| Meyer Shank Is Back Where It BelongsTeam’s IMSA, Acura Return Off To Strong Start With Rolex 24 Runner-Up February 26, 2025By John OreoviczIMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – You don’t often see a smile as big as Mike Shank’s following a second-place finish – the result the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 and drivers Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Scott Dixon, and Felix Rosenqvist achieved in January’s 2025 Rolex 24 At Daytona. But Shank had plenty of reasons to be grinning after seeing his team return to competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after a year’s absence. In partnership with Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US), an expanded and invigorated MSR is back as the factory team fielding a pair of Acura prototypes in the top Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. Blomqvist and Braun picked up right where they left off, exceeding their third-place finish in the 2023 IMSA GTP standings in the Shank organization’s previous single-car iteration with the Daytona runner-up. While Shank now also operates a two-car IndyCar team, his roots are in sports car racing and he can’t wait for his rejuvenated effort’s next race – the 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 12-15 at Sebring International Raceway. “It was really good to be back, and I’m surprised how much I missed it, actually,” Shank related. “I had done 20 years in a row up to that point, so missing it for a year was pretty weird. Getting back, and getting back at the level we were at, which I was very pleased with, was very satisfying. And we continued just making it better. Our group takes a little time to get rolling, but once we do, we build a head of steam. We damn near won the Rolex 24. A couple more laps, and we would have won the race. “We had a good test at Sebring, and I’m just anxious to get going.” Bigger is Better Shank and HRC had plenty of prior experience, working together for the ’23 season in GTP and the two preceding years in IMSA’s former top class called Daytona Prototype International (DPi). MSR also spearheaded a two-car Acura effort in IMSA’s Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class from 2017-20 and won back-to-back GTD championships in 2019 and 2020. Without fanfare, and with assistance from Honda and partners Jim Meyer and Mike Curb, Shank has transformed his organization into a major player. “We haven’t been a little team for a very long time,” he said. “We had 108 people at the Rolex 24 this year. That perception is long gone, in my opinion. It’s okay that it’s how we started, and our heart is still like that, but we operate one of the larger teams out there now. From a capability standpoint, I think we’re a top three team. “But I think most people you would ask here would say we still have that sense of family values,” Shank continued. “The mentality is still to treat people with a high regard, to respect their environment, and look out for their safety. I’m proud of that part, and it’s hard, the bigger we get. That’s certainly the intention.” What impressed Shank the most was the speed and the smoothness of the team’s preparation for 2025, despite not receiving the cars until late October 2024. “The cool thing is we only had the equipment for about eight weeks when we went to Daytona,” Shank said. “To be able to perform at the level we did with two cars and all these incredible people we have, to get them all communicating effectively, it was very, very cool. “We had run two NSXs for Acura from 2017 to 2020, so we’ve done two cars before. But two cars in GTP is a whole different animal; the massive amount of bodies it takes to run these cars at a high level is pretty amazing. I was really happy how it all came together. Out of 100 percent, I would say we performed in the 80s somewhere right out of the box, and I’m very pleased with that.” Blomqvist and Braun co-drove to three race wins during their 2023 GTP campaign with MSR. Both were delighted with the progression of the team away from IMSA in the past year and are eager to reap the benefits of expanding to two cars in 2025. “We were fortunate that Mike had the long-term view of keeping all the people we had in 2023,” Braun observed. “Obviously, adding a second car we’ve had to add engineering and other quality people. We’re strengthened in the sense that we have more resources at our disposal, and many of the core people are still in the program in different roles. We just have more smart people trying to pull the rope in the same direction and it’s fantastic. I think it’s just made the whole thing stronger and it’s going to raise the whole game of the team, for sure.”One significant change is that Honda is supplying engineering personnel for the No. 93 – the car number symbolizing 1993, the year what was originally known as Honda Performance Development opened up shop and began preparing to field IndyCar engines. Already responsible for the design and development of the Acura ARX-06, HRC US continues to expand its range of capabilities. Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande, the full-time drivers for the No. 93, have extensive history with multi-car factory programs (Yelloly with BMW and van der Zande with Cadillac) and can provide additional knowledge and perspective. “HRC has stepped in and taken a larger operational role this time, so the 93 car is basically engineered by a lot of the Honda employees to give them some kind of trackside experience,” Blomqvist said. “I think that’s a great initiative for Honda. Our car (the No. 60) is run by guys I’ve worked with in the past. It’s pretty cool and I think it’s good for everyone. It definitely feels like there’s a lot more resources, which is always fun in racing. I’m excited for the season and think it’s going to be a good one for us.” “The great thing is that we can work together as drivers but there’s double the data and double the ideas,” Yelloly added. “It will be really good for Honda and MSR as a whole to work together through this whole period because it will accelerate development to where we should be.” Sunny Outlook Like so many others, Shank is excited by the clear recent growth of the WeatherTech Championship and sports car racing around the world. He’s had a ringside seat to observe the development of IMSA over the last 20 years. “You’ve got to credit Jim France and all that the IMSA and GRAND-AM people and staff have done over all the years through all the ups and downs,” Shank said. “Jim France kept his vision intact for where he thought we needed to be to have more participation and what he calls ‘a full paddock.’ His dad used to tell him, ‘You fill the paddock first, and then you worry about everything else.’ “And that’s what they’ve done here. They’ve created a place for the OEMs where they can compete at a high level but not have to spend the kind of money they spent back in the days when the factory teams were dominating sports car racing and nobody could afford it. While it’s still expensive, it’s a much better value proposition today. “It takes a tremendous amount of work to get the combination or formula correct, and to then tie it together with Europe so that we share a worldwide car (with the FIA World Endurance Championship),” he concluded. “I just can’t over-emphasize how much work that was for John Doonan and his group. It’s impressive, and it’s really just now starting to show and to pay off, in my opinion. Sports car racing is only getting stronger and stronger.” |
