INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves will proceed chasing a record-breaking fifth Indianapolis 500 victory with a brand new perspective — profitable one for his crew.

Meyer Shank Racing introduced Friday that the favored 48-year-old Brazilian will turn into a minority co-owner with the Ohio-based group. He additionally would be the crew’s third driver in subsequent yr’s 500.

Defending IMSA champion Tom Blomqvist will go away the sports activities automotive circuit and exchange Castroneves as MSR’s second full-time driver as Castroneves begins his post-racing profession as a driver coach.

“I wish to be very clear: I’m not retiring, OK? I simply wish to make certain folks perceive that,” Castroneves mentioned. “Truly, my line is open now to do different sequence. Clearly, the primary focus is IndyCar, and in addition the Drive for 5. I nonetheless have numerous fireplace inside me, numerous power that I wish to burn, however now I’ll focus that burn on the Indy 500.”

It is the second time Castroneves has scaled again his IndyCar schedule.

Crew Penske’s longtime anchor driver competed in just one IndyCar race in 2019, the five hundred, after switching to sports activities vehicles. He began two IndyCar races in 2020, each at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Arrow McLaren, earlier than making the leap to MSR in 2021.

However Castroneves’ record-tying 500 victory in 2021, the primary for MSR, rejuvenated the motive force’s profession. He ran 5 of that yr’s remaining six races earlier than returning to full-time standing the previous two years.

Jim Meyer and Michael Shank mentioned Castroneves will proceed racing on Indy’s historic 2.5-mile monitor for no less than a pair extra years although his main focus can be on different sides of his place.

“He can be becoming a member of our possession group as a minority accomplice, which I believe is the primary in a protracted, very long time a driver coming into the possession group,” Jim Meyer mentioned. “Helio can even tackle a task — it is greater than an ombudsman — it is driver coach, it is ambassador, and albeit it is offering and serving to us get to this subsequent stage.”

MSR made its IndyCar debut with Jack Harvey driving the No. 50 automotive within the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Harvey competed part-time with the crew in 2018 and 2019 earlier than MSR went to a full-time schedule in the course of the shortened 2020 season.

The group expanded to 2 full-time vehicles in 2022 with Castroneves and his former Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud, the 2016 sequence champ and 2019 Indy winner.

Now the crew is making one other main transfer by including Blomqvist, the British sports activities automotive driver who started his skilled profession within the Formulation One ladder sequence. In his first season with MSR, he captured his second profession factors title — his first since taking the 2010 Formulation Renault UK crown.

Blomqvist is sixth on this yr’s IMSA standings, 164 factors behind the leaders with three races left.

“It is clearly a step up by way of profession trajectory, that is one thing I am actually enthusiastic about,” he mentioned. “It is also type of coming again to my roots. It has been nearly I believe 9, eight years since I final stepped foot correctly in a single-seater sequence. It is one thing I grew up with the purpose of clearly chasing that Formulation One dream. I type of sidestepped that for fairly some time.”

The Meyer Shank Racing announcement was made about half-hour after IndyCar drivers accomplished their first apply for the second Indianapolis Grand Prix of the season. The race is scheduled for Saturday as a part of a tripleheader weekend with the NASCAR and Xfinity Sequence additionally competing on Indy’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile highway course.

Whereas Castroneves can be driving his customary No. 06 Honda on Saturday, Pagenaud stays out as he continues his restoration from a concussion he suffered in a daunting crash in early July.

“Simon is progressing very properly, he’ll do it on his schedule and the physicians which might be taking care of him,” Shank mentioned earlier than addressing the brake failure that precipitated the crash. “We remorse what occurred at Mid-Ohio. He is an incredible champion. We love him. When it is time it is time, I do not know when.”

Linus Lundqvist, the 2022 Indy Lights champ, replaces Pagenaud for the second straight week.

The Swede certified within the high 12 final weekend at Nashville however was knocked out of the race with an early crash. He didn’t advance by means of the primary spherical of Friday’s qualifying.

“That is by far, essentially the most thrilling time in my profession” he mentioned. “Getting the chance to even do an IndyCar race is dream come true after which to carry out on the stage we had been in a position to is one other dream come true. After which to do my second one clearly means we did one thing proper within the first race.”

Lower than three months after watching longtime good friend and countryman, Tony Kanaan, take his remaining laps on the Brickyard, Castroneves is writing a brand new chapter in his racing profession, too.

“For me, you possibly can’t do each,” he mentioned. “It is a very, very robust sequence, very, very aggressive. I have been right here for a very long time. Whoever goes to be subsequent, whether or not it is an skilled driver or a younger driver, it takes time as a result of it is a course of. I perceive it.”