Marcus Armstrong has been a revelation this season as the IndyCar newcomer from New Zealand continues to lead the Rookie of the Year standings despite contesting nothing other than road and street course events.
Already missing two events’ worth of points from the Texas and Indianapolis oval rounds, the race-winning Formula 2 driver has shown considerable promise across seven outings while delivering five finishes between eighth and 11th for Chip Ganassi Racing.
While sharing the No. 11 Honda with CGR oval driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, Armstrong has also grown interested in learning about oval racing and becoming a full-time competitor next season. The 22-year-old believes the best way to make that happen is through his work product, rather than words.
“I think it’s pretty clear: I need to do my talking on track,” Armstrong told RACER. “And it’s been the same throughout my entire career. You can do as much talking off track as you like, but you’ve just got to perform well. And that’s the only thing I’m telling myself now is just to focus on race weekend, which doesn’t really seem like it’s a chore because I’m just quite genuinely enjoying myself.”
Sato will return to the No. 11 later this month for the Iowa oval doubleheader and the final oval of the year in August at World Wide Technology Raceway. A post-season oval test for Armstrong is said to be in the works.
“I would love to do ovals, which is not a secret,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to learn them, firstly, because it’s a different ballgame. Coming from Europe, predominantly, I’ve never really had experience on a circuit like that. So I do want to jump in and experience it quickly so I can start the learning curve. When will that opportunity come? I’m not quite sure when, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Armstrong has impressed on a couple of occasions this year before misfortune struck and blighted his finishing positions, which makes the concept of improving his record and earning a few top five finishes seem possible before his rookie campaign is finished.