Tag: Meyer Shank Racing

Blomqvist Wins Pole as Meyer Shank Racing Continues Quick Pace at Indy

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From IMS:

  INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025) — They may find it hard to believe, but it’s pretty safe to say Tom Blomqvist and Meyer Shank Racing have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course figured out when it comes to practice and qualifying.
Next comes the most important part – a six-hour endurance race Sunday.
Former NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Blomqvist won the overall and GTP class pole Saturday for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship race in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 prototype, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 14.569 seconds.

SEE: Qualifying Results

The pole continued a stretch of domination for Blomqvist and co-driver Colin Braun, another NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran. They led the opening practice Friday and the pre-qualifying practice this morning on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course
.“We actually have thought this was a bit of a bad track for us,” Blomqvist said. “In the past, we’ve never really figured it out. So, the guys put a lot of energy into it to come up with something that makes more sense, and let’s give it a go. That’s what we came here with, something very different than what we’ve run in the past, and it’s worked from the get-go.
“So, that gives you a lot of confidence.”
Meyer Shank Racing also earned its fourth consecutive pole this season. The team also has two wins, on the Streets of Detroit and at Watkins Glen in June.Now MSR will try to win this prestigious Michelin Endurance Cup event that starts at 11:40 a.m. ET Sunday and ends at 5:40 p.m.
“It’s a six-hour race, and the strategy is super-important,” Blomqvist said. “A lot can happen in an IMSA race. You need to make sure you make the right calls at the right time and be on the right side of the strategy. It’s very easy for something to be unlucky or to make a bad call, and that puts you out of the race.”
Jack Aitken qualified second at 1:14.610 in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R.
Wayne Taylor Racing, headquartered in nearby Brownsburg, put both of its prototypes on the second row. Louis Deletraz qualified third at 1:14.715 in the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R, while Ricky Taylor was fourth at 1:14.804 in the team’s No. 10 Cadillac.
The reigning winners, the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL entry of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, qualified eighth in the 12-car GTP field at 1:15.133 with Dries Vanthoor behind the wheel.
Nick Boulle led a sweep of the first two qualifying spots in the LMP2 class by United Autosports USA. He was quickest at 1:17.846 in the team’s No. 2 ORECA LMP2 07, followed by Daniel Goldburg at 1:18.222 in the team’s No. 22 prototype.
Dan Harper took the top qualifying spot in the GTD PRO class for Paul Miller Racing, stopping the clocks at 1:23.259 in the team’s No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Casper Stevenson won the pole in the GTD class with a best lap of 1:23.088 in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. That time was quicker than the pole for the factory-supported GTD PRO class.
McLaren Goes 1-2 in Michelin Pilot Challenge Race
Michael Cooper took the lead with less than one minute remaining and drove the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4 to overall and Grand Sport class victory in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120, a two-hour race for the Michelin Pilot Challenge series.It was the second win of the season for Cooper and co-driver Moisey Uretsky. This also was the first 1-2 finish for McLaren in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.

SEE: Race Results

“I just took any opportunity I was given, whether it was inside, outside, wherever,” Cooper said. “I was willing to try anything to get that win. We got a win at Daytona to open the season and haven’t had a podium since, so I thought it was worth risking for.
“I think everyone was really struggling with braking and grip overall. So, maybe I just managed that a little better early in the stint and had a bit more in the end.”
Jesse Lazare scrambled into second in the last minute to finish second in the No. 21 Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4 that he shared with Alexandra Hainer. Robert Noaker and Cameron McLeod finished third in the No. 60 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Ford Mustang GT4.
Cooper and Lazare passed Noaker for first and second, respectively, with less than a minute to go, and Lazare also got past for second. Cooper completed a stirring drive from 17th to third from just past halfway until a caution bunched the field with 17 minutes to go.
American Cooper passed Canadian Lazare for second in Turn 1 with four minutes to go and then set his sights on Noaker. On the decisive pass, Noaker led down the back straightaway and through Turn 10, but Cooper then edged past in the next right-hand corner.
Spanish manufacturer Cupra earned its first Michelin Pilot Challenge victory in the Touring Car class, as co-drivers Eric Powell and Tyler Gonzalez won by 6.988 seconds in the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Cupra Leon VZ TCR. This is Cupra’s first season in IMSA competition, and it became the first manufacturer to earn its maiden IMSA win since Alfa Romeo in 2021.
The No. 7 Precision Racing LA Audi RS3 shared by Celso Neto and Ryan Eversley finished second, while Karl Wittmer and LP Montour drove the No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 to third.
Ericsson’s Brother Wins Again in Lamborghini Series
Hampus Ericsson now has one up on his older brother, 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson, as he earned his second victory at IMS in two days by sweeping Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America events this weekend with co-driver Danny Formal.
The duo triumphed in the No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan by 11.067 seconds over teammates Trent Hindman and Jackson Lee, son of FOX Sports INDYCAR announcer Kevin Lee, in the No. 69 Huracan. Those WTR cars finished in the same order in Friday’s 50-minute race.
Aaron Jeansonne won the second 40-minute Porsche Carrera Cup North America race of the weekend. He drove the No. 24 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to victory by .981 of a second over the No. 78 Topp Racing Porsche of Ryan Yardley, who earned his second runner-up result of the weekend.Race 1 winner Zachary Vanier placed third in the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche.
Visit IMS.com for tickets and more information on the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. 

