Blomqvist back in a familiar groove

Now back in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship full-time, Tom Blomqvist has recently looked as strong as ever behind the wheel of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.

An intelligent, strategic victory in the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen was the validation of what MSR, Acura, Blomqvist, and co-driver Colin Braun have been capable of this season. Not only is MSR's staple sports car racing program firing on all cylinders after back-to-back IMSA wins – and the team's first 1-2 finish in GTP – but the team's IndyCar Series program is having its best full season ever, with Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong reaping the benefits of a new technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing.

"It means our bosses are typically a bit more happy - which is always a good thing!" Blomqvist said, when asked about the morale and the culture within MSR these days. "Give us less slack.

"It's obviously been a great year for them. You know, they're doing really well in IndyCar, and also, picking back up the sports car program as well was huge for the organization. From that perspective, I'm sure it's pretty happy there.

"But obviously, we've got to keep delivering as well, right? They still want to go out and win races. In the sports car, we always go into the weekend fighting for a chance to win. It was obviously great, as well, the last two races – having got victories not only for MSR, but also with HRC, this new collaboration. So it's been a great boost for everyone, and hopefully it motivates them to keep wanting to do well and keep trying to get better."

Fourteen months ago, Blomqvist was dealt one of the more frustrating blows of his professional racing career when he was removed from MSR's IndyCar program after crashing out in the first corner of his only Indianapolis 500 start. He'd only made eight starts in the series, with just one top-15 finish.

The move was facilitated late in 2023 via the perfect storm of MSR's impending loss of its sports car program, and the serious practice accident at Mid-Ohio that has put Simon Pagenaud's driving career on an indefinite hiatus. Despite Blomqvist's strong junior formula background and some good shows in testing, he was never able to come close to the sort of success he'd enjoyed in IMSA, even with a full off-season of preparation heading into 2024.

Blomqvist was very honest in his recollection of that difficult chapter of his career.

"I mean, it didn't work out," he said. "But also, you still learn a lot. I learned a lot. It also makes you stronger mentally, I'd say as well.

A win at The Glen added further momentum to MSR's late season charge. Brandon Badroui/IMSA

"I would say before that, I had a few good years, where there's not many things that go wrong. You're not really with your back up against the wall, trying to figure out, 'how do I try and go fast', or 'how do I try and get results?'

"But I always had it in the back of my mind – I got to a point where I was like, even if I come back to sports cars, am I going to be good there? I was always pretty confident that I could come back and I'd still be able to do a solid job. So that was kind of weird."

Blomqvist was never completely detached from the world of sports cars. MSR's IMSA hiatus allowed Blomqvist to run the five-race Michelin Endurance Cup for Cadillac Whelen/Action Express Racing, where he looked much more comfortable, especially at Daytona.

And, critically, Michael Shank and Jim Meyer didn't completely give up on Blomqvist after he was pulled out of IndyCar for the rest of 2024. He remained part of the team as MSR was plotting its IMSA return for 2025, back with Acura and with more involvement from Honda Racing Corporation US.

"I think I was very fortunate to be in that position, which is, to be honest, a big reason why I even took the jump in the first place," Blomqvist said. "Because I think if I was in a different situation, if I wasn't maybe going to be able to come back – it was quite a risky move for me, really, at my point in the career. But also one that you'd probably look back on, and if you hadn't taken a punt, you probably would have regretted it.

"And I was also still able to do some of the sports car stuff on the side that year, to keep me active in the scene. I guess I was in a fortunate position. In terms of the skill set, I probably developed a little bit. But also, mentally, it made me a bit tougher."

Blomqvist's knowledge of the ARX-06 and the inner workings of the team has been indispensable as the restructured Meyer Shank Racing IMSA team has found its footing after a strong Daytona, followed by struggles in the following three races, before the new No. 93 car won at Detroit and the No. 60 won at Watkins Glen.

"Most of the set of guys that I had on our car in 2023... half are on the 60 car and the other half are on the 93,” he said. “And then we’ve obviously had to go out and recruit more mechanics. We have a load more engineers as well.

"Obviously, HRC are a lot more involved. Most of the other car from an engineering perspective is managed by HRC themselves, so it’s engineers who are employed by them.

"So that integration has been the biggest thing to overcome. Then also, managing two cars on track from a strategic standpoint. I think we had a couple of instances early in the year where we didn’t nail it, and tripped over ourselves and compromised. Or, didn’t nail both results with both cars.

"If you compare, let’s say, the operational side of (Porsche) Penske in 2025 when they first started versus in 2023, it’s obviously a completely different ballgame. And we’re kind of going through those issues of running two cars and not having really done it in the past.

"It’s been quite a process so far, but we’re getting better each weekend. So yeah, hopefully we just keep on going in this direction and get some good results."