TORONTO — Tom Blomqvist is one of the best drivers in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car championship.
But as he prepares to make his NTT IndyCar Series debut in this weekend’s Honda Indy Toronto, he believes he is jumping into the “deep end.”
“I have my floaties,” Blomqvist said. “I don’t know if I will be drowning, but we will see.”
Blomqvist drives for Meyer Shank Racing’s IMSA team in an Acura and has proven to be one of the best sports car racers in IMSA. He is filling in for the team’s IndyCar driver, Simon Pagenaud, who was not medically cleared to compete by IndyCar Medical from a crash at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 1.
Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves are the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers in IndyCar.
Conor Daly filled in for the injured Pagenaud in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio because he was already on site as a spectator. Daly was relieved of his ride at Ed Carpenter Racing following the June 4 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
Blomqvist is considered to be the favorite to get a ride with Meyer Shank Racing’s IndyCar team in 2024. Team owner Michael Shank has confirmed that “there will be changes” to his team next season because “we can’t continue with the way things are going.”
Both Castroneves and Pagenaud are struggling in IndyCar. Castroneves is 20th in the standings and Pagenaud is 25th, but his standing is affected by missing the July 2 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
Although he is one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, Castroneves’ best finish this season is 10th at Texas Motor Speedway on April 22. He has three finishes of 21st, one 22nd and one 23rd-place finish this season. Pagenaud’s best finishes are 13th at Detroit and 14th at Road America, but he has two 25th-place finishes and one 26th place this season.
Meantime in IMSA, Blomqvist has two victories, including last week’s win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport) in Bowmanville, Ontario, in the No. 60 Acura GTP. The 29-year-old has four career IMSA wins, all coming in the past two seasons.
He enters Friday’s opening practice at IndyCar without any simulation work for the challenging street course for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto.
“I’m coming in here pretty blind,” Blomqvist said. “I don’t have high expectations in myself. I drove the car in testing last year, but before that haven’t driven single seaters in like nine years. I’m still a competitor and want to give it my all. This is a big learning weekend and a huge learning experience. I just have to take it all in and try to build on it. That’s the most important thing.”
Blomqvist hopes to leave the weekend satisfied with the performance in a limited time. Simple things like coming in and out of the pit box on a difficult street course and the way IndyCar conducts practice puts him in the “deep end.”
“There are a lot of rumors about what is going on in the future, but this is an extremely big opportunity for me to learn as much as possible,” Blomqvist said. “The team has a lot of faith in me to put me in this situation. I’m hoping to do the best job possible and happy when I leave the weekend and not disappointed that I wasn’t able to perform to respectable with limited running.
“I’m relatively confident I will be OK, but that first practice session will be wild.”
When Blomqvist arrived in Toronto on Thursday, he realized he had plenty to learn.
“I haven’t even had time yet to get together with engineers,” he said. “I’m not a computer and not sure how much data I can put in head, but this is a once-in-life opportunity for me, and I have to take it as it comes. Nobody is expecting miracles, but I’m a competitor. I’m a racing driver. I have to figure out quite quickly how to understand to get the most out of the car.
“I have 85 laps to hang on, on Sunday and that is my biggest concern. It’s going to be heavy from the start.”
Blomqvist’s move from the Acura GTP to the No. 60 Honda Indy car has come with little time to prepare.
“I got a ‘might be’ a week ago after Mid-Ohio and then I got a ‘it’s happening’ sometime Tuesday evening,” Blomqvist said Thursday in Toronto. “It’s a little bit last minute. It will be one of the most difficult race weekends of my career. I’m here. I have to make the most of it. I’m thanking (team owners) Jim Meyer and Michael Shank right now, but I might be hating them after the weekend.
“I’ve got my eyes wide open. There is no pressure. They can’t expect much out of me because I have about 90 laps in an Indy car around the Sebring short track. This is a whole new challenge for me.”
Keyword: Blomqvist Plunges Into The ‘Deep End’ With IndyCar