Meyer Shank Racing Dashes to 1-2 in Opening IMSA Practice at Indy

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From IMS:

  INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Sept. 19, 2025) – The 2025 surge continued Friday for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, this time in sports cars at Indianapolis.
Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian placed its two Acura ARX-06 prototypes atop the overall and GTP class time sheets Friday in the opening practice for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
SEE: Practice Results
Former NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Tom Blomqvist posted the quickest time of the 90-minute session on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course, 1 minute, 16.209 seconds in the No. 60 entry. He will share that prototype machine with fellow INDYCAR SERIES veteran Colin Braun in the six-hour race that starts at 11:40 a.m. ET Sunday.
“The length of the race and traffic management will be key for us,” Braun said.
“We had a chance to do some testing at IMS, and this group continues to jell.”
Nick Yelloly was second at 1:16.477 in the team’s No. 93 entry shared with Renger van der Zande and Kaku Ohta.
“From the run we’ve been on recently, there’s no reason we can’t fight at the front again,” Yelloly said.
MSR has earned two victories this season, with the No. 93 triumphing on the Streets of Detroit and the No. 60 winning the Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen, both in June. Van der Zande and Yelloly are tied for fourth in the GTP point standings, with Blomqvist and Braun sixth.
That success mirrors the team’s improvement this season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, where drivers Felix Rosenqvist (sixth) and Marcus Armstrong (eighth) both finished in the top 10 of the final standings.
Jack Aitken ended up third in the GTP practice at 1:16.532 in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R.
The reigning winners of the six-hour endurance race, the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL entry of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, ended up seventh at 1:16.773 with Dries Vanthoor behind the wheel.
There should be tight competition for the pole in GTP qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, as slightly more than eight-tenths of a second was all that separated the 12 GTP cars in the field.
Mikkel Jensen led LMP2 practice with a best lap of 1:17.407 in the No. 11 TDS Racing Oreca LMP2 07. One of his teammates is former INDYCAR SERIES driver and INDY NXT by Firestone race winner Hunter McElrea. The No. 11 team has won the LMP2 class in this event the last two years.Qualifying for the LMP2 class starts at 4:05 p.m. ET Saturday.
In the GT Daytona Pro class, Davide Rigon was quickest at 1:24.419 in the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3. The GTD PRO class qualifies at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday.
Valentin Hasse-Clot was quickest in the GT Daytona class with his lap of 1:24.403 in the No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. Interestingly, Hasse-Clot’s time was quicker than the best lap in the factory-supported GT Daytona Pro class. GTD qualifying starts at 3:15 p.m. ET Saturday.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge series will conduct a two-hour race at 12:40 p.m. ET Saturday with its two classes, both on track Friday for two practice sessions
.Michael Cooper was quickest overall in the Grand Sport class with his best lap of 1:29.552 in the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4.
Tyler Gonzalez led the Touring Car class at 1:31.471 in the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Cupra Leon VZ.
Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying starts at 8 a.m. ET Saturday.
Racing began Friday in the single-make series competing this weekend at the Racing Capital of the World.
Pole sitter Danny Formal and co-driver Hampus Ericsson, the younger brother of 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson, won the first of two 50-minute Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America races in the No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan. WTR finished 1-2 in the race, as the team of Trent Hindman and Jackson Lee, son of FOX Sports INDYCAR announcer Kevin Lee, placed second in the No. 69 Huracan.
The second race is at 5:10 p.m. ET Saturday.
Zachary Vanier drove his No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to victory by .486 of a second over the No. 78 Topp Racing Porsche of Ryan Yardley in the first of two 40-minute Porsche Carrera Cup North America races. The second race is at 10:45 a.m. ET Saturday
.Visit IMS.com for tickets and more information on the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. 

