The Next Big Thing?

French. Talented. Handsome (the opinion of some female racing fans including myself).

These and other words can be used to describe rookie, Simon Pagenaud, who is currently 3rd in INDYCAR points standings behind only Will Power and Helio Castroneves and is well on his way to being named series Rookie of the Year over Josef Newgarden and Katherine Legge. While loyal fans know who this young man is and at least some of his background, the casual fan might. Here is a taste of his history (mostly racing) and also what I think about the fast Frenchman and whether or not he is the next big thing in INDYCAR.

First, the basics: Simon is from Pointiers, France, almost in the center of the country (I’m serious; I got bored and looked for it on a map one time). He chose racing over eventually running the family business. He wears a ring on his left pinkie finger, a family heirloom given to him by his grandfather. He will turn 28 on May 18th, Fast Friday. His nickname is “Jean Girard” after Sacha Baron Cohen’s character in Talladega Nights with one exception: Simon prefers women.

As for racing, he raced karts, Formule Renault, and World Series Renault in France and other parts of Europe and was very successful. When he came to the U.S. in 2006, he made a name for himself in open wheel cars and sports cars. In 2006, he won both the rookie of the year title and championship in the Champ Car Atlantic Series. The following year, 2007, was his rookie year in Champ Car where he raced for Team Australia with Will Power as a teammate.

After reunification in 2008, Simon was one of the Champ Car drivers left out when some teams made the move to the IndyCar Series. Enter two-time CART champion and 2003 Indianapolis 500 champion Gil de Ferran who was making his return to racing in the American Lemans Series and searching for a co-driver. Ironically enough, both drove for Derrick Walker at points in their careers which likely led to Simon signing with de Ferran Motorsports for all but the first three races of the season. While they didn’t win, they came very close with two podiums - a 3rd in their debut at Miller Motorsports Park and a 2nd at Leguna Seca Raceway - both with Simon behind the wheel for the final stint.

The following year, 2009, the only accomplishment not made by de Ferran Motorsports was not winning the championship and only because Simon and Gil failed to score points in two races. They won five out of ten races including four in a row. Simon was behind the wheel when the 66 crossed the finish line at both Miller Motorsports Park and Lime Rock. All through the season, there was talk that the team might make the move to the IndyCar Series.

But alas, that did not become reality. For 2010, Simon moved to Highcroft Racing who was his former team’s championship rival the year before. The team scored 4 wins (including Long Beach where Simon chased down and passed Adrian Fernandez’s Aston Martin for the victory in the final laps) and the title. Simon also won the 1000km of Spa with the Peugeot team.

In 2011, due to lack of funding, the Highcroft team only ran at the 12 Hours of Sebring and scored a 2nd place finish. He also raced for Peugeot at Silverthorne (where they won) and at the 24 Hours of Lemans (and scored a 2nd place finish). He also raced a V8 Supercar at the Gold Coast 600 and finished 3rd in the second of the two races held that weekend. Simon also got a taste of the series he’d been working hard and waiting patiently to join. He ran 3 INDYCAR races last year, all filling for drivers - two due to injuries (Ana Beatriz and Justin Wilson) and one due to issues with customs (Simona de Silvestro). He used these opportunities to his advantage. He took three not-as-competitive cars and scored reasonable finishes, including a top 10 in his first INDYCAR race at Barber Motorsports Park.

His performance caught the eyes of several teams for their 2012 programs. At the end of the summer, the rumors started swirling that Simon was going to race for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. In December, the worst-kept secret in INDYCAR was revealed and Simon was officially named the driver of the 77. So far this year, Simon has netted 3 top 10’s and 2 top 5’s including a 2nd place finish at Long Beach where he led 26 laps. He also appeared in the Firestone Fast 6 once and probably would have had an even better finish in the season opener at St. Petersburg if it weren’t for a 10-grid position penalty following an engine change. Going into Brazil, he is both the top rookie contender and top Honda driver and has the potential to have another good run.

Simon’s ultimate test will come next month at Indianapolis. He has almost no oval experience but is officially licensed to race on them after a recent test at Texas Motor Speedway. He does have the benefit of racing for the team that won the pole and provided some technical assistance to the race winning team, Bryan Herta Autosport. Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports is also adding a second car to its “500” lineup and the driver is rumored to be Townsend Bell, who has run fairly well on ovals in the past.

Now here’s my take on Simon - I love him and have since 2007. One of my goals if I make it to the Firestone 550k at Texas Motor Speedway in June is to meet and take a picture with him. I find him to be both talented and easy on the eyes as well.

I first noticed him back when he was a rookie in Champ Car. I lost track of him after reunification, though, for a few months until I watched Petit Lemans and saw that he was in the field. Since then, I’ve kept a eye on his career. From the moment I heard he hoped to one day race in INDYCAR, I crossed my fingers waiting for a team to hire him. I am glad that Dreyer and Reinbold (twice) and HVM gave him his first opportunities and that Schmidt-Hamilton hired him for this season. Simon has shown speed everywhere he has raced this year and I think with some track time on the ovals, he will run well.

As for the question "Is he or is he not the next big thing?" I think we'll just have to see. So far, I'd say yes but time will tell whether or not Simon will one day be an INDYCAR champion or eventually become the 4th (or 5th if you say French-born) Frenchman to win the Indianapolis 500.

The end of last season was tough on Sam Schmidt and his race team with the sudden passings of Indy Lights team manger Chris Griffis and driver Dan Wheldon within a few short weeks. Both men’s memories are not far from the minds of anyone on the team and even its newest driver. My fingers are crossed that 2012 continues to be a year of great accomplishments for Schmidt-Hamilton Racing and they celebrate some wins on the INDYCAR side (it nearly happened at Long Beach), a rookie of the year title (highly possible), the Mario Andretti road course championship trophy (if he can get past his old buddy Will), and maybe even contend for the overall title (as of right now, it’s looking like a big possibility).