Technical partnerships are common in IndyCar, with newer and smaller teams requiring extra support from more established outfits.
This is the case with Meyer Shank Racing, which has had technical arrangements since its first race at the Indianapolis 500 in 2017, where it partnered with Andretti Autosport.
In 2018, the team partnered with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports as they entered Jack Harvey into six events and 10 the following year.
Andretti announced that for the 2020 IndyCar season, they would be entering a partnership with MSR to provide engineering and development support, with the agreement continuing into the 2024 campaign.
Meyer Shank Racing have entered a technical partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing
Now, MSR is moving on to new pastures as they have announced a multi-year arrangement with the defending IndyCar champions Chip Ganassi Racing.
MSR co-owner Mike Shank spoke with RACER about the alliance with CGR and he expressed his gratitude to Andretti for their assistance over the years, but that this new exciting opportunity could take his team to ‘another level.’
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“There’s a lot of questions out there, and I just want to say, yes, we’re entering into an agreement with Chip Ganassi Racing and we could not be more excited about it,” he said.
“And I’ve got to give a huge thanks to Andretti Global with all they’ve done for us.
“Always open communication with [Andretti COO] Rob Edwards, who’s an absolute prince of a guy to me and the team, and they’ve done what they said they’re going to do.
“We’ve had good success and we had a big resurgence this year. That’s all due to them. But I think this deal with Ganassi could potentially take us to another level.
“Our alliance with Andretti has always been very good. But in this case, I feel more integrated. On the Andretti side, they’ve done exactly what they promised us and nothing less. So I don’t want to take away from that, but I do feel there’s an opportunity here to become more interwoven with the two companies. That’s huge for us, and hopefully, for them.”
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The new arrangement will be advantageous for both teams
The new arrangement will see MSR receive full technical support from CGR, with the latter providing engineering staff to the former’s No. 60 and No. 66 Hondas – currently driven by Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas, who will join A. J. Foyt Racing next year.
MSR will also receive setup information for both cars, data from the CGR drivers and the opportunity to participate in group debriefs with six-time champion Scott Dixon and the defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou.
Shank explained that MSR will run the team, pick their drivers and team members and will work with CGR on the technical side as they did with Andretti and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
As CGR plans to downsize its line-up from five cars to three, this new alliance gives them the chance to keep their talented engineering in the sport by sending some of its members to run Rosenqvist’s, and whoever they choose to sign to replace Malukas, car.