Armstrong Stays at MSR for 2026

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Meyer Shank Raving has resigned Marcus Armstrong for the 2026 IndyCar Series season. The announcement from Meyer Shank Racing:

Pataskala, Ohio (18 August 2025) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) is pleased to confirm that Marcus Armstrong will return the team and drive the No. 66 Honda for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Armstrong has quickly become a consistent and competitive force in his first season with MSR, delivering strong performances throughout the 2025 campaign. The 25-year-old New Zealander has recorded ten top-ten finishes so far this season, highlighted by a podium at Iowa Speedway — the second of his INDYCAR career.

With momentum building through the second half of the year, Armstrong is aiming to finish the season inside the top ten of the championship standings for the first time in his career — a testament to the growth and promise he’s shown in the No. 66 SiriusXM Honda.

“I’m very pleased and grateful to be back with Meyer Shank Racing and my crew for 2026,” said Armstrong. “The professionalism and attention to detail is a benchmark throughout the field and we have certainly improved with time together which has been great. We’ll look to build on our momentum and work hard to climb the points standings.”

Armstrong has also impressed in qualifying, matching his career-best starting position of third (Toronto), and earning a second-row start with a fourth-place qualifying effort to kick off the season in St. Petersburg.

“We’re thrilled to have Marcus back for 2026,” said Mike Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing. “He’s really grown a lot this season and we’re seeing that in his results as the season has gone on. His performance this year has shown that he has all the tools to fight at the front. We’re excited to continue building on this progress together.”

Armstrong and Meyer Shank Racing still have two races left on the 2025 calendar and are looking to close out the season on a high note.

Road America Wrap Up- Palou Flies Solo

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The air was hot, the track was hot, and t5he action was hot. Teams played Pit Stop Roulette, but in the end, we saw the same result.

The fuel save master just missed, and the tire master came out on top again. In an entertaining, action packed race at Road America where the winner wasn’t decided until the last three laps. Alex Palou won his sixth race of the year after Scott Dixon fell two laps short on fuel.

Some thoughts:

The chaotic start with eight laps of caution in the first 12 laps led to a wide mix of pit and tire strategies, which in turn led to a lot of on track battles. From my view in turn 5, I’m surprise there were only five caution periods. Drivers were pushing each other to the outside with lots of contact. I have never seen so much dust kicked off at the exit of the turn as I did yesterday.

I had a good view of Sting Ray Robb’s incident. he was fortunate that he scrubbed off some speed on the concrete barrier before he hit the tire wall. It appeared he couldn’t brake. It seems I say this every race, but hats off to the safety design features of this chassis. Robb stopped in a place where the AMR safety stations a truck, but still it seemed as if they were headed to Robb before he came to an abrupt stop.

Great Drives

Santino Ferrucci finished third after starting 18th. Scott Dixon finished ninth from 25th on the grid, and he had a chance to win because of pit strategy. Rinus VeeKay started 22nd and finished 10th, overcoming three penalties.

David Malukas started seventh, went off track on lap 1, and roared back to end the race where he started. Malukas complained of the heat affecting him. While no other driver mentioned it, I’m sure heat was a factor for many.

Penske’s Lost Year

For the last two races, I have thought that Team Penske would begin a comeback to being a factor. At Gateway the trio of Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden qualified first, second, and fifth. None finished the race.

Yesterday the team started fourth, eighth, and 10th. They finished 12th, 14th, and 25th. Josef Newgarden has four results lower than 20th and is 17th in points. McLaughlin and Power are still in the top 10 in points, but ypoun have to wonder for how long?

Even before the organizational shakeup in May, the team seemed not quite up to their usual standards. It is sad to see a team decline as rapidly as they have.

MSR Rising

Felix Rosenqvist finished second as he continues to quietly stay in the top five in points. Rosenqvist is now fourth in the standings, and teammate Marcus Armstrong’s fifth place result has him standing 11th for the year.

