2025 IndyCar season outlook: IndyCar Meyer Shank Racing

Yesterday at 12:51 PM

With the first practice session of the new IndyCar Season due to begin at St. Petersburg on Friday, it's time to start ramping up for the launch with a look inside each of the 11 teams.

What's new, what's different, and what has stayed the same? We'll find out from each team, continuing after Juncos Hollinger Racing with Meyer Shank Racing.

2024 ACHIEVEMENTS

To understand where the Meyer Shank team is starting in 2025, let's begin with a look back to where it ended in 2024.

•  Drivers' Championship: Felix Rosenqvist, No. 60 Honda, 12th place. Zero wins, one pole, zero top threes, two top fives, six top 10s, three races led for five laps, running at the finish of 13 out of 17 races. Average starting position of 9.4, average finish of 13.8.

•  Drivers' Championship: N/A; various, No. 66 Honda.

•  Entrants' Championship: No. 60, 12th (earned a Leaders Circle contract), No. 66 18th (earned a Leaders Circle contract).

2025 DRIVERS

•  No. 60 Honda: Felix Rosenqvist

•  No. 66 Honda: Marcus Armstrong (14th place with Chip Ganassi Racing. Zero wins/poles, one top 3s, four top 5s, eight top 10s, two races led for 4 laps, running at the finish of 13 out of 17 races. Average starting position of 11.1, average finish of 14.7.)

2025 KEY POSITIONS

• Team Owners: Mike Shank, Jim Meyer
• Chief Operating Officer: Adam Rovazzini
• Team Manager: Jason Givens
• Performance Director: Neil Fife
• No. 60 Race Engineer: Ross Bunnell
• No. 60 Race Strategist: Adam Rovazzini
• No. 60 Chief Mechanic: Kyle Gibson
• No. 66 Race Engineer: Angela Ashmore
• No. 66 Race Strategist: George Klotz
• No. 66 Chief Mechanic: Jimmy Looper

MAJOR CHANGES

• Ended multi-year technical alliance with Andretti Global.
• Signed multi-year technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing who provides race engineers and chassis setup information.
• Ended the season with David Malukas in the No. 66, but Malukas signed with Team Penske to drive the No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy via its technical alliance with Penske
• Signed ex-Ganassi driver Marcus Armstrong to replace Malukas.
• Through Ganassi, Armstrong has been reunited with race engineer Angela Ashmore, continuing the driver-engineer pairing from 2024 which served as his first as a full-time IndyCar driver and hers as a IndyCar race engineer.
• Ex-Scott Dixon race engineer Ross Bunnell has been connected to Felix Rosenqvist.

THE MISSION AHEAD IS TO…

Strike hard and break free of the midfield. This is the year where Meyer Shank Racing needs to become a winner in the same way the veteran teams are expected to reach victory lane at least once or twice per season. Its remarkable first win at the 2021 Indy 500 is in sore need of a follow-up return at any event.

Rosenqvist's run to 12th in the championship was the best for Meyer Shank since it entered the series in 2017, but after starting strong, it could have been much better before his season went pear-shape. Holding fifth going into the Indy 500, an early engine failure left him 27th in the big race and more mechanical issues followed which accelerated a downhill slide to 12th.

This was a top 10 entry that didn't reach its full potential, as evidenced by finishing just 13 of the 17 races. That should not be a problem with the new Ganassi relationship, and for Rosenqvist, he gets the wickedly good maker of speed named Ross Bunnell.

Of all the offseason team developments in IndyCar, it's the Rosenqvist-Bunnell pairing that excites me the most. If these two get the best out of each other, the No. 60 MSR Honda should perform like a third Ganassi entry – one that hovers around Dixon and Alex Palou at the finish line – and thrust MSR into the championship mix.

When Armstrong was at Ganassi, as a part-timer to start and then as a full-timer, he did his best to fit in and adapt. But he joined a monolith and had to measure up against six-time champion Dixon and Palou who was on the boil while winning his second and third titles. That's a brutal mountain to try and climb. And he didn't, but who could in those circumstances?

Granted, he had some strong qualifying runs and earned his first podium (Detroit), but his first full-season run was a picture of inconsistency, also not a surprise for a young newcomer to IndyCar.

At MSR, there are no living legends or impossible-to-beat characters for Armstrong to measure up against; it's nothing but clear roads ahead to race without the shadows of others. In joining MSR, Armstrong has more of a complementary situation as he and Rosenqvist are equals while pursuing their own glory. This is a team to watch.

Rosenqvist's Main Task: Deliver. His best days were at Ganassi where he placed sixth as a rookie – just two spots behind Dixon – and won a race in his second and final season with the team. At Arrow McLaren, he rose as high as eighth in the standings during his three years, and on debut with MSR, he took 12th.

Plugged into Ganassi for the first time since 2020, Rosenqvist has an incredible engineer in Bunnell and all of the Ganassi data needed to get back to his 2019 output. If it doesn't happen, something unexpected will have gone wrong.

Armstrong's Main Task: Go forward. Of all the full-time drivers in 2024, Armstrong ranked last in passes completed. He also ranked as the sixth-most passed driver, which lends some context to how his solid

qualifying average of 11.1 was countered by a race finish average of 14.7. It was by no means Armstrong's fault in every instance, but his overarching tale from 2024 was one of securing a good starting start and going backwards when it was time to race. With mechanical problems included, 11 of his 17 races came with finishes that were worse than where he started, and that's what needs fixing.

Last week's Sebring test saw Armstrong lead two of the four sessions, which reinforces his ability to generate impressive speed. If he can maintain that pace in qualifying and hold onto those starting positions by the end of most races, he'll have a breakout season.

GOALS

We'll let Shank take this one:

"Based on what I’ve seen in the integration between Ganassi and us, the drivers and their mindsets, I’m kind of giddy," Shank told RACER. "I think there’s real possibility here. But expectations are such a bitch in this world. My expectation is that we get three to five podiums, have a shot at wins, maybe get both in the top 10 in points and one pushing the top five. And I think that is doable if we execute on our side."

MORE THOUGHTS FROM TEAM OWNER MIKE SHANK:

"I believe our drivers are there, the engineering is there, and now we've got to just make sure the preparation and the execution of the pit stops are there," Shank said. "Our pit stop game got noticeably better for the last five races of last year, which was a big focus. So we’re obviously hoping that can carry on, and I’m not looking for home runs there.

"If day in day and out you can be in the top 10 in the pit lane, you’re not going to kill yourself on the racetrack, and that typically gets you top eight, top 10 finishes. You've just got to be the same every time, right? The spirit in the shop, the mojo, is at a very high level right now. So let’s see what we've got cooking."