Marcus Armstrong heads to this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series weekend at Nashville Superspeedway carrying increased confidence.
The driver of the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Indy car recently signed a new contract with the team and some recent success on oval tracks to show for it.
Armstrong has earned the sixth most points of all drivers on ovals this season, including a fifth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500.
As well, Armstrong finished seventh at the 1.33-mile track in 2024.
“This place is pretty cool. Initially I was a little disappointed we were going away from downtown Nashville, but I would say that this has been one of my favorite tracks,” Armstrong said. “It’s fast and quite a tricky place to master. We’ve had strong cars there, so naturally you enjoy it a lot when you have a quick car there.
“The racing itself is very, I would say fun, for lack of a better word. It’s cool, side by side. This year we’re actually, for whatever reason, removing some downforce. It’s obviously a series mandate, which I don’t agree with, but I feel like the racing there is always good side-by-side action, especially after a high-line session.”
Armstrong spent his first two seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing before moving to MSR in 2025. The 25-year-old New Zealander explained his decision to sign a three-year extension with Meyer Shank.
“Well, it’s a fantastic team, and that’s obviously where I’ve been the last two years, and I’m very happy with where I am and the situation that I’ve found myself in,” Armstrong said. “And, of course, I’m very grateful for the opportunity; there’s no doubt about it. We have all the ingredients to go out there and win. We have shown that. And even if you look at the statistics this year, I feel like we’ve had a strong car in every single circuit really, maybe apart from Mid-Ohio frankly.”
With teammate Felix Rosenqvist leaving the team at the end of the season, Armstrong will drive MSR’s flagship No. 60 machine in 2027.
“Obviously we’re changing the numbers, but I’ve specifically requested to keep the guys that I work with now, the guys and girls, because they’re just such a great group of people, and crew chief Jimmy Looper is a big component of that,” Armstrong said. “Everybody, they’re just a good bunch of guys, so I’ve asked to keep them all together.
“We’ll obviously see what the situation brings. Obviously Mike and MSR aren’t doing IMSA next year, so there’s going to be a lot of great people about inside the team. So we’ll see how the team is stacked. But I’m very happy with how it is at the moment.”
The length of Sunday’s race at Nashville has been increased to 300 laps.
“It’s going to be a long one. It’s going to be a long race. It’s like 400 miles, 399.5 miles of racing actually. So it is a long day in the office, and it’s also going to be warm,” Armstrong said. “The team have asked me if I want my cold suit. The answer is no, and we’re just going to crack on and be there at the end because it’s easy to get carried away on a short oval and be silly.
“So, we’re going to be there at the end and hopefully fight for a win.”