MSR has thrived in their relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Foyt Ascending

It ius ironic that A. J. Foyt Racing is doing better tha the team they have atechnical alliance. The association with Team Penske has yielded marked improvement for one of the smallest teams in the paddock.

As not6ed earlier, Santino Ferrucci and David Malukas both had top 10 results yesterday. Ferruci is now ninth in points and Malukas is 12th, a far cry from the years when this team hovered on the brink of missing out on the Leaders ‘Circle.

After seven rather mundane races, IndyCar has produced two very good, exciting races with lots of passing, position battles, and doubts about who would win until near the end of the race. I hope this trend continues when the series goes to Mid-Ohio in a couple of weeks.

Results

Marco Returns for Indy; Helio to Attempt Daytona 500

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The Andretti name stays on the grid. The rumors and speculation have been put to rest. Andretti Global confirmed that Marco Andretti will return to the team for his 20th Indianapolis 500. The 2020 Indianapolis Pole winner has eight top 10 finishes and top 5 runs in the 500. His best finish was his rookie year, when he was nipped at the line by Sam Hornish, Jr., in 2006.

Andretti’s’ last Top 10 was in 2017, an eighth-place result, and his last Top 5 was in 2014 when he ran third. In addition to his pole, Andretti also started on the outside of the front row in third.

Castroneves Tries Daytona

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 next month with Trackhouse Racing. Castroneves, a part owner of Meyer-Shank racing, will also drive in the Indianapolis 500.

I like when drivers race in different forms of racing outside their primary category, but the corporate. proprietary nature of racing today makes it such a big deal when it happens. It shouldn’t be. Drivers used to race in several different series all the time during the season.

The Field of 33

Andretti’s entry brings the entry list to 33 for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The entry list to date:

McLaren (4): O’Ward, Siegel, Lundgaard, Larson

Penske (3): Newgarden, McLaughlin, Power

ECR (3): Rossi, Rasmussen, Carpenter

Foyt (2): Ferrucci, Malukas

JHR (2): Robb, Daly

Prema (2): Ilott, Shwartzman

DRR (2): RHR, Harvey

Andretti (4): Herta, Kirkwood, Ericsson, Andretti

Ganassi (3): Simpson, Dixon, Palou

MSR (3): Rosenqvist, Armstrong, Helio

RLL (3): Rahal, DeFrancesco, Foster

DCR (2): TBA, TBA

Armstrong Signs with Meyer Shank Racing

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Marcus Armstrong signed with Meyer Shank racing this morning. It was an expected move and keeps Armstrong affiliated with Chip Ganassi racing since MSR will have a technical partnership with Ganassi in 2025.

The official announcement from MSR:

Marcus Armstrong Joins Meyer Shank Racing for 2025 INDYCAR Season

Pataskala, Ohio (19 September 2024) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) will add a new face to its 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES stable with the addition of Marcus Armstrong who will run the No. 66 MSR entry alongside current MSR driver Felix Rosenqvist. 

Coming from a strong open wheel background that includes F4, Formula 3 and Formula 2, Armstrong is now looking to build on his first two seasons of INDYCAR competition as he joins MSR in 2025. 

Armstrong was quick to adapt to the INDYCAR series, earning Rookie of the Year in 2023 despite only contesting the road course rounds, taking five top tens in his 12 starts.

The New Zealander added ovals to his INDYCAR calendar in 2024, running the full 17-points paying races this past season, taking three top five finishes including his first INDYCAR podium  in Detroit.

“I’m very proud to be joining Meyer Shank Racing in 2025,” said Armstrong. “I had a great feeling when I met both Mike Shank and Jim Meyer, their passion for performance and meticulous work ethic was obvious from our first conversation and I want to thank them both for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone at MSR over the off-season with the goal of hitting the ground running at the first race of the season in St Pete.

“This year I got closer to where I want to be performance wise, including oval racing for the first time and I’m looking forward to continuing to push up the order with MSR. We want to be at the front, fighting for wins and I believe we have the recipe to do it.”

MSR, which will be entering its ninth season running in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, is eager to build on its momentum from the 2024 season which saw the team qualify in the top six, 15 times and finish in the top ten, 10 times. MSR team co-owner, Mike Shank is confident that with the addition of Armstrong for 2025, the team is in a position to produce consistent results next year.

