You could get the impression that people in charge of major open-wheel racing teams are self-righteous clowns, if you spend a few minutes following the volley of insults, accusations and conspiracy theories leveled between Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Mercedes-AMG boss.
The squabbling between the two richest people in the world became exhausting as the recent Formula One season came to a close. In the midst of their jousting, I found myself thanking Michael Shank, who has never been involved in F1, for being everything they are not.
Say hello to a real team owner.
The man has tattoos on his arms. His ears were made for listening to Van Hagar and he is prone to emptying bottles with him. It doesn't make sense to sip wine and pick at plates when you can get a drink at the Red Rocker.
His racing credentials are equally impressive as he is a party legend. The Meyer Shank Racing team he co-owns with Jim Meyer has been on an epic run in the last few years.
Signed as a factory team by the American division of Honda and its luxury/ performance brand Acura, the team won the IMSA GTD class championship with a racing version of the Acura NSX. Going back-to-back as GTD title winners with Acura in 2020 was a sign of things to come. In his first year with the team, Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 for the fourth time. Meyer and Shank's first triumph as team owners was delivered in a way that made sense.
The overall victory in January at the Daytona 24 At Daytona was achieved by the same team that won the biggest race in the world. In October, they won their third IMSA title in four years, this time in the top tier category. Nice guys finish first occasionally.
A.J. Allmendinger was part of the team that won the 2012 edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona. You want to run through a wall for him because he puts his heart and soul into everything he does and he cares about you as well. He got everything that he deserved and he deserved it before he got it.
It is one of the best stories in the sport. He was raised within the amateur racing culture fostered by the Sports Car Club of America. He wanted to drive in the Indy 500. Figuring out how to pay for such lofty exploits was the first problem to be solved, and that's where a local heating and ventilating business owner inspired the creation of Michael Shank Racing.
In order to get out on the track in the club racing car he could find, he would use his gifted hands to prepare the race car owned by the businessman and pour those profits into it. More amateur racers dropped their cars off atMSR as his reputation grew. He ran himself in bigger and faster cars as his race preparation and trackside support business grew, bringingMSR to the same open-wheel training series that produced Indy 500 winners.
Sam Hornish, who won the Indy Racing League triple crown in 2007, was one of the most famous graduates of the school. The dream that launchedMSR was close to being realized. The car was slow and the Nienhouse Motorsports team was a mess, but the record books show that he competed in an open wheel race.
The 1997 Las Vegas 500K was the site of the Indy Racing League's season finale and saw Shank drive under the checkered flag in a respectable 16th place. It wasn't taking part in his beloved Indy 500, but it was enough for him to make peace with the fact that he was done with it. Although he wasn't going to drive at the speedway, he was going to bring the team to the Brickyard as an open wheel team. There would be two huge leaps of faith.
The husband-and- wife duo of Shank and Mary Beth were able to pose for a picture with Castroneves and the Borg-Warner trophy because of a gamble they made. When the junior open-wheel team lost steam in the early 2000s, any thoughts of graduating to the open-wheel series were put on hold.
A new style of low-tech cars dubbed Daytona Prototypes would lead the way after Jim France started a new sports car endurance racing championship. Mike and Mary Beth decided to mortgage their house in order to buy a Daytona Prototype.
The little open-wheel team that participated in races that lasted 45 minutes or less didn't know anything about sports cars or racing for 24 hours without sleep. After joining GRAND-AM as an entrant in 2004,MSR made its first attempt at high level professional racing with its Daytona Prototype. It was a brave move that came with no guarantees that the sports car racing experiment would be a success.
The first few years in GRAND-AM were rough for the Shanks, with stiff mortgage payments due each month, and any leftover income was put back into the team. This is where we learn why Allmendinger is a fan of the team.
As they discuss F1 and the people behind it, they will be joined by hostKatie George. You can listen on the sports network.
When he was trying to keep the team going, theMSR crew guys were always there. The same group of people. When Mike and Mary Beth were struggling to pay for electricity in their house, he didn't want them to have families of their own.
He kept them regardless of whether he could afford them or not. He was there to make sure they were there. Whatever it took, whatever sacrifice he and Mary Beth had to make, they made it and put his people first. That is the kind of person he is. I'm a grown-ass man and I'm thinking about something.
As the team grew and became a factory Daytona Prototype team for Ford, the rerouting to Grand-AM paid off. The Honda and Acura brands would be represented by the American arm of the Japanese company. Honda's involvement in the Indy 500 made it possible for Shank to get into the race.
Meyer Shank Racing was formed in the process of the meeting between the Shanks and Meyer. It's the same initials. Liberty Media, which owns F1, was introduced to the Shanks by Meyer.
Liberty was impressed by what it found within the team and decided to buy a third of the team. Not bad for a club racer.
His approach to life is one of the most compelling aspects of the person. He's the only owner of a racing team who has fans plan to drink beer with him. There is a very specific beer. The light is Busch.
After climbing the fence with Castroneves at the Indy 500, he put his favorite beer in his back pocket. With millions of viewers watching, Shank cracked it open and destroyed it. He's our guy. A man is with a group of people. The story went on and on.
The local distributor in Ohio made sure the Indy 500 continued after he and Mary Beth returned home. The cases of Busch Light started to stack up on his front step as neighbors began to send pictures of him. The neighbors and friends added to the wall of beer. The count stopped when the can count reached 500.
He and Mary Beth put so much effort into it and had many hard knocks along the way, and he finally got that big break with Meyer and Liberty and Honda. He should be partying for the rest of the year after winning the Indianapolis 500. Most people don't know that he shows up at Mid-Ohio for a race just to watch me. That was mind blowing.
I didn't think I would see him, but I threw it out there. I hadn't invited him yet. He should be on top of the world, celebrating the greatest victory of his life. Yes, but not. He was hanging out with me at an event. I will never tire of that guy.
Don't be a Mike Shank in a world of Wolffs. Ask him if he has any Busch Lights to give you at the next race. You will have a great tale to tell about the realest team owner in racing.
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