PATASKALA, Ohio – Simon Pagenaud, the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2016 NTT IndyCar Series champion, will join Meyer Shank Racing next year in the NTT IndyCar Series.
The Frenchman will drive the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda as a teammate to four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves in the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda.
Earlier this year Meyer Shank Racing won its first NTT IndyCar Series race when Castroneves won the 2021 Indianapolis 500. The 2022 season will mark the first two-car full-time campaign for MSR as it will field two Indianapolis 500 winners in the team’s hunt for the 2022 IndyCar championship.
“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 co-owner Mike Shank. “We have built this program 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 program 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.”
“This is such an exciting time in my career,” said Pagenaud. “MSR has proven it is a high-quality organization 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.”
Pagenaud claimed the 2019 Indianapolis 500 victory with a convincing run out front after starting from the pole. He was the first polesitter to win the Indianapolis 500 since Castroneves in 2009. Pagenaud also scored a strong third-place finish in the 2021 edition of the race.
Pagenaud also won the 2016 IndyCar championship and has 15 wins, 14 poles and 37 podium finishes since making his series debut in 2011.
Beyond his success in IndyCar, Pagenaud has also shown strength in sports car competition, collecting podium finishes in the most iconic IMSA SportsCar Championship races. Pagenaud finished second in the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona and collected a third place finish in the 2017 and 2020 Petit Le Mans. He also participated in some prestigious European endurance races, the most iconic being the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans where he missed victory by a very close margin.