IndyCar
Michael Shank Racing continues work on 2012 debut
Michael Shank Racing press release
Edited: Jun 1, 2018, 1:38 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
MSR Indy Continues Sponsor And Driver Search
Michael Shank
Photo by: Eric Gilbert
Columbus, Ohio - The smooth sweep of the second hand as the new Daytona Rolex Chronograph ticks away the time might be a welcome sight for most, but each rotation of the hand means that the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season opener moves ever closer for MSR Indy team owner Mike Shank.
Shank, whose team opened the 2012 racing season with a bang, winning the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona with one team entry, and finishing third with the sister Daytona Prototype campaign, is working every one of the available seconds to have his IndyCar program ready to go. But the driver-turned-owner, who teamed with Penske Racing NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger and Columbus-area businessman Brian Bailey to form MSR Indy, isn’t where he wants to be just yet.
“We’ve got the car in the shop and the people we need to go run the car, but at this point we are still working to have the full budget in place to go racing,” said Shank. “ I don’t want to be in a position to just go out and make up the numbers--we want to show up and have a competitive presence.”
Shank and Bailey participated in the 2012 State Of IndyCar meetings in Indianapolis this week, and emerged from the two-day event with an even deeper insight of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“It’s interesting, being the new guys here and seeing how the team owners work with each other,” said Shank. “While of course everyone is very competitive and will be at each others throats once the green flag drops, we all have a common interest right now in having this new car work for everyone and continuing to grow the sport. Randy (Bernard, INDYCAR CEO) is making a lot of moves and I think there is some very serious opportunity for the series to continue to grow this year.”
The team timeline set up to take delivery of the car and commence a testing program ahead of the 2012 season had a setback as an anticipated partnership program for the MSR Indy campaign did not develop as had been intended. With the late development coming so close to the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete, Shank knows the pressure is on. But the self-made team owner has long been known as a fighter and is miles away from giving up.
“My main goal is to make this thing work, and if that means working with a technical partner to make it happen or just focusing on particular races, then so be it. Obviously, there are folks out there testing right now and that is the best case scenario to be in. We’ve got a little bit bigger hill to climb at the moment, but we are not giving up by any stretch.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Series news and notes 2012-02-15
Next article Series news and notes 2012-02-17
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Eric Gilbert
Motorsport.com announces management team to lead strategic operations in Russia
General
General
Motorsport.com team
Motorsport.com announces management team to lead strategic operations in Russia
Motorsport.com launches Latin American operations including Spanish-language website
General
General
Motorsport.com launches Latin American operations including Spanish-language website
World leading F1 news journalist joins Motorsport.com
Formula 1
Formula 1
World leading F1 news journalist joins Motorsport.com
More from
Team Penske
Ryan Blaney to skip events after suffering fall 'requiring medical attention'
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
Ryan Blaney to skip events after suffering fall 'requiring medical attention'
Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 43 min
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
59 min
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 1 h
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
1 h
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
Feature
Discover prime content
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe