Meyer Shank Racing saw a big turnaround in 2024. After having one top ten finish the entire 2023 season, MSR opened last year with four consecutive top ten results and five top ten finishes in the first six races. This included a pair of top five results, the team's first since 2022, and MSR even picked up its first pole position in IndyCar competition.
While there was plenty to rightfully celebrate, MSR took its lumps along the way. A gamble on driver selection backfired and forced the team to make a midseason change. It worked out for the better as both its entries finished in Leader Circle positions, but after the team's hot start, it had only three top ten finishes in the final 11 races.
There were positives to draw upon from 2024, but still much work to be done. MSR has bolstered its driver lineup with its new technical partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing, and its outlook for 2025 should sound familiar.
At First Glance... Results should be better
Like A.J. Foyt Racing, results should be better for Meyer Shank Racing in 2025.
Joining Felix Rosenqvist will be Marcus Armstrong, essentially loaned from the Ganassi organization with the new charter limit of three entries per team. After the Tom Blomqvist experiment did not pay off, MSR has brought in the 2023 IndyCar Rookie of the Year and a driver who had four top five finishes last season, including his first career podium finish, a third in Detroit.
Rosenqvist won a pole position and started in the top five in seven races. Armstrong started in the top ten in ten races, including starting third on two occasions. The raw pace is there for MSR to be better. Some of the issues were old issues last season. MSR could still not close out races. It could not take the hard work on Saturday and yield fruitful results on Sunday. That has also been a flaw of Rosenqvist's since he entered IndyCar.
The good news is the team found speed, which was not there in 2023. Now it must get more out of it. The Ganassi partnership will help the team and potentially lead it to some of the answers it has been missing when it comes to long-run pace. If it can do that and maintain its qualifying form, MSR could win a race or two.
These two drivers were 12th and 14th in the championship last year with Rosenqvist only eight points ahead of Armstrong. They are two drivers on the same level and both have a working relationship with the Ganassi organization. It will still be difficult to top Álex Palou and Scott Dixon and the Penske cars, but we saw last year Rosenqvist could run at the front of the field even if it could not sustain for an entire race. It feels more likely that MSR should be there at the end of races.
It might not lead to a full championship push but on one of the circuits that have favored Rosenqvist best, it could lead to him contending for a victory and pulling it out. The same goes for Armstrong. This will be his third season but he drove respectably well and kept up with Palou and Dixon on days when the entire Ganassi team clicked. There could be a day where it is his to lose and he maintains control.
This is a midfield team in a tightly packed midfield. The smallest advantage can go a long way. Two years after MSR was in the cellar, it should make a step closer to the top in 2025 and it could have a few glorious days that seemed unimaginable not long ago.
2024 Meyer Shank Racing Review
Wins: 0
Best Finish: 4th (Barber)
Poles: 1 (Long Beach)
Championship Finishes: 12th (Felix Rosenqvist), 24th (David Malukas), 30th (Tom Blomqvist), 35th (Hélio Castroneves)
Felix Rosenqvist - #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Numbers to Remember:
11: Top ten starts in 2024
10: Times in those 11 top ten starts where Rosenqvist finished worse than or equal to his starting position
5: Laps led in 2024, the fewest among the seven drivers to have an average starting position inside the top ten and start at least 70% of the races
What does a championship season look like for him?
His race pace matching his qualifying pace, and that qualifying pace not falling off. If Rosenqvist is qualifying in the top five, he is finishing in the top five. If he is qualifying in the top ten, he is finishing in the top ten but ahead of where he started. A championship season starts with Rosenqvist not going backward in races.
It can start with a podium day in St. Petersburg after starting fifth. The worn surface of Thermal Club suits the Swede's driving style and he takes a surprising victory early before another podium run in Long Beach. Entering the Indianapolis 500, he has four top five finishes from five races.
When it comes to ovals, Rosenqvist does a good job even if he doesn't look like a contender. He is able to finish in the top ten and pick up respectable point totals. He may only have one or two top five finishes, but he is finishing ahead of the key competitors.
This championship will be decided on road and street results. On the streets of Detroit, he picks up another victory. He gets another pair of top five finishes at Road America and Mid-Ohio. He dominates Laguna Seca and Portland is another top five run.
For Rosenqvist to win the championship, he will need at least three victories and 11 top five finishes, like most champions do, but he does it with an average starting position that ranks inside the top three in IndyCar.
What does a realistic season look like for him?
Championship top ten. He was close last year but the end of the season cost him dearly. Not all of those were his fault. Rosenqvist had two retirements due to mechanical issues at Iowa and Toronto. The concern is his form of starting well and dropping back in races isn't going to disappear overnight. If it is still an issue in year five, it is going to be around in year six.
The balance could be better where it doesn't feel like a weekly thing, but it will likely come up, and if he is starting third at Mid-Ohio, there is a good chance that will be a race where he finishes seventh or eighth. It isn't the worst result in the world, but it does not feel great when top five starts are netting only top ten finishes.
IndyCar is somewhat due for an unexpected winner, though no one should be surprised if Rosenqvist has everything go in his favor at Long Beach or Toronto or Laguna Seca. The pace would likely justify the final result, but I don't think we will see eight or nine races where Rosenqvist is in contention.
One victory with two or three podium results, but only four top five finishes and eight or nine top ten finishes feels like the best outcome for this group, and it would likely get him seventh to tenth in the championship. Even without a victory, Rosenqvist should be knocking on the door of the championship top ten.
Marcus Armstrong - #66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Numbers to Remember:
12: Top ten starts in his career
8: Times in those 12 top ten starts where Armstrong finished worse than or equal to his starting position
11.828: Average starting position for a Meyer Shank Racing entry in 2024, the third-best in IndyCar behind only Team Penske (6.803) and Andretti Global (10.865)
What does a championship season look like for him?
Stunning his previous/current employer. It is sending a message early that Chip Ganassi Racing should have found a way to keep him in a CGR car, even if they kind of are keeping him in a CGR car.
Armstrong wins right out of the gate at St. Petersburg and he has a pair of podium finishes in the first four races before winning the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and becoming the first multi-time winner of the 2025 season. He completes more than six laps in the Indianapolis 500 but settles for a good eighth-place finish in his first real run at the 500 miles.
Another pair of good days at Detroit and Gateway follows, but he strikes back with a victory at Road America and a podium at Mid-Ohio, and this puts him into the championship lead. Armstrong is due for a bad day at Iowa, but he rebounds with three consecutive top five finishes over Toronto, Laguna Seca and Portland, and one of those is a victory.
With two ovals to close the season, Armstrong raises his game, finishing in he top five at Milwaukee and ahead of all his championship rivals and then he clinches the title with another top five run at Nashville.
What does a realistic season look like for him?
Armstrong and Rosenqvist should be close to indistinguishable when it comes to race results. When comparing the finishes once the 2025 season is over, we should have trouble picking out which MSR driver is which.
Both these guys should be on the cusp of the championship top ten, and there is a good chance one will be just inside and the other will just be outside, but ending up just outside should not feel like a failure.
If there is one thing for Armstrong to work on it is his eagerness. He may have started third in two races last year, but on both occasions he was involved in opening lap incidents and he played a significant role in how those events turned out. When at the front, he must remain settled and get into a race before taking chances. If he can do that, results will improve.
Armstrong can win a race. Like Rosenqvist, if the qualifying speed is there, Armstrong could have a weekend where he qualifies on the front row and the tire strategy is in his favor. He has good wear and doesn't have to make a risky decision. It puts him ahead of everyone and he closes out the race. That isn't a guarantee but he is setup for success should such a situation arise.
While he had four top five finishes last year, Armstrong only had eight total top ten finishes. He was outside the top twenty in six races. That last number should decrease.
What is best outcome for Rosenqvist is also the best possible outcome for Armstrong. If he finishes seventh or eighth in the championship, it has been a tremendous year, but a season where he may dip and only have three top five finishes but increases his top ten finish total to nine or ten and leads to 11th or 12th in the championship would not be a failure either. That would be a solid season for the New Zealander.
The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season opens on Sunday March 2 with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Fox's coverage of the season opener will begin at noon Eastern Time.
