Pataskala, Ohio (10 April 2023) – For the first time this season Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) will have both of its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and NTT INDYCAR SERIES programs competing on the same weekend and on the same circuit.
MSR will kick off the weekend with the IMSA Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 15th with live coverage on USA Network / SiriusXM Ch. 207 starting at 5:00pm ET. Then on Sunday, MSR will close out the weekend with round 3 of the IndyCar season starting at 3:00pm ET on NBC / SiriusXM Ch. 160.
Meyer Shank Racing Ready to Tackle the Streets of Long Beach for Round 3 of IMS Competition
After running the two longest races on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) with Curb-Agajanian now sets its sights on the shortest with Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun will share the No. 60 Autonation / SiriusXM Acura ARX-06 in the 100-minute sprint in America’s longest-running street race.
This will be MSR’s sixth start on the 1.968-mile circuit. Last year, Blomqvist qualified third and placed fourth in an Acura ARX-05 DPi – missing a podium finish by a mere 0.966-seconds.
Blomqvist’s only other start at Long Beach was in 2019, when he finished seventh in GTLM.
Braun is an eight-time competitor at Long Beach, winning the Prototype Challenge class in 2013 and taking third overall. He also took home a third place finish the previous year in 2012. Braun also finished a lead-lap seventh in his lone Grand-Am start at the circuit.
Braun ran in five WeatherTech Championship races, scoring three top-10 finishes. Braun’s most recent appearance was in 2021, when he was 10th in GTD.
Prior to last year, MSR’s best Long Beach finish was in 2006, when Ozz Negri and Mark Paterson co-drove a Daytona Prototype to a fifth-place finish. The team also finished sixth in 2015 with Negri and John Pew in a Honda HPD Ligier JS P2.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach begins on Saturday at 5:05pm ET. Live television coverage will be on USA beginning at 5 p.m. ET and IMSA Radio coverage on SiriusXM Ch. 207.
IMSA Driver quotes:
Tom Blomqvist:
“Long Beach is a really cool event and it’s a track that I enjoy driving at. It’s just a cool event, especially being right downtown and seeing all of the fans.We had a good showing there last year, but it’s a new track for everyone with the GTP cars. We’re a bit unsure how we will stand, but we’ve had some good pace the first two rounds, so we’ll see what we can do on a street course.”
Colin Braun:
“I am really looking forward to the weekend. Long Beach is a unique circuit and with the prior two IMSA rounds being at very different styles of tracks, I think we are all excited to see what our Acura GTP car will do around this iconic street circuit! It is a huge home race for Acura & HPD, so the pressure will be on, but I know everyone at MSR has been working extremely hard to be prepared and put on a great show!”
MSR Looking to Continue Positive IndyCar Momentum on the Streets of Long Beach
Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) bounced back from a tough 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opener by posting a top-ten finish at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, as both AutoNation / SiriusXM drivers finished better than they started.
The Ohio-based team looks to continue its climb this weekend at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, one of the signature events of the IndyCar calendar, hosting IndyCar racing since 1984.
Both Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) and Simon Pagenaud (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) are looking forward to making a start on the second street course of the 2023 IndyCar season. Unfortunately the St. Pete season opener ended on lap 1 for both Castroneves and Pagenaud, but both drivers and MSR feel that they have a strong street course package and are looking forward to showcasing that on Sunday.
Both the team and its drivers have earned solid results at Long Beach, with MSR carding top-10 finishes in each of the last two years, highlighted by a seventh-place run in 2021.
Both Castroneves and Pagenaud have visited Victory Lane in Long Beach, with Castroneves winning in 2011 to go with three other event podiums (2000, 2015, 2016). Pagenaud led 28 laps to win the 2016 race and also finished second in 2012.
The 85-lap Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will air on NBC on Sunday starting at 3 p.m. ET. Saturday’s qualifying will be shown live on Peacock beginning at 3:05 p.m. ET. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage of both sessions on XM Ch. 160.
INDYCAR Driver Quotes:
Simon Pagenaud:
“I’m excited for Long Beach, it’s my favorite street course race and I just going to California because that is where my wife is from. We have a really good street course package in St. Pete, so I have a lot of confidence at that track. Obviously with the position that we are at right now, if I am second, I think I am going to go for first. It’s definitely going to be an exciting weekend and I am going to give it my A+ game.”
Helio Castroneves:
“Long Beach is a really great place and it’s been there for so many years. It’s probably one of the oldest street courses in the IndyCar Championship. It’s a challenging place because all street courses are different. We learned a lot from last year and I think we’re going into the weekend with confidence. Now let’s make things happen with the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM car!”
