NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2019 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Simon Pagenaud will join Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, driving the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda.
Pagenaud will team with four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves in the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda. It’s the first time MSR will field two full-season cars.
MSR, based in Pataskala, Ohio, has grown its presence in the series continuously since its series debut in 2017 with a one-off entry in the Indianapolis 500. The team earned its first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory when Castroneves won the Indy 500 for the fourth time in May.
“Next year will be a big year for MSR, and I think we have a very strong lineup of drivers between Simon and Helio,” team co-owner Mike Shank said. “We have built this program every year, growing with our partners and working to have all the ingredients we need to be competitive.
“Our Indianapolis 500 win was a big breakthrough, and we are looking forward to having a consistently competitive program that will have the chance to fight for wins and podiums no matter where we go, and I think this lineup will help us do that.”
Frenchman Pagenaud, 37, joins MSR for his 11th full INDYCAR SERIES season, which included the last seven seasons at Team Penske. Pagenaud earned the 2016 series title and 11 of his 15 career INDYCAR SERIES wins with Penske, including the 2019 Indianapolis 500.
“This is such an exciting time in my career,” Pagenaud said. “MSR has proven it is a high-quality organization when it won the Indianapolis 500, and pairing Helio and me together will help our team in 2022 and beyond. I’m really looking forward to this new challenge.”
Pagenaud claimed the 2019 Indianapolis 500 victory after starting from the pole. He was the first polesitter to win the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2009. Pagenaud also scored a strong third-place podium finish in the 2021 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Beyond his success in INDYCAR, Pagenaud also has shown strength in sports car competition, collecting podium finishes in the most iconic IMSA SportsCar Championship races. Pagenaud finished second in the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona and collected a third-place finish in the 2017 and 2020 Petit Le Mans. He also participated in some prestigious European endurance races, the most iconic being the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he just missed victory.
Meyer Shank Racing will head into the 2022 race season equipped with two-full season INDYCAR entries with the returning support from primary sponsors AutoNation and SiriusXM, as well as continued partnerships with CAP fixtures, Rocky Fork Co. and Roberts Service Group.