“We’re very excited to welcome Marcus onboard,” said Shank. “He’s really shown a lot of growth and consistency in his first two years in INDYCAR, which is really difficult to do. This series is probably one of the most competitive series out there and he has proven himself to be a real contender. We are going to do everything we can to give him the car and the tools to produce results next year.”

With the 2024 season closing out this past weekend, MSR will begin preparations right away to be ready for the 2025 season opener in St. Petersburg in March. 

Shank Aligns with Ganassi; Lee Replaces Diffey in NBC Booth

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Kyle McInnes photo

Some long rumored changes in the Indycar landscape have become official.

Meyer Shank racing will form a technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing beginning in 2025, ending a multi year partnership with Andretti Global. Mike Shank told Marshall Pruet of RACER magazine that the new association was a matter of alignment with both the Indycar and IMSA side of his operation. Shank heaped praise on his team’s affiliation with Andretti Global, and he had no issues with anything during their partnership.

Meyer Shank has one open seat for 2025, the 66 currently driven by David Malukas, who has signed with A. J. Foyt for next season. The car has become more attractive to free agents with the new partnership with Ganassi.

Diffey Heads to NASCAR; Lee Takes Over

As expected, long time Indycar booth anchor will move to NBC’s NASCAR coverage as the lead booth announcer. Diffey has called Indycar races on television for more than a decade. While some fans don’t care for his style, I was fine with him. Thanks, Leigh, for all you’ve done for Indycar.

Veteran Kevin Lee will assume the anchor duties for the rest of the season. Lee does a fine job in the times he has filled in for Diffey, and I hope Fox picks him up as the lead when they take over Indycar broadcasts in 2025. Keeping him will make me dread the switch a bit less.

Malukas Leads Practice

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

David Malukas continued his great run since joining Meyer Shank Racing by turning the fastest lap in the first practice at World Wide Technology Raceway. He edged Colton Herta by four tenths of a second.

The Andretti Global cars topped the charts in the first half of the session, but Herta was the only one who maintained his position.

Scott McLaughlin and Will Power were third and fourth fo Team Penske.

Alex Palou had the fifth fastest lap.

The session was stopped just once when linus Lundqvist stalled off of turn two.

Qualifying begins at 3:20 Central time.

Qualifying order is in inverse order of entrant points.

Results:

Malukas to Meyer Shank for Rest of Season

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Editor’s note: Come on Indycar. I’m supposed to be on vacation. Anyway here is some good Indycar news from MSR.

David Malukas Joins Meyer Shank Racing 

Set to race the No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda for remainder of INDYCAR Season

Pataskala, Ohio (XX June 2024) – David Malukas will race in the Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda for for the remainder of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starting with the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on June 23. Ahead of his debut race with the team, Malukas will gain experience with MSR at the test at Milwaukee Speedway on June 11th.

Meyer Shank Racing will look to build momentum with the No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda entry, which will be driven in this weekend’s Xpel Grand Prix at Road America by Helio Castroneves.

“This whole process has been extremely difficult on myself and (team co-owner) Jim Meyer,” said Mike Shank. “There were so many things for us to consider as we need to do everything we can to make up ground in the championship and Leader Circle standings. We are pleased to have David (Malukas) join us as he has both experience and potential and we are looking forward to having him join us starting in Milwaukee for the test and then going racing with him at Laguna.”

Malukas had his 2024 plans change following a pre-season training injury, and the young American-Lithuanian racer is eager to open the next chapter in his INDYCAR career with MSR.

“I am extremely grateful to Jim Meyer, Mike Shank and the entire Meyer Shank Racing team for the opportunity to finish out the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season,” said Malukas. “Despite setbacks earlier this year, I have been diligently focusing on my recovery, putting in the necessary effort and dedication to get back to peak condition. I am ready and excited to be back in the car, aiming to make the most of this chance and deliver strong performances for the team and our supporters. This opportunity means a great deal to me, and I am determined to repay the faith shown in me with my best efforts on the track.”

Meyer Shank Racing thanks Tom Blomqvist for his efforts through the first six INDYCAR events and the Brit remains a part of the MSR family. 

Meyer Shank Racing heads to Road America this weekend with Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) currently ninth in the championship points standings. Castroneves will sub one again in the No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda for the Road America weekend.