Meyer Shank Racing to Start Third for Indianapolis Battle on the Bricks

INDIANAPOLIS (16 Sept. 2023) – Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian will start from the second row for Sunday’s Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As the team worked to continue to find time through the two opening practice sessions that proceeded qualifying on the 2.439-mile circuit at the fabled facility, MSR driver Tom Blomqvist laid down a lap of 1:13.864 seconds to secure the third position for the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Acura ARX-06.

The two-hour, forty-minute race marks the first appearance for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at IMS since 2014, as MSR looks to make the most of its 350th start in IMSA competition.

After opening the season with a victory, Blomqvist and Colin Braun are riding a streak of three-consecutive podium finishes in IMSA WeatherTech competition. MSR finished third at Watkins Glen, won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and are coming off a second-place result at Road America.

Blomqvist was classified second through ninth during the very competitive 20-minute session for the GTP competitors, featuring the new hybrid-powered LMDh prototypes. He was briefly second with a lap of 1:14.055 seconds with 5:45 remaining. Falling down to third, he ran his best lap with 2:45 minutes remaining but remained third in the final order.

Braun will be racing for the second time on the Indianapolis road course, after finishing third in the PC class in the most recent Prototype race in 2014. This will be the first race at Indianapolis for Blomqvist, the defending champion of IMSA’s premier division. The Battle on the Bricks will take on added significance for the British driver since he will be MSR’s full-time driver of the AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda in 2024 NTT IndyCar Series competition.

Following Indianapolis, only Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Oct. 14 remains on the 2023 WeatherTech Championship schedule.

The Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks will be televised live on NBC Network beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The race will also be streamed live on Peacock, and broadcast live on Sirius XM channel 207.

Tom Blomqvist
No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Driver

“I’m happy about it. I think that was the best we could have done. The Penskes have been so strong since yesterday. It’s hard out there. The grip level is so low, and everyone is sliding all over the place and locking up tires. I think I did a good job tidying everything up for that lap. I’m excited for tomorrow. I think we can have a good race and win from there for sure. That’s the target.

“At the end of the day, you’re not going to win the race in the first corner, you’re going to lose it, as the saying goes. It’s going to be especially true in this case with the tires we have. The goal is to stay out of trouble, but if the opportunity arises, you have to take it. We’ll see.”