Helio Castroneves, who has won the Indianapolis 500 four times, will drive the No. 66 car powered by Honda in this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix and the race at Road America on June 9th.
According to a press release from MSR, both the team and Blomqvist agreed that he would “step aside” for these two races. Blomqvist had a crash on the opening lap of the Indianapolis 500 last weekend, which caused a multi-car crash.
Even though Blomqvist won back-to-back Rolex 24 Hour at Daytonas and the 2022 IMSA title, he will still be part of MSR.
Mike Shank, the co-owner of MSR, said it was a tough decision to temporarily take Blomqvist out of the Indy car ride.
“Making this decision was by far the hardest one we have had to make,” said Shank.
“Tom is 100% still a part of the MSR family and will remain a part of the team for the rest of the season. The decision was not made lightly and after much discussion with Tom, and with back-to-back races coming up, we have decided to have Helio drive in Detroit and at Road America.”
Blomqvist’s best finish in his eight career points-paying races is 15th in St. Petersburg.
“It is fair to say that the last couple of days have been some of the hardest in my career,” Blomqvist said.
“Everyone who knows me knows how much I love being a part of the MSR family and together we have enjoyed some amazing successes and victories. I am looking forward to remaining part of the MSR family and contributing to the MSR vision as we chase down further successes in the future.”
The Detroit Grand Prix starts at 12:45pm ET on Sunday, June 2. Coverage for the race begins on USA Network at Noon ET.
