Simon Pagenaud has a new home.
After seven years of racing with Team Penske that saw him capture the 2016 IndyCar Series championship along with the 2019 Indianapolis 500, Pagenaud is departing.
And he’s doing so to join the winner of the 2021 Indianapolis 500 as Helio Castroneves returns to full-time racing with the team.
“Next year will be a big year for MSR and I think we have a very strong lineup of drivers between Simon and Helio,” Team owner Mike Shank said in a release. “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.”
Pagenaud will drive the No. 60 car that Jack Harvey has piloted in recent memory. Castroneves will run the No. 06. Both cars will have primary sponsorship from AutoNation and SiriusXM.
The 2022 season will mark the first time that Meyer Shank Racing has fielded two full-time cars in the series as they look to find more success and add another Indianapolis 500 trophy.
To have two of the past three winners of ‘the big one’ can’t hurt either.
“This is such an exciting time in my career,” Pagenaud said in the release. “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 and Castroneves will compete in their first race at Meyer Shank together when the 2022 IndyCar season starts on February 27 at St. Petersburg. The race will be broadcasted on NBC.
