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Back to Back: Meyer Shank Racing Dominates Rolex 24

(Photo: Jeremy Bryner | The Podium Finish)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla — As the talk of the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona centered around the reborn GTP field, one team stood tall from the moment it hit the track in the Roar Before the 24: Meyer Shank Racing. Now winning its second consecutive Rolex 24, the Ohio-based team always used to be looked at as the “little team that could.” But co-owner Mike Shank knows it’s their time. He may have brought the No. 60 team in with a little extra momentum from the championship and maybe even a little chip on their shoulder.

“Just look at the results, they speak for themselves,” said David Salters, president of Honda Development. “You cannot do much better in North America, can you.”

But when it comes to MSR not getting big team recognition, Salters would disagree with that.

“Mike is really smart, he’s got the right people in the right places, and this team is tremendous,” he said. “[Shank] has really knuckled down, and has taken his team to the next level.”

Regardless, Mike Shank still is amazed at their accomplishments. In fact, after the race, he talked about his belief prior to the green flag of going back to back and winning the first Rolex 24 race in the GTP era.

“When I was in [the media center] yesterday, I saw David (Salters) and all the people that put this together. I really only gave this about a five or 10 percent chance of happening,” Shank said.

To put this new GTP program together for HPD and Acura along with Wayne Taylor/Andretti Racing, Shank said was a huge job.

“With over 200 people in each department and have it come together with us finishing 1-2 is amazing. I just really don’t know what’s going on,” Shank said.

Through the overnight hours, Shank said the team wasn’t even sure if they were going to finish, let alone win.

“I was so stressed, our car had a gearbox problem all night, and we could not fix it,” Shank said. “We decided just to run it until it blew up … It didn’t blow up.”

In fact, a lot of the problems started showing up a little earlier Saturday evening.

“If you watched real closely, you probably would have seen us on pit lane more than anyone,” Shank said.

Shank said it was about Lap 200 that the team first noticed the gearbox issue.

That says a lot about the durability of these new cars, especially with the questions coming into the race. The fastest car all week nearly 600 laps with a bad gearbox. With those kinds of issues, drivers have to know when to push it and when to not. One moment in the race that had Shank and the team on edge was a risky move by the newest member of the team, Colin Braun. Just a couple hours into the race, Braun made a daring three-wide move on the Daytona high banks.

(Photo: Wayne Riegel | The Podium Finish)

“We just reiterated our position on this. We knew we had issues going on but we had a really fast car, but so did Wayne in the 10 car. We wanted to make sure we had something for the last hour.” According to Shank.

And over the final 60 minutes, it was Tom Blomqvist, who has greatly elevated MSR, bringing the car to the checkered flag. Blomqvist joined the team before the 2022 season after a test at Road America.

“When he got in this car at the Road America test and just slayed it. I called him [and] I said, I’ve got our guy. This is our guy. There’s no question about it,” Shank said.

When Blomqvist gets in the car, according to Shank, he knows he’s gonna be fast and he makes things happen.

“He’s just gold…He’s a nugget,” Shank said.

Shank said Blomqvist reminds him a lot of Robert Wickens when he first came to Indycar out of DTM, the same path Blomqvist came from.

“He just truly believes he’s the fastest guy out there, and he proved it tonight,” Shank said.”

Each driver in the line-up had key moments throughout the 24-hour race to not only put the Meyer Shank Racing Acura up front, but keep it there. One of those moments was Simon Pagenaud running a triple stint early into Sunday morning.

Pagenaud made a big move as he passed the No. 02 GTP car in Turn 1 for the lead with three hours and 45 minutes remaining. Even with the driver change to Blomqvist with over two hours to go, that would be the last time anyone else saw the front of the field. The No. 60 led the final 97 laps en route to a dominating start to the 2023 season.

This could be a statement win for MSR, but in a race that had so many questions coming into it, the new GTP cars exceeded expectations. Meyer Shank Racing looks to build on this win and to make any doubters know that they are no longer just a little team from Ohio.

