Simon Pagenaud after winning the pole for the Indianapolis 500, 2019
Simon Pagenaud posted a letter to fans today with a brief video. He is making progress but is still not ready to return to racing. he stated that he has not retired.
Here is his letter, via X:
2023 wasn’t an easy year for me as most of you will know. My racing was cut short on July 1 when I had a big accident during practice at Mid-Ohio. My car suffered a manufacturer brake failure resulting in my leaving the track with several high-speed rolls at 180mph. The IndyCar safety team did an amazing job to get me out of the car and to look after me in the first hours after the impact, and I will be forever thankful to them.
Due to the accident, I couldn’t continue my season which meant that I only did eight races in 2023. Ever since, I have been concentrating on getting my health back to 100%. For that, I have been working closely with a great team of doctors and I have been progressing every day.
I don’t know yet if I will be back behind a wheel in 2024 nor if I am ready for it. I want to take things slowly to make sure that when I come back, I am at my very best again.
For now, I want to thank all of you who have sent messages of support, and of course a big thanks to my family, friends, and team who have been there for me 24/7.
While I am working out my next steps, I also want to take the opportunity to look back at my career and reminisce with you about past success and special moments. But don’t get me wrong: This is not the end as better times are ahead!
Simon Pagenaud released this message on Twitter 9(now known as X)
As Simon continues his recovery, it appears his best chance for 2024 in Indycar may be a 500 one off.
Pagenaud won the Indianapolis 500 in 2019. He also won the Indy Grand Prix that year in a great drive to overtake Scott Dixon on a wet track.
The 2016 series champion ran 207 races combined with Champ cCar and Indycar. He won 15 times in Indycar, with his first win coming at Belle Isle in 2013.
Pagenaud had success while driving for Schmidt Peterson Racing, winning the inaugural May Grand Prix on the IMS road course in 2014.
I hope we haven’t seen the last of Pagenaud in Indycar, and I wish him a full recovery.
It has been difficult seeing Simon on the sidelines the last half of the year. I hope he has a full recovery. Pagenaud’s prospects for a ride in Indycar for 2024 are slim. I hope Meyer Shank can find a spot in their IMSA program for him.
It is strange to envision Indycar next season without either Helio Castroneves or Simon Pagenaud.
Tom Blomqvist
Tom Blomqvist is currently a driver in Meyer Shank’s IMSA Acura. he drove the Honda Indy Toronto in Pagenaud’s place and has signed to drive the 06 full time in Indycar in 2024.
Finally, Linus Lundqvist gets his shot. Lundqvist, the 2022 Indy NXT (Indy Lights) champion, will substitue for Simon Pagenaud in the 60 car for Meyer Shank Racing this weekendat Nashville.
Simon Pagenaud issues this statement this morning:
The news release from Meyer Shank Racing:
Lundqvist to Drive for Meyer Shank Racing in Nashville INDYCAR Weekend
Lundqvist will substitute for Simon Pagenaud in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda
Pataskala, Ohio (31 July 2023) – As Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) heads to the fourth street circuit on the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar, the Ohio-based team will welcome Linus Lundqvist to its lineup alongside Helio Castroneves for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday (12:00pm ET, NBC, SiriusXM Ch. 160).
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.
Following the Mid-Ohio accident, MSR has continued to campaign the No. 60 Honda-powered entry, with the team’s IMSA Championship winning 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 Doubleheader.
Now, the 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone Champion will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES 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.
In addition to his success in INDYCAR’s feeder series, Lundqvist has had two INDYCAR tests this year at Texas Motor Speedway and Sebring International Raceway.
Lundqvist heads into the Nashville event with some recent familiarity of the track, having swept the 2022 event with a pole and victory.
In honor of heading to the ‘Music City,’ the No. 60 machine will once again carry the all-new SiriusXM Channel, CARRIE’S COUNTRY – XM Ch. 60 – which is a specialty channel with music curated by the eight-time GRAMMY winner, Carrie Underwood.
Lundqvist will join INDYCAR SERIES veteran Castroneves who will drive the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda around the 2.17-mile street course. Castroneves has shown well in his two outings in Nashville, finishing ninth in 2021. Last year’s event saw Castroneves start from the back of the field following an engine change, but the Brazilian driver worked his way up to a 13th place finish.
The sister MSR car driven by Pagenaud, finished inside the top ten in 2022, finishing ninth after starting 13th.
The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will air live on, Sunday, July 30th on NBC starting at 12:00pm ET. All Practice sessions and Qualifying can be viewed on Peacock. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage on SXM Ch. 160.
Meyer Shank Racing Team Quotes:
Linus Lundqvist:
“This is a moment I’ve been dreaming of literally since the start of my career. 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. 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.”
Helio Castroneves:
“I’m super excited to head back to Nashville, it’s such a fun city and it has such great energy. The race has always been interesting and it’s very important to stay clean and consistent. We’ve had a pretty good car there the last two years, so I’m hoping that when we go back we’ll be even better. It will be an interesting weekend to have Linus with us as well, he is new to all of this, just like Tom (Blomqvist) was in Toronto. There will be a lot to learn for him, so we’ll see how he adapts.”
Simon Pagenaud will miss his second consecutive race recovery from his accident at Mid Ohio two weeks ago. Tom Blomqvist, who drives the Meyer Shank GTP car in IMSA, will drive the 60 car in the Honda Indy Toronto.. There is speculation that Blomqvist will join the Indycar team full time in 2024.
Blomqvist won the IMSA event at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park last Sunday.
