MSR’s Future IMSA Plans “Up in the Air”

Photo: Geoffrey Miller/IMSA

Meyer Shank Racing’s future IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship participation is “up in the air” according to team co-owner Mike Shank, who said they should know more in the next “four to five weeks.”

Shank, speaking during Friday’s announcement confirming Tom Blomqvist to one of the team’s NTT IndyCar Series seats in 2024, acknowledged that its sports car racing plans are not yet confirmed.

The Ohio-based squad has been a mainstay of IMSA competition since 2004 although has yet to confirm next year’s plans, amid recent speculation that the team could be dropped from Acura’s GTP roster.

While not acknowledging Acura or Honda Performance Development, other than confirming an extension of its deal with Honda in IndyCar, Shank admitted that its 2024 WeatherTech Championship prospects are still unclear.

“We’re still working on that,” he told reporters. “They’re up in the air right now.”

Blomqvist and co-driver Colin Braun, who were assessed a 200-point penalty from the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the team’s tire data manipulation, currently sit fifth in the GTP points standings heading into the final two races of the season.

Their 118-point deficit would be an 82-point lead had they not been given the points penalty.

“Those guys, through a tough January, have battled back and are in the championship again, which is unbelievable,” Shank said.

“You put those points back on the board and they’ve checked out on the championship.

“We don’t know yet is the answer [about next year]. We’ll know probably in four to five weeks where we sit on that.

“This is my 20th year as a team in the Rolex. We’ve won it three times, we’ve had many much success. It was the start of all this.

“We’re doing everything we can to stay in.”

Sportscar365 understands that Shank has not pursued purchasing a customer Porsche 963, the only current manufacturer offering customer LMDh cars.

When asked the current odds for MSR’s return to the WeatherTech Championship, Shank said: “I don’t know what the odds are. They float. It goes from 50-50 to 80 percent right now.

“It’s coming down to the last minute, which I don’t like a lot, but that’s the way it is right now.

“The team Jim [Meyer, co-owner] and I have created on that side has won everything, is extremely competitive, fought back from a 200-point deficit and has a chance of the championship again.

“In my mind, they’re at the pinnacle level of sports car racing and that’s where they deserve to be.

“You can imagine where I think we need to be.”

In addition to Blomqvist’s switch to full-time IndyCar competition, MSR also confirmed that Helio Castroneves will be scaling back to an Indianapolis 500-only race program while becoming a minority owner in the team.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John