IndyCar: Why Team Penske thinks Pagenaud in fourth car is good option

MOORESVILLE, North Carolina – In an attempt to always stay ahead of the competition, Team Penske has added talented driver Simon Pagenaud to its Verizon IndyCar Series team, boosting the championship operation to four drivers.

There was a time when it was inconceivable that Roger Penske would field a four-car Verizon IndyCar Series team, as the legendary team owner believed it was best to focus efforts and resources on two top drivers. From time to time, Team Penske has had a three-driver lineup, such as 2014 when Juan Pablo Montoya joined Will Power and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves.

The only time four was ever mentioned on this team was four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears.

As for four drivers on one team, save that for Andretti Autosport or Chip Ganassi Racing – two operations that have successfully fielded four car teams in recent years in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Opportunities, however, dictated a change in that philosophy when the talented Pagenaud reached the end of his contract with Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports. Pagenaud proved he is ready for the big time with two wins in 2013 and two wins in the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season including the Inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

There was no way Team Penske was going to let this opportunity slip by without grabbing it.

“We didn’t look at it as car count; we looked at it as opportunity from our end,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “I think you see it in all the different motorsports that car count improves your odds in some ways. But if you don’t do it right it’s a distraction. We’ve seen that in our NASCAR program where we are stronger with two guys than we were with three. I think it depends on when you add those cars and what your capabilities are. If there was a time for us to add a fourth car, it was now, because we have people in the right places and our focus in expanding is enhancing what you have rather than adding a car rather trying to catch up in some ways.

“We learned from NASCAR, if you don’t have the two cars right it’s hard to add a third car. When we dropped back to two cars in NASCAR it benefitted us in terms of our approach. We felt like if we were going to add a fourth driver there wasn’t another driver to consider. Simon is someone we’ve been interested in since he drove sports cars for Gil de Ferran (in 2008 and 2009). This is really the first time we’ve had a chance to get together and who knows when the next time may be so we moved forward with the decision.”

The key to the decision was Penske deciding to take the driver first and build the sponsorship package around him. Far too many times, IndyCar teams do it the opposite way.

“The fortunate thing is we have an owner who is committed to winning and to opportunity,” Cindric said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make a business case behind it, but obviously to make this decision we would have to have these resources in place to where it can stand on its own. It’s a little bit different than the Montoya situation last year where we didn’t have one discussion whatsoever. This one we also have some potential beyond our existing sponsors.

“That’s secondary to this opportunity. With the offseason the way it is we have more time to raise those budgets so we are willing to take that chance.”

Penske didn’t become a successful industrialist and auto racing team owner without taking chances, and he believes the addition of a fourth driver with Pagenaud’s talent gave him a chance to solidify the team for years into the future.

The 30-year-old native of Poitiers, France is reunited with driver Will Power – the two were teammates in the Champ Car Series in 2007 when Pagenaud was a rookie.

“Will is the champion,” Pagenaud said. “He is a tremendous driver. We have had our contacts on track but we have both grown and we are mature now. We enjoyed being teammates and working together at the time. It will be our job to make it work at Team Penske. I don’t see any reason why this won’t work well.

“Actually, this is going to work well.”

The one complication in Pagenaud’s move to Team Penske is leaving Honda Performance Development (HPD) for Team Penske’s Chevrolet operation. Pagenaud has been loyal to Honda and Honda was instrumental in helping develop Pagenaud as a driver.

“Honda has done a lot for me; that’s definitely the case,” Pagenaud said. “It’s been a great relationship and a fantastic three years in IndyCar with Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports but you have to make some decisions as a man. It’s always been my dream to drive for Roger Penske. I got this opportunity and made my decision.”

Pagenaud will drive car No. 22 – a Dallara/Chevrolet with sponsorship to be determined. But for Penske to make the bold move that is out of character to add a fourth driver to the lineup proves how much they wanted Pagenaud.

“Simon Pagenaud is a very talented, focused and determined driver,” said Roger Penske, whose team won the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series title with driver Will Power. “We know how tough he has been to compete with over the last few seasons and we are very happy to welcome him to Team Penske starting in 2015. With Simon coming on board to join Will, Helio (Castroneves) and Juan (Montoya), we feel we have four drivers very capable of winning on any given weekend and four guys who are legitimate championship contenders.”

Pagenaud joins Team Penske with a championship history. He won the Champ Car Atlantic Series open-wheel title as a rookie in 2006 and he produced four wins en route to the American Le Mans Series sports car LMP1 crown in 2010. With a diverse background that includes racing in the European Formula Renault series, Pagenaud has also excelled in sports car competition with starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the Rolex 24 at Daytona on his resume.

“I’ve worked really hard,” Pagenaud admitted. “I worked really hard and the goal as a driver is to win races and championships. You always hope you will get the best opportunity possible. There was a lot of interest but the decision was very easy to me.

“Getting a chance to race for Team Penske is almost like a dream to me. I have always admired the team and everything that Roger Penske has accomplished in racing. I am so excited to become a part of Team Penske and I can’t wait for the 2015 season to start.

“What better fit for me. There wasn’t any better fit.”

Cindric knew that Pagenaud would become available at the end of the 2014 season and realized the team needed to “look ahead.” Castroneves and Montoya are both 39, but those two drivers remain highly competitive drivers.

Power is 33 and the addition of 30-year-old Pagenaud gives the team two prime drivers, not only for the 2015 season, but also well into the future.

By looking at everything involved, increasing to four drivers is really no gamble at all for the team that always seems to have the odds on its side.

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