The news release from Meyer Shank Racing:
Blomqvist to Substitute for Pagenaud at Toronto
Fresh from IMSA CTMP victory, Blomqvist drafted in as Pagenaud Continues Mid-Ohio Recovery
Toronto, Ontario (11 July 2023) – When Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) found itself in need of a replacement driver for the injured Simon Pagenaud this weekend in Toronto, the team just walked through the doors of its IMSA program and tabbed another experienced champion to take the wheel.
Two-time defending and reigning Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona winner Tom Blomqvist will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut this weekend, taking the reins of the No. 60 AutoNation / Sirius XM Honda. The move was made necessary Tuesday after the series’ medical staff did not clear Pagenaud to compete this weekend as the Frenchman continues his recovery from the effects of a dramatic barrel-rolling crash that took place in Saturday’s practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Blomqvist, who won the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Championship with Meyer Shank Racing, has run primarily in sports cars and prototypes in the last seven seasons after having started his career in open-wheel racing. Last weekend, Blomqvist claimed pole position at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on his way to victory at the track with co-driver Colin Braun.
The Toronto outing will not be his first on board an INDYCAR SERIES race car, as Blomqvist had an INDYCAR test with MSR in Sebring in October of 2022. The British-born driver came up through the karting ranks and ran four seasons in various Formula 3 series in Europe, scoring 12 wins. He also broke Lewis Hamilton’s record as the youngest champion of the Formula Renault UK series, taking the crown at the age of 16.
His INDYCAR SERIES debut comes in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto, as the series battles for the 37th time on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile street course that winds through the city’s Exhibition Place grounds.
This weekend’s MSR lineup features drivers on both ends of the seat time spectrum as the rookie Blomqvist will be joined by veteran Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) who is looking to reprise previous successes on the course that lies in the shadow of the Princes’ Gate.
Castroneves has five front-row starts to his credit in Toronto, including pole positions in 2000 and 2004. The Brazilian has led laps in seven of his starts in the Ontario city and has finished on the lead lap in each of his last nine INDYCAR starts there.
Sunday’s 85-lap race will air on Peacock on Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying takes place on Saturday, July 15, beginning at 2:45 p.m. with live coverage on Peacock. SiriusXM will also host live race coverage on XM Ch. 160.
Lexington, Ohio (2 July 2023) – Conor Daly will race the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda in Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid following a practice incident that has sidelined Simon Pagenaud.
On Saturday, a manufacturer brake failure saw Pagenaud unable to slow for the high-speed Turn 4 during the morning practice session. Pagenaud took quick action to initiate a spin to reduce his speed, leaving the track sideways, but going airborne as the car was caught by the run-off gravel outside the corner. The No. 60 entry made a series of rolls at high speed before coming to a stop against the tire wall. Fast work from the AMR Safety team saw him extricated promptly and safely as he was transported to the on-site INDYCAR medical facility.
Pagenaud was evaluated and released by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES medical team, but required to be signed off per protocol to return to action. A follow up test did not provide the clearance for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner to race Mat Mid-Ohio on Sunday.
“First and foremost, I have to speak to the safety of these cars,” said MSR Team Owner, Mike Shank. “To walk away from an accident like that is incredible and we cannot thank everyone at INDYCAR, the AMR INDYCAR safety team and the INDYCAR medical team for everything they did to get Simon out and evaluated as quickly as possible.
“This is obviously not a scenario that we had planned for, but everyone at MSR has pitched in to get our backup car ready for Sunday,” continued Shank. “It’s actually Helio’s Indy 500 car and the one he won the 500 with in 2021. We have to thank Conor for being here and stepping into this, he’s been super great through all of the chaos. Now we will get back on our feet and see what we can do in the race.”
Daly steps into the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda with plenty of laps under his belt at Mid-Ohio. This will be his eighth NTT INDYCAR SERIES start at Mid-Ohio with his best finish of sixth in his Rookie season in 2016 which followed a run to the front of the field, leading 22 laps and moving up 16 positions.
“Obviously I have to think about Simon, you hate to see someone wreck like that,” said Daly. “The most important thing is to get him as healthy as possible, as soon as possible. This is his car and his group of folks and I am here to do the best job that I can for this team. I’ve known Mike (Shank) for a long time and I’ve tested for his sports car team many years ago. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this organization. It’s an honor to be a part of this group and fill in – we will just do the best job that we can.”
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is set for 1:30pm ET on Sunday, July 2nd. MSR driver Helio Castroneves will start 19th while Daly will start 27th.
to quaWill Powwr turned the quickest lap this morning in the last practice before qualifying at 2:45 this afternoon. His quick lap came after a red flag for a horrific crash as Simon Pagenaud suffered a brake failure and rolled at least nine times in the turn 4 sand trap. Pagenaud was released from the medical center, but is not cleared to qualify.
Conor Daly is available to qualify if the backuo car is ready. The team has not made a decision as yet.
Simon Oagenaud comes to a stop agaunst the tire barrier.
It is easy in this age of enhanced safety to take it for granted that a driver will walk away from a crash, but to witness an accident like this still makes you hold your breath. Driver safety is never a guven, no matter how many advances in safety the car has.
Photo: Simon Pagenaud leads Benjamin pedersen and Helio Castroneves through turn 3
Simon Pagenaud Had the fastest lap in the just concluded warmup session for the Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit. It was the cleanest full car practice of the weekend. the only red lfag came with less than a minute to go for debris.
Pagenaud’s time of 1:02.3615 beat Callum Ilott by 12 hundredths of a second. Marcus Armstrong, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden complete the top five.
Pole sitter Alex Palou was seventh and Scott McLaughlin, who starts second, was 16th.
I ventured to turn three for the warmup. It is a great spot for viewing. Fans are very colse to the action. The area provides one of the best views of the track. The merchnadise are is located at Hart Plaza. It was the first time this weekend that I actually felt immersed in the race event.
Turn three is also the bs=est photo spot I have found.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 