Is Marcus Armstrong the biggest benefactor of Dixon, Rosenqvist IndyCar moves?
· Yahoo Sports
LEXINGTON, OH – Two full-time IndyCar seats are known to be opening in 2027, and the driver connected to both is Marcus Armstrong.
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Armstrong, who drives the No. 66 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing, was sent to MSR on a loan from Chip Ganassi Racing ahead of the 2025 season. As CGR downsized from five full-time entries to three as IndyCar introduced its charter system in 2025, Armstrong's services were passed off to MSR, which has a technical alliance with CGR.
With six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon leaving CGR after the season and Felix Rosenqvist — the most recent Indianapolis 500 champion — set to leave MSR, questions regarding Armstrong's 2027 status have escalated.
Armstrong is in the final year of both his CGR and MSR contracts, leaving a lot to be decided for the 25-year-old. Armstrong has had talks with MSR co-owners Mike Shank and Jim Meyer, plus CGR owner Chip Ganassi, but a deal with either team doesn't appear to be close to finished.
"It's out of my control, really," Armstrong told IndyStar on Thursday. "I mean, what I can control is drive fast, win races. That would be the main thing. But ultimately, it's up to Mike Shank and Jim Meyer and Chip Ganassi. Those are the bosses, and what they decide will come to fruition."
Armstrong is in his second year with MSR, where he finished a career-best eighth in the IndyCar championship last year. The former Formula 2 driver began his IndyCar career with CGR in 2023, when he raced on only street and road courses before becoming a full-time driver in 2024.
The New Zealand native is yet to win his first IndyCar race, although he's come close twice this year. Armstrong led the Indy 500 going into the Lap 200 restart before being passed by Rosenqvist, David Malukas and two others to leave IMS with a fifth-place finish. In IndyCar's most recent race, the Grand Prix at Road America, Armstrong led by multiple seconds with four laps to go until his Honda engine gave out, leading to Armstrong not even finishing the race.
Armstrong said that ideally, he'd be driving for one of the two teams he's been with in his IndyCar career next year.
"Obviously, we know where we stand," Armstrong said. "I'm certainly very well accustomed to both teams. Obviously, I've driven for both teams. So it's not as if there's no line of communication. ... I'll be very fortunate and very grateful to land a spot in either team."
Shank has already expressed his desire to have Armstrong, who's 11th in IndyCar's championship, return in 2027.
"I mean, we have a lot of work to do over the next month or two to decide who's going to drive for us," Shank told IndyStar after Rosenqvist's departure last week. "Marcus has done an outstanding job for us for almost two seasons now. I'm very, very happy with Marcus."
Whether Armstrong returns may not be Shank and Meyer's call, as an offer from Ganassi to replace Dixon could be irresistible. Following up on Dixon's legacy and being teammates with four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou won't be an easy task, and some could argue that being in the same equipment as Palou leads to overwhelming pressure to perform like him. Armstrong, who has spent his whole career with similar data and equipment as Palou, is alright with that challenge.
"I don't think it's painful," Armstrong said of being Palou's teammate to Alexander Rossi on Off Track with Hinch and Rossi. "I think it's a great thing. It's reassuring as a driver because you know this guy is the benchmark. He is unquestionably the best guy in the series at the moment, and you have his data, you have his video. ... I feel very grateful to be in the position to just learn from him at this stage of my career."
Armstrong enters the last eight races of the year in a peculiar position. He could wind up the heir apparent to Dixon's legendary 25-year tenure at CGR. He could stay with MSR, where he'd likely receive a pay raise and be prioritized as the team's top driver. And there's still a slight chance that Armstrong ends up on a third team that's intrigued by his potential.
Should Armstrong continue to perform, he could be the biggest benefactor of the fallout from Dixon and Rosenqvist's decisions. Now, it's time for Armstrong to prove his worth to whichever teams may want him.
Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Is Marcus Armstrong the biggest benefactor of Dixon, Rosenqvist IndyCar moves?