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Armstrong signs off big IndyCar year with Texas Oval test

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: September 21, 2023

Marcus Armstrong’s debut year in IndyCar culminated in winning Rookie of the Year and gaining a full-time seat for Chip Ganassi for 2024, and now he’s tasted his first laps on an oval.

The 23-year-old Christchurch native would still be pinching himself after crossing from Formula 2 into North America’s premier open wheel series, and after he emulated the efforts of compatriot Scott McLaughlin in taking the rookie award, he had his first taste of an oval track at the Texas Motor Speedway.

It was a sensational debut year for the Kiwi, who in 12 races took a respectable 5 top-ten finishes and managed to get the car to the finish line in every single race. And aside from some contact from others, he kept his nose clean of self-prescribed incidents for the entire year – quite a remarkable feat for a rookie in a series that can really serve up the mayhem!

Few IndyCar rookies (if any) have completed a season having completed every race entered, and with a reletively clean sheet of damage. Image: LAT

After only competing on road and street tracks in 2023, his elevation into a full-time seat at CGR will see him join the oval circuit next year, which will of course include making his Indianapolis 500 debut.

And coincidently, his next test will also be at the Indianapolis superspeedway on October 11, where he’ll be joined but he likes NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson, who’ll also cut some laps at the legendary 4 km oval for Arrows McLaren ahead of his 2024 Indy 500 debut.

Armstrong said that taking on the super-fast 2.4 km track in Texas – the scene of many dramatic clashes in IndyCar – he felt right at home on the banking, and that he found the required trust in cornering.

“It was quite fast, and It was an awesome experience, I really enjoyed it,” Armstrong said.

“The first proper run in the morning was great. I was just smiling after that first run and even on the in-lap I had a different reaction to what I was expecting. 

“It was a lot more natural than I anticipated and I felt at one with the car later in the day.

“I found that it was a lot easier to trust the car and the banking. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I’m very grateful that Dario (Franchitti – CGR driver coach), Scott (Dixon), Eric (Cowdin – Armstrong’s engineer) and Blair (Julian – CGR program manager) could help me out throughout the day.”

Armstrong completed 180 laps at the TMS.

Armstrong with his championship winning teammate, Alex Palou

In further news for Chip Ganassi, the team has also signed 18-year-old jet Kyffin Simpson of Barbados and Cayman Islands, which means that the squad will expand to an imposing five car team in 2024.

The team will be this year’s two-champion Alex Palou, six-time champion and Kiwi legend Scott Dixon, Armstrong, and 2022 Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

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