Spend a few minutes following the never-ending volley of insults, accusations and conspiracy theories leveled between Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Mercedes-AMG boss Toto Wolff, and you could get the impression that folks in charge of major open-wheel racing teams are smug, self-righteous clowns.
As the recent Formula One season reached its crescendo, incessant squabbling between the two zillionaires during and following each weekend became exhausting. In the midst of their toxic jousting — verbal pillow fights — I found myself thanking IndyCar team owner Michael Shank, someone who has never been involved in F1, for being everything they aren’t.
Say hello to the realest team owner in motor racing.
Shank’s arms are filled with tattoos. His ears were made for listening to Van Halen — he’s actually more of a Van Hagar guy — and is prone to emptying bottles with the man himself, Sammy Hagar. Sipping wine and picking at charcuterie plates doesn’t jibe with his Midwestern sensibilities; knocking back shots of tequila with the Red Rocker in Cabo San Lucas is more of Shank’s style.
Along with his status as a party legend, Shank’s racing bona fides are equally impressive. Splitting his efforts between IndyCar and IMSA’s SportsCar Championship, the Meyer Shank Racing team he co-owns with former SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer has been on an epic run in recent years.
Signed as a factory team by the American division of Honda and its luxury/performance brand Acura, MSR promptly won the 2019 IMSA GTD class championship wielding a racing version of the Acura NSX supercar. Going back-to-back as GTD title winners with Acura in 2020 was a precursor to MSR’s launch into the stratosphere. Making his debut with the team, living legend Helio Castroneves went on to win his fourth Indianapolis 500 with MSR in 2021. What a way and what a place to deliver Meyer and Shank’s first triumph as IndyCar team owners.
Crowned as winners of IndyCar’s biggest race, MSR matched the achievement eight months later in IMSA by scoring the overall victory in January at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Their success in Daytona was capped in October as MSR secured its third IMSA title in four years, this time in the top-tier DPi category. Yes, nice guys do finish first sometimes.
“I’m fully biased on Mike Shank,” NASCAR star A.J. Allmendinger, who was part of MSR’s first statement-making win…
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