Felipe Nasr continues to push for an opportunity to get a seat in the IndyCar Series.
The 33-year-old Brazilian has been a dependable luxury insurance policy for Team Penske, consistently on active standby as Josef Newgarden has been nursing a lingering foot injury sustained during his dramatic crash at the Indianapolis 500 in May. Nasr was on the pit wall and ready to jump into the cockpit during opening practice in Detroit, and remained ready throughout the recent race weekend at Road America.
With recovery the focal point for Newgarden, Team Penske opted to lean on Nasr for last week’s multi-team test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Taking the wheel of the #2 Chevrolet, Nasr navigated the 13-turn, 2.258-mile natural terrain road course and was on pace alongside teammates David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin. He ended up 11th out of 16 drivers, but finished a microscopic 0.0554 seconds behind Malukas and just over a tenth of a second back from McLaughlin.
“That test came along after seeing what’s going to be the situation for Josef, what’s best for him,” Nasr told Motorsport.com. “And once they said he was going to skip the test for recovery matters, you know, I was there; first option. And I told them, ‘That’s great,’ because to me, it’s always fantastic when I can have more mileage in that car. It’s not something that I drive every day. So, it was great.”
Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
It marked the first time since last October Nasr had stepped into an Indy car, and he emphasized the challenges of getting reacclimated with the machinery.
“The test, for me, in my opinion, from my perspective, was very productive,” said Nasr, who also made 39 starts in Formula 1 (2015-16). “And I base it off, those guys were all out from a fresh race weekend in Road America, and then they jumped in a test in Mid-Ohio; I haven’t driven the car since October.
“Yeah, so all of the changes and everything that I had to get used to again. To me, to be able to have matched my Penske teammates, I think that tells me it was a very productive test, in my opinion. So, that was really good.”
Since joining Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2023 as the driver of the #7 Porsche 963 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, he has turned the sports car world into his personal playground. Nasr has collected eight wins, including an extraordinary run of the last three consecutive victories at the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona, two triumphs at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, and the overall IMSA championship crown in 2024.
Nasr has won virtually everything there is to win in sports cars under the Penske banner. Now, the only question left is whether “The Captain,” team owner Roger Penske, will give him a permanent shot at open-wheel glory.
When pressed on what more he possibly has to show the team owner to finally earn a full-time IndyCar seat, Nasr simply smiled.
“Oh, ask him,” Nasr said. “You should ask him.”
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