Armstrong "very happy with where I am" following Meyer Shank contract renewal
- Dan Jones
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
It may be a statement that is thrown around often, but 2026 has certainly become the silliest of silly seasons.
That was all accelerated from the stunning double-signing made by Arrow McLaren as they hired the services of 2008 and 2026 Indianapolis 500 winners Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist, which in turn led to the departure of Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel.
The dominoes undoubtedly have started to fall and while all eyes were fixed on Arrow McLaren's plans as the series approached Mid-Ohio, a crucial domino fell at a similar point, as Marcus Armstrong re-affirmed his faith in Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) by signing a new multi-year deal which keeps him at the team for 2027 and beyond.
It was a move vital for two reasons. One of the most coveted seats in the market was no longer up for grabs and one of the series' most exciting prospects was no longer available for hire for any team owners interested in grabbing hold of his services.
For Armstrong, the decision was easy.
"It's a fantastic team, and that's obviously where I've been the last two years, and I'm very happy with where I am and the situation that I've found myself in," he told DIVEBOMB in a virtual news conference prior to IndyCar's action at Nashville Superspeedway.
"And of course I'm very grateful for the opportunity; there's no doubt about it. We have all the ingredients to go out there and win. We have shown that. And even if you look at the statistics this year, I feel like we've had a strong car in every single circuit really, maybe apart from Mid-Ohio frankly.
"But the 500, Felix [Rosenqvist] won it and I was fifth. So I feel like, as a unit, as a team, we're in a strong position, and like I said, we're only getting better. We've got a young engineering corps. My engineers, frankly, are not much older than I am, so we're all getting better together, and it's going to be fun."
The announcement of Armstrong's contract renewal came just one day after Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) confirmed Dixon's departure from the organisation after 25 years, leaving his iconic No.9 seat up for grabs heading into 2027.
Armstrong has long been seen as a potential heir for Dixon's Ganassi seat, albeit many were not expecting his departure to happen so soon. It could have marked a potential return to CGR for Armstrong who raced for the team between 2023 and 2024 before the introduction of charters left him unable to continue racing with the organisation.
Coming into 2025, a newfound partnership between CGR and MSR saw the majority of Armstrong's Ganassi mechanics making the move with him to MSR. It also saw Armstrong 'loaned out' to the team from Ganassi, with Chip Ganassi confirming as of the end of 2025 that Armstrong was still "a member of our team [CGR]."
Although the MSR-CGR partnership is expected to continue until 2027 and beyond, the contract renewal means Armstrong will remain as part of MSR as opposed to a return to Chip Ganassi Racing.
When asked if Armstrong was interested in moving to Ganassi when he knew a seat may be available, he was non-committal on the matter.
"Obviously I've driven for Chip, so obviously there was a line of communication, but ultimately Chip calls the shots. But ultimately, very, very happy where I am. That's the point."
Armstrong also confirmed that there is no further relationship with Ganassi outside of their existing technical partnership: "It will be business as usual from that point of view. I have obviously my engineers from when I was in Ganassi a couple of years ago, but yeah, it's basically as it has been, yeah. There's no real difference."
As part of Armstrong's new deal, it was been confirmed that he will move from the No.66 to the No.60. The number holds great significance to the team, having been a number they have ran in the series since 2018 as well as the IMSA SportsCar Championship since 2014. The number has also seen two 24 Hours of Daytona victories and an Indianapolis 500 victory in the MSR stables.
It also signifies a 'team leader' role for Armstrong heading into 2027 and beyond following Rosenqvist's departure to McLaren. However, Armstrong will retain the engineering core currently on his No.66 stand despite the number change ahead of next season.
"If I'm honest, it's business as usual," added Armstrong on his change of car number. "Like I'm going to win with the 66 or the 60; that's my mindset.
"I've specifically requested to keep the guys that I work with now, the guys and girls, because they're just such a great group of people, and crew chief Jimmy Looper is a big component of that. They're just a good bunch of guys, so I've asked to keep them all together.
"We'll obviously see what the situation brings. Obviously Mike and MSR aren't doing IMSA next year, so there's going to be a lot of great people about inside the team. So we'll see how the team is stacked. But I'm very happy with how it is at the moment."
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