Up next for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at the Nashville Superspeedway. Ahead of the race, Meyer Shank Racing driver Marcus Armstrong sat down in a Press Conference. Sitting 12th in the standings with five top-10 finishes, 2026 is emerging as a strong season for the Kiwi. Recently, he signed a new, multi-year deal with Meyer Shank Racing to pilot the No. 60 from 2027 onwards. Here’s what Armstrong had to say.
Sticking With MSR
Recently, it was announced that Felix Rosenqvist would depart Meyer Shank Racing and return to Arrow McLaren. With INDYCAR’s ‘silly season’ getting underway, Armstrong wasn’t waiting around to solidify his future. Despite having an alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing, the Kiwi stuck with MSR. A multi-year deal will see him stick with his current team, but he will switch to the No. 60 car from 2027.
Believing in his choice, he described MSR as a “fantastic team”, going on to share that he is “very happy with where I am and the situation that I’ve found myself in”. For two years, he has been teammates with Rosenqvist full-time, and with Hélio Castroneves during the Month of May. Whilst Castroneves has taken on a mentor role for the younger driver, Armstrong also views him as a friend. “He’s a very simple and drive-it-fast sort of guy. So he is very helpful in that sense. But I would consider him mostly a friend.”
“He’s like a 20-year-old in a 50-whatever-year-old body,” Armstrong shared about Castroneves, but went on to explain that Rosenqvist is his opposite. “Felix has been a great teammate and a great source of wisdom”, he admitted as he reflected on their time together. But ultimately, the No. 66 driver is looking forward to finding out who his new teammate will be. He hopes it is someone who has “technical knowledge and experience” so they can work together to win races.
Reflecting and Moving On From Results
2026 has seen Armstrong excel in oval racing. Coming from European racing, ovals were a new challenge as he joined INDYCAR. Despite having to learn on the job, the Kiwi has progressed and now has ten top-10 finishes in 16 oval starts. “I actually joked at the start of the year that my first win would be on an oval”, he admitted. And he got close, leading the Indy 500 before the history-making last-lap shootout.
Unfortunately, the maiden win is yet to arrive, as he also lost the lead in heartbreaking fashion at Road America. The Girls Who – Motorsport asked him how he balances learning from what happened with moving on and looking forward. For him, it was “a lot easier to move on from [Road America] than the 500”. With his Honda engine failing, the result was completely out of his and the team’s hands, so moving on was easier, as there wasn’t anything he could have done differently.
For Armstrong and MSR, the pairing focuses on maximising each race. With a demanding schedule with few breaks, the driver admitted that it can be tricky to “really comprehend every single aspect” of a race weekend and create a plan of attack for the next. “We’re just humans. We’re trying to do our best”, the driver shared honestly. So for him, it’s about balancing the resources, maximising the races, and being consistent.
Preparing For What’s To Come
Following Nashville, INDYCAR ends the season with a brutal run: six races in just five weeks. After sharing that the schedule can make preparation tricky due to the resources available, we asked Armstrong how important the mental and physical preparation is. The physical aspect isn’t too bad, with drivers having to ensure they remain in form. For the No. 66, the long run is nice “because you find a rhythm and a routine”.
Despite all the work that goes into a race weekend, the busy schedule can make it “difficult to maximise the whole preparation point”. However, “it’s not just arrive and drive” for the drivers or the team. The Kiwi gave a brief overlook of the week for him ahead of a race: Monday to rest and reset, a simulator day, time with the team. What fans see is just the on-track action, but for that to occur, “it demands a lot of preparation”.
Ultimately, Armstrong is thankful for the team around him. Sharing that his engineers are “workaholics in the best way possible”, they focus on all the technical and strategic aspects. This makes the driver’s life easier and allows him to do his best on the track. He is still aiming for that maiden win and knows that it will come. But, for now, Armstrong is aiming to be more consistent and maximise every opportunity.