Tom Blomqvist, in his official full-season INDYCAR debut, enjoyed a solid weekend on the streets of St.Petersburg as he brought his No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda home for a 17th place finish.
Tom Blomqvist (No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda) started his first full INDYCAR season in solid fashion as he qualified as the highest placed rookie in 17th place for the opening round of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Sunday's race saw him complete all 100 laps and finish 17th in just his fourth series start. Showcasing strong pace and progressing up the order, Tom looked set for a strong finish inside the top 15 before a small mistake in the final stint saw him lose a couple of positions. At the chequered flag, the British-born driver carded his first-ever top-20 finish and his finish was the best of his nascent career.
Tom's busy schedule will now see him remain in Florida as he joins up with Action Express Racing and Cadillac Racing for the 12 Hours of Sebring, before rejoining Meyer Shank Racing and Indycar for a trip to California. The series heads to The Thermal Club on March 22 for a unique, made-for-TV racing exhibition. The special event set near Palm Springs, California will include a qualifying session on Saturday and two heat races on Sunday with the top six from each heat advancing to an All-Star showcase. While championship points will not be on the line, the event will feature a multimillion-dollar purse with $1,000,000 of that going to the winner.
“It was good to finish the race today. It was going okay, I thought I was hanging in there quite comfortably saving fuel. The last stint we went back to a black tire and just had no grip whatsoever. It was a bit of a disaster that final stint, lost some positions and I made a mistake which cost me dearly there at the end. Physically I felt miles better, obviously it’s always challenging, these cars. I’m pretty happy with that, but you obviously want to be farther up the field and just work on performance and go from there really. All in all it was a solid weekend to build upon. I learned a lot today, to get that race under my belt. It was a tough race, but we got through and just looking ahead now.”
- Tom Blomqvist
In association with MBP
