Linus Lundqvist will make his second consecutive NTT IndyCar Series start in the Meyer Shank Racing No. 60 Dallara-Honda for Simon Pagenaud, who continues his recovery from a Mid-Ohio crash.
Lundqvist made his IndyCar debut this past Sunday in the Music City Grand Prix and finished 25th on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Despite a Turn 9 crash on Lap 69, it was a strong debut for Lundqvist, who turned the race’s fastest lap after advancing to the second round of qualifying and starting 11th.
“First I want to say a massive thank you to (team co-owners) Mike (Shank) and Jim (Meyer) for their trust to put me back in the car again,” Lundqvist said in an MSR release previewing Saturday’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
“The Nashville weekend was great in so many ways. Obviously, a lot of impressions and a lot of new stuff for me going on that weekend and I was pretty disappointed with the way that it ended. It was my mistake and I enjoyed it up until that point. I think it also left me and the team wanting more, which I am grateful for another opportunity at Indy. I know it is going to be tough again, but now I have a whole race weekend under my belt. Hopefully we can string some good results together and find some good speed, but I feel like it is going to be a super weekend.”
🚨 He's Back 🚨@L_Lundqvist76 will be back with us in the No. 60 for this weekend's #GallagherGP 💪
— Meyer Shank Racing (@MeyerShankRac) August 8, 2023
Official release: https://t.co/mZ6fnyxbjy pic.twitter.com/bpsmLGN0e1
The IMS road course will mark the sixth consecutive missed by Pagenaud, who has yet to be cleared by the IndyCar medical team since a terrifying practice wreck because of a manufacturer brake failure. Pagenaud posed a video update on social media Tuesday morning that he recorded at his house.
“Watching the races from the couch is not much fun, but I’m recovering,” he said. “It’s taking longer than expected, but I have an extremely good medical team behind me. We’re going to do this the right way.
“So I’m being patient, but it’s certainly taking some time. But it’s great to see Linus doing so well for his first time at Nashville. I look forward to seeing you guys together at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, which is one of my favorites. I wish I was there. I can tell you I’ll do everything I can to be back 100 percent very soon. I look forward to seeing you back at the track.”
— Simon Pagenaud (@simonpagenaud) August 8, 2023
Lundqvist earned a $500,000 scholarship for winning the 2022 Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) championship, and he told reporters at Nashville last week that he can apply the money toward IndyCar races. He said the allocation partly was used for his Nashville start.
Asked how many races the scholarship could fund, Lundqvist said, “That’s totally up to the team; $500,000 is obviously a lot of money, but when you put it into perspective on what it costs to run an IndyCar season, it’s all a sudden not that much money, but hopefully, we can get it to good use here and get some experience. I have the opportunity to escrow the championship to 2024 as well, so even if I don’t use all of it this year, I will have some in ’24 as well.”
The Swede has made four Indy NXT starts on the IMS road course with two victories and three poles.
INDYCAR DEBUT! A dream come true to make my first @IndyCar race this weekend with @MeyerShankRac 🤩
— Linus Lundqvist (@L_Lundqvist76) July 31, 2023
Big thank you to Mike, Jim and all involved for this opportunity!
Wishing @simonpagenaud continued speedy recovery, will try my best to make you and the team proud this weekend! pic.twitter.com/9lErD0W7Su
