Why Bringing Back Marcus Armstrong For 2026 Is Good For IndyCar Team
Felix Rosenqvist was already under contract for next season and with the solid season Marcus Armstrong has had in 2025, the young driver from Christchurch, New Zealand received a new contract for next year.
Meyer-Shank Racing made the announcement regarding Armstrong's return on Monday, August 18.
Marcus Armstrong's Exceptional Development
'Marcus' development this year is exceptional,' team co-owner Michael Shank told me last week before the IndyCar Series race at Portland. 'He has delivered everything that we had hoped for, and he has really come on especially as the year has progressed but not only him but his team too around him has been really good and gotten better. We made some adjustments on that team as the year went, and it's been good.'
Armstrong drives the No. 66 Honda at Meyer-Shank. Rosenqvist is the driver of the No. 60 Honda.
The 25-year-old New Zealander has recorded ten top ten finishes so far this season, highlighted by a podium at Iowa Speedway — the second of his IndyCar career.
'I'm very pleased and grateful to be back with Meyer Shank Racing and my crew for 2026,' Armstrong said. 'The professionalism and attention to detail is a benchmark throughout the field and we have certainly improved with time together which has been great. We'll look to build on our momentum and work hard to climb the points standings.'
Armstrong has also impressed in qualifying, matching his career-best starting position of third (Toronto), and earning a second row start with a fourth-place qualifying effort to kick off the season in St. Petersburg.
Armstrong is currently ninth in the NTT IndyCar Series standings, just two points behind eighth-place Colton Herta of Andretti Global. Rosenqvist is seventh in the standings, just four points ahead of Herta.
"We're thrilled to have Marcus back for 2026," Shank said. 'He's really grown a lot this season and we're seeing that in his results as the season has gone on. His performance this year has shown that he has all the tools to fight at the front.
'We're excited to continue building on this progress together.'
Shank believes the combination of a veteran driver with Rosenqvist and a rapidly improving young driver in Armstrong gives his two-car operation a bright future in IndyCar.
'We've got a veteran, and we've got a relatively newcomer that's coming on,' Shank said. 'If you look at the trajectory of our team this year, I think you've seen what the potential is and where it's headed.
'And because of that, I think a lot of what Felix has accomplished this year may have been overlooked because of the season Alex Palou is having. Almost every other driver is getting overshadowed by Alex Palou.
'It's Felix's best season he's had to date.'
That is because Armstrong has helped push him to even faster speeds and better performance. Having a good teammate that can help improve the overall competition the team has been valuable to Rosenqvist.
'One of the things we needed to do with Felix, at the time, we just needed to bring in a really fast guy,' Shank continued. 'And if he's got any baggage with him, as long as he's got his speed, that's where we need to start. And last year, that showed in qualifying.
'We were good on Saturdays but didn't have great Sundays. This year, we've been OK on Saturdays, but our Sundays have improved a lot and that's why we're at where we're at the points right now.
'But we needed a leader to come in. We wanted to make him comfortable. The last place he was at (Arrow McLaren), he never knew if he had a job the next year. So, we've taken that off the table.
'He knows he's got a job, and we ask him to do what we expect him to do. We pay him to be a pro, a veteran.'
With Marcus Armstrong's continued development, it has allowed Rosenqvist to elevate his game as this is a teammate situation that works in IndyCar.
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