PATASKALA, Ohio — As Meyer Shank Racing heads to the fourth street circuit on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar, the Ohio-based team has added Linus Lundqvist to its lineup alongside Helio Castroneves for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lundqvist is stepping in for Simon Pagenaud, who continues to recover from a practice accident at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earlier this month. While he continues to improve, he has been advised by the IndyCar Medical Team to not participate in this weekend’s event in Nashville.
“This is a moment I’ve been dreaming of literally since the start of my career,” Lundqvist said. “I could not be more excited about the prospect of finally making my NTT IndyCar Series debut; I am extremely grateful to Meyer Shank Racing for this opportunity.
“This will be an incredible experience, but also the toughest challenge of my life. Sitting on the sidelines all year, it would be a massive task to join any championship towards the end of the season – let alone the NTT IndyCar Series on the streets of Nashville. There’s been very little time to prepare, but I feel like the sheer excitement of this moment will make up for some of that,” Lundqvist continued.
“Of course, working alongside Helio – one of the true legends of this sport – will also be a huge asset. Last but not least, I would like to wish Simon Pagenaud a continued speedy recovery. While fully aware of everything I have to learn this weekend, I will do my very best to make him and everyone else on the team proud in Music City.”
Following the Mid-Ohio accident, MSR has continued to campaign the No. 60 Honda-powered entry, with the team’s IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship driver Tom Blomqvist making his IndyCar debut on the streets of Toronto while Conor Daly stepped in on short notice to compete in both the Mid-Ohio race and the Iowa Speedway doubleheader.
Now, last year’s Indy NXT by Firestone champion will make his IndyCar race debut with MSR as he heads back to a track that he has seen much success at. Lundqvist excelled in Indy NXT competition, scoring third in the championship in his rookie campaign in 2021 and backing that up with a run to the title in 2022 on the strength of five wins and nine podium finishes.
Lundqvist heads into the Nashville event with some recent familiarity of the track, having swept the 2022 event with a pole and victory.