Lundqvist to make IndyCar debut as latest substitute for Pagenaud

Linus Lundqvist will make his IndyCar debut in this weekend’s race on the Nashville street circuit as the latest substitute for Simon Pagenaud at Meyer Shank Racing.

He is the reigning champion of Indy Nxt, IndyCar’s top junior series formerly known as Indy Lights.

Pagenaud will miss his fifth consecutive race as he has not been medically cleared to race following a crash at Mid-Ohio earlier this month.

Lundqvist was BRDC British Formula 3 champion in 2018, Formula Regional Americas champion in 2020 and took five wins and seven poles en route to the Indy Nxt title last year. Nashville was one of the circuits which he won at.

Although Lundqvist received prize money from Indy Nxt to step up to the next level, he was not able to find an IndyCar seat and his only race outing this year has been in Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia.

“This is a moment I’ve been dreaming of literally since the start of my career,” Lundqvist said. “I could not be more excited about the prospect of finally making my IndyCar debut. I am extremely grateful to MSR for this opportunity.

“This will be an incredible experience but also the toughest challenge of my life. Sitting on the sidelines all year, it would be a massive task to join any championship toward the end of the season – let alone the IndyCar series on the streets of Nashville.

“There’s been very little time to prepare, but I feel like the sheer excitement of this moment will make up for some of that.”

He will be the third Swedish driver on the grid, joining Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist.

He is the third driver to substitute for Pagenaud since his crash. Conor Daly stood in at Mid-Ohio and the Iowa double-header, and Tom Blomqvist drove in Toronto.

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