Rosenqvist aiming to end Meyer Shank chapter on a high

Felix Rosenqvist has six races left to run in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Honda and a chance to earn his career-best result in IndyCar's Drivers’ championship before he leaves to rejoin Arrow McLaren next year.

Coming off a strong run to sixth in last year’s standings, Rosenqvist is close at the moment in seventh as he and the series return to action this weekend at Portland.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden is 14 points ahead in sixth; Rosenqvist's soon-to-be Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward is 40 points clear in fifth, and soon-to-be former Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard is fourth with a more imposing 57-point gap to overcome between Portland, Markham, Washington D.C, the doubleheader in Milwaukee, and the finale at Laguna Seca.

“It’s been a bit of a bit of a whirlwind, but it's been a good little break here to catch our breath a little bit, but we're back to a really good place, and we're really hungry,” Rosenqvist told RACER.

“We have really good momentum. We had a good race in Nashville. We can sit here and be like, oh, we're P7, that’s good pretty good, but I feel like we all want more, especially after Road America.

“That slipped out of our hands a little bit, also for (teammate) Marcus [Armstrong], obviously late in the race. We feel like we have more to show with street course performances as of late. We’re way better on the ovals lately as well, which is super-exciting for Milwaukee, which was probably our weakest track last year. And the rest, I think they're all great venues for us.”

The Indianapolis 500 winner wants to depart Meyer Shank on a high and believes it’s possible to pay at least one more visit to victory lane before the championship concludes on September 6 at Laguna Seca.

“Obviously with the whole announcement that came with me leaving, those things are not ideal in the middle of the year, but it's just the way it goes in IndyCar,” he said. “So I feel like it would be super cool to give the team an ending here that they deserve. And after many close ones in the last two years, I think just getting a win would be super cool for us as well, a non-500 win.

“I'm super pumped for it. I had some time to catch up with my family and just take it all in a little bit after the 500 win, and I’m ready to ready to be aggressive and end this thing on a high.”

Rosenqvist will see Armstrong move over from the No. 66 Honda to take over the No. 60 car next year. Like Rosenqvist, Armstrong arrived in IndyCar after working his way up the European open-wheel ladder, and has reached a point in his career where he’s ready to lead the organization.

“I'm super happy for him,” Rosenqvist said. “I think the team made a great call, having him in that in that role for next year. Mike Shank is known for giving people chances and believes in giving people trust and tools to show their best selves. And Marcus is a great example of that, where maybe two years ago it wasn't as clear, but now he's in a team that supports him and gives him all the tools he needs.“

And Marcus is one of those ‘one-percent a day’ guys. He just gets a little a little better all the time, and before you know it... it's kind of like watching your 401K over time. Like, if you stare at it all day, it doesn't do much, but then you fast forward two or three years and you're like, ‘Oh!’ This guy is really good, and he's really good on short ovals, which is a bit of a rarity with the drivers coming over from across the sea.

"He does his own thing. Very hard worker, and he has his own approach, which I really respect. He's not really like any other teammates I've had, and I mean that in a good way.”