rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
Through two races of the NTT IndyCar Series season and Meyer Shank Racing has sneakily had a massive uptick in performance compared to last season.
Last year, anchor driver Felix Rosenqvist kicked off the year strong with four straight top-10 finishes, however, fell to 12th in the standings by season’s end.
Now with a new teammate in 2023 rookie of the year Marcus Armstrong and the duo have racked up a solid amount of points through two races.
Both drivers reached the Firestone Fast Six at the season-opening event in St. Petersburg, Fla. as well as last week’s race at California’s Thermal Club, which is a sign of consistent speed.
Armstrong, in his first year with MSR after competing with Chip Ganassi Racing the last two seasons, endured issues and finished 24th in St. Pete but was able to rebound with a solid seventh-place effort at Thermal, his best with MSR to date.
“It was a long race, so I really struggled on used alternates,” Armstrong said of his race at Themral. “I wasn’t happy with the balance of the car, but we slowly made adjustments through the race and then put some new reds on at the end and we were pretty rapid.
“It’s a shame that the used tire runs were so tricky, but I’m glad that we made up some ground at the end and finished where we started.”
Rosenqvist continued his hot streak with a fifth-place finish at Thermal after what he described as a “weird one” after 65 laps around the lengthy circuit.
“We really struggled on the blacks in the first stint,” Rosenqvist said. “Luckily we got off them pretty quick cause we struggled and then we just did the whole race on reds. We were the opposite on reds, we were really good, one of the strongest cars I think. We capitalized on that and picked up a few cars in the end and ended P5. I would say that’s a pretty good day from P9.
“It was a game of patience, kind of just going a little bit slower than you want to, to be quick at the end. It was a game of chess.”
For a team that’s been searching for consistency in recent years since its breakthrough victory at the Indianapolis 500 in 2021 with Helio Castroneves, the first two weeks of action may be a solid indication of what’s to come.