“The way I look at this thing is we win these, we’re going to celebrate,” Shank said. “We’re going to have a big party in a couple of weeks at my lake house in Columbus with all these guys, and then we will go to Sebring and then on to Palm Springs next week and then we go to the next thing.”

Shank has always made it clear: win, celebrate then focus on the next race. The work is never done.

The domination also led MSR to an early lead in the Michelin Endurance Cup, scoring 18 of a possible 20 points.

(Photo: Blake Ulino | The Podium Finish)

QUOTABLES:

MIKE SHANK: “I am so proud of everything this team has accomplished. Thank you to Acura, HPD, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti. It was a team effort and we all worked together to get to this point. Since we got our hands on this car after Petit Le Mans last year, our guys have worked countless hours on this car. And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when we started this race, but it goes to show the work that was put in behind the scenes to make it to the finish on top. We had a few things pop up during the race – we had a small battery issue and we had to keep the engine running so that was a little bit stressful. But we worked through it. The stand made great strategy calls, the crew had perfect pit stops and the drivers exceeded my expectations, I couldn’t be happier with this result.”

TOM BLOMQVIST: “It’s a team effort. What’s amazing here at this team is that everyone is able to achieve and reach their potential and that’s really important. What Mike (Shank) and Jim (Meyer) have done to create a good atmosphere within the team, it’s such an open book and I think that allows everyone to work to the best of their abilities. Especially for me, I’m confident because they put a lot of trust and faith in me and I am so grateful for that. Last year I was on the stand watching at the end and this year I felt a lot better about being in the car because I was in control of our own destiny. The feeling I had when I exited the Le Mans Chicane on the last lap and of course seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces is incredible.”

COLIN BRAUN: “I’m super proud of these guys, Acura, Honda and the entire Meyer Shank Racing team. We never went back to the garage and for Acura to finish 1-2, it’s an incredible deal. On the team side, these guys had great pit stops. We had a few small things pop up that they were able to manage the whole time. And big props to Ryan (McCarthy) and Vincent (Forges) on top of the timing stand for managing all the different things we had going on and had to stay on top of. Great teammates, great car and a great result and now we just have to keep it going.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES: “Everyone did an amazing job – Acura, HPD and the entire MSR team. And I’m not talking about everyone from the sports car side of MSR, even guys from the IndyCar side as well – everyone helped to get this car going. This one [win] is right on top, I mean, right together with the Indy 500. This is a special place, a historic place and the talent around this track and within the race, it’s just huge for me to be able to accomplish, not only with a team that believes in me, but now we keep it going with great teammates. It’s just a dream come true for sure. When we [MSR] won the Indy 500 in 2021, we knew what we had. Last year was incredible and I feel that 2023 is going to be our next incredible journey. We have the people, we have the resources and we know we can do this. This win is just another stamp on what an incredible team Meyer  Shank Racing is.”

SIMON PAGENAUD: “What a race. I am so proud to be a part of this amazing team and I feel so lucky to be able to share my first two Rolex 24 victories with such special people. That final stint felt great and that all comes from the environment that I am in – the teammates that I have and what Mike (Shank) and Jim (Meyer) have put together. I have to thank Acura for giving me a car that suits me well and I really enjoy driving. Overall it was a lot of fun.”

If it races, I'll write about it, talk about it or shoot it with a camera. I began pursuing a career in motorsports journalism immediately after attending college at Kent State University. I have hosted multiple Motorsports talk shows, worked in Country Music radio, and now i spend every day on the air in the morning with 1300 and 100.9 WMVO and in the afternoons watching the roadways around Central Ohio for 93.7 WQIO. The excitement and the fans make everything I put out there worth while, it's been an exciting 15 years having covered everything from the Daytona 500 to the Rolex 24 and you can find me at pretty much any event run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. What I like to bring is a look behind the scenes, a look at what and who makes the sport grow. From the guy that welds pieces back at the shop to the host in the tv booth. Everyone has a story and I like to tell it. My main focus here at TPF is looking at the men and women behind the microphone and cameras. My life long goal is to become a member of MRN or PRN Radio and bring the races to you. I hope that what I share now is enjoyable and gives you a unique look in to the world of motorsports. See you at a track soon

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