Simon Pagenaud was not able to get a victory in Saturday’s race around the Indianapolis road course, but he still felt like his podium drive was the most rewarding of his long career.
After starting all the way down in 20th place, Pagenaud was able to navigate the tricky driving conditions and keep his car free from damage as others struggled around him.
Multiple strategy calls were needed as the track conditions changed throughout the race, and the veteran was able to work well with his relatively new Meyer Shank Racing team to bring home a second place result.
“It’s all about process, and I believe in that,” said Pagenaud. “I’m not someone that jumps in and manages to get you to the front in the first race. It’s not who I am, and I think Mike Shank and Jim Meyer knew that.
“I had frustration up until now because we had so much performance, and it never really showed. Finally, we are getting some results, which is very nice. A nice reward with all the hard work we’ve been putting in.
“It’s funny. Sometimes second feels like a win. I would have loved to have won today, but I’m taking this home. It’s nice to feel such support from your race team and feel like, yeah, tonight we’re probably going to celebrate like it was a win.”
The result was Pagenaud’s best finish since his win in Iowa in 2019, and is his first podium since joining Meyer Shank Racing this year.
When asked if this weekend’s stressful and chaotic race added or took away from his achievement, the Frenchman related that the added stress makes his accomplishment even more rewarding.
“I think it’s even more rewarding when it’s stressful and when you make yourself come out of a tricky situation,” Pagenaud continued.
“So definitely one of my most — like right now I feel like that is one of my most rewarding finishes just because of how tricky it was to make all these decisions and discuss with the team the entire race.
“Definitely the driver had to be a big part of the strategy today and the calls, and then you have to have your team behind you to support that. That was really cool for all these reasons.”
