Pagenaud to leave Penske and join Meyer Shank Racing in 2022
Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud will leave Team Penske and join former team-mate Helio Castroneves at Meyer Shank Racing for next year.
The 2016 IndyCar champion and 2019 Indy 500 victor has accumulated 15 wins in IndyCar so far, four of them with the Arrow McLaren SP team under its Schmidt Peterson Motorsports guise, and 11 in his last seven seasons at Roger Penske's squad.
As predicted by Autosport in August, 37-year-old Pagenaud will replace Jack Harvey and line up alongside Castroneves after the former Penske driver claimed his fourth Indy 500 victory with MSR this year.
It will mark the first time that MSR has run two full-time entries in IndyCar since its series debut in 2017 with a one-off entry in the Indianapolis 500.
“Next year will be a big year for MSR and I think we have a very strong lineup of drivers between Simon and Helio,” said team founder and co-owner Mike Shank.
“We have built this programme 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 programme 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.”
Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing Honda, Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske Chevrolet
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
“This is such an exciting time in my career,” said Pagenaud.
“MSR has proven it is a high-quality organisation when they 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.”
PLUS: Why IndyCar’s longest silly-season is still far from over
Although the release announcing his signing made no reference to MSR's sportscar arm, Pagenaud is expected to be part of MSR’s Acura line-up for the IMSA SportsCar endurance races as a precursor to the brand’s Le Mans campaign with LMDh cars from 2023.
Pagenaud was a regular in Penske's IMSA programme with Acura between 2018 and 2020, and remained active in sportscars this year driving an Action Express Racing Cadillac, finishing second at the Daytona 24 Hours.
Related video
Previous article
Herta "didn't think we had a shot at winning" Long Beach from 14th
Next article
Ganassi: Palou’s IndyCar title triumph “as big as it gets”
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Despite appearing to have an IndyCar job for life with Meyer Shank Racing, Jack Harvey’s departure and move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate. However, Harvey's and RLL's combined strengths could prove to be a winning combination - if they get the balance right
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing IndyCar win
Saturday 16 October marks the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong junior career and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear
Why IndyCar title glory is just the start for Ganassi's new star
Newly-crowned IndyCar champion Alex Palou has been lauded as a complete driver and veteran-like in only his second season. The 24-year-old is still in the early days of his career, but the parallels are there for all to see with his six-time champion Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate who has been CGR's team leader since 2014
Why Grosjean's oval commitment shows he's serious about IndyCar
One of motorsport’s worst-kept secrets is now out in the open, and Romain Grosjean has been confirmed as an Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver in 2022. It marks a remarkable turnaround after the abrupt end to his Formula 1 career, and is a firm indication of his commitment to challenge for the IndyCar Series title
Why IndyCar’s longest silly-season is still far from over
OPINION: The 2021 IndyCar silly season has been one of the silliest for many years, as many talented drivers remain in play – with new pieces to the puzzle being added all the time. Here's what we know so far about who will end up where in 2022
Why IndyCar's generational shift isn't as stark as it appears
OPINION: The rise of two drivers racing only their second full-season IndyCar campaigns to head the points with four races to go has led to some observers doubting the credentials of the old guard. But they haven't faded away, there's merely a deeper talent pool that is helping to make this season one of the best in recent years
The F1 champion who became an Indy king in his second career
Emerson Fittipaldi’s decision to go racing with his brother led to him falling out of F1, but he bloomed again on the IndyCar scene. NIGEL ROEBUCK considers a career of two halves
