competition that was at most going to be three years. Pairing a young driver such as de Vries with Pagenaud sets the direction for the next five years if not the next ten for MSR. Those plans are on hold until Castroneves is no longer the full-time driver in the #06 Honda.
I hope MSR didn't miss its shot but the more exciting season for this team will be 2024 than 2023. I really want to see what MSR can do with a dedicated driver it can build around for the long-term while the team also works on its strategic and technical shortcomings.
This is a race-winning team and with the right pieces together it can contend for an IndyCar championship, but we are just a little off from that being a reality.
