Mike Shank’s most successful days in IndyCar came with a single-car outfit centered on Jack Harvey. The Briton finished 13th in the 2021 IndyCar championship before joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and in the seasons that followed, the team has been looking for the same level of performance – but better – in an expanded program.
Meyer Shank Racing has evolved in every manner since co-owner Jim Meyer joined the Ohio-based team in 2018, including plans to add a second full-time car in 2022 and a reboot with Indy 500-winning veterans Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud. However, the major results they were looking for as a two-car team proved elusive, as Pagenaud’s rise to 15th in the standings was the best performance for MSR from 2022 to 2023.
The need for more production prompted another reset during the offseason, with the addition of Felix Rosenqvist from Arrow McLaren and the promotion of MSR’s IMSA prototype winner Tom Blomqvist to the Nos. 60 and 66 entries, and Rosenqvist’s ability was immediately apparent.
Despite a lack of success in recent races, the Swede enters this weekend’s race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 10th place in the championship, owing to six top ten finishes in eight outings. In the sister No. 66 Honda, Rosenqvist’s new teammate David Malukas – his replacement at Arrow McLaren – will race for MSR for the first time this year after being sidelined due to an injury, as the team conducts a mid-season reboot with the Illinois native after recently parking Blomqvist.
Pulling Blomqvist from the car was an aggressive action that highlighted the team’s pressure to achieve immediate results for its sponsors. Although Blomqvist will not return to IndyCar for MSR, he remains a part of the team’s long-term plans as it prepares to relaunch its IMSA GTP effort in 2025. With the door wide open for Malukas to stake his claim in the No. 66, Shank says he is already impressed with the 22-year-old after he was instantly fast during last week’s hybrid engine test on the Milwaukee oval.
“To be honest with you, I’d say he was even better than I thought he’d be,” Shank stated to RACER. “Wow. I mean, he got in right away and was there. Even in the small simulated races that IndyCar had us do, he got a little racy and passed (RLL’s Christian) Lundgaard aggressively into Turn 1, which was really excellent.
Malukas made his MSR debut during the recent Open Test at the Milwaukee Mile.Â
“We didn’t want him to crash it, but he needed to go out and rub elbows with this gang, which is becoming increasingly hostile. And he needs to demonstrate that he will not be bullied around. He is now quite excellent at reading the automobile on an oval. It will be our responsibility to provide him with a capable vehicle, given how important the car is to the oval. So I’m positive about our situation with David.”
Six of the championship’s remaining ten races are on ovals, which matches Malukas’ skills from his rookie and sophomore IndyCar seasons with Dale Coyne Racing. The main challenge for him begins on the Laguna Seca road circuit, with its new high-grip pavement, which will put his recuperating left hand and wrist through hell as he battles to spin the severely downforced car 11 times every lap. Shank understands that he will have to decrease his expectations for his new driver this weekend, as well as at the next race at the Mid-Ohio road circuit in early July.
“I think he’s gonna have his hands full for Laguna,” he stated. “It will be difficult for his wrist to keep up with the responsiveness he has to have. But I have given him a good leash. He doesn’t need to be perfect. He doesn’t have to be P1; I simply need P17 or higher. That’s all I need: a progression of improvement. With that, I will be completely satisfied.”
For a boisterous team like MSR, which reflects Shank’s personality, a quirky character like Malukas may not have been an instant fit for its chemistry, but a bond has already formed through his visits to the shop and time spent with the team observing at Road America and testing in Milwaukee.
“For one thing, he’s a quiet guy, but not it’s a weird dynamic,” Shank stated. “He comes across as being quiet and eccentric, but he understands what he wants. He asked for what he wanted from the car and listened when he needed to, whether it was Helio or anyone else offering advise. He quickly learned from Barry Waddell, who spots and coaches drivers. David was all over it. He was thrilled to have it and remained calm in the car. We were more startled than he was at first, because the car didn’t work properly.
“He just handled it very well.” He’s really chill, whereas my brain would have been spinning otherwise. And I told his dad that our engineers enjoy working with him. Listen, we are really optimistic that he will make the most of this. We both need him to succeed. We need the car to get out of its current slump.”
