I discover myself deeply in love with motor racing about 90 p.c of the time. The opposite 10 p.c is spent in a state of hate with some facet of the game that’s both dumb or merciless, and it’s right here the place I’ve been struggling to stave off these sentiments every time I consider Simon Pagenaud and the painful actuality he’s been coping with because the finish of June.

A couple of month faraway from the scary brake element failure and repeated barrel rolls he endured at Mid-Ohio, the Frenchman’s plight is a reminder of how the time required to make a full restoration from a foul concussion is hazy at finest, and complicated at its worst.

The sheer violence of Pagenaud’s crash was astonishing. However extra so, what stood out was his exceptional potential to climb from the battered automobile and stroll unaided throughout the sand entice at Mid-Ohio’s Flip 4 — on unstable floor — with none obvious indicators of issue.

His interview afterwards with NBC additionally gave no indications of cognitive points, and primarily based on the sleek stroll to the emergency automobile and totally lucid interactions on the published, the complete results of Pagenaud’s concussion went largely undetected within the half-hour that adopted the influence. Any notion that he emerged from the crash unscathed was quickly dispelled as IndyCar’s medical doctors carried out testing that confirmed he was unfit to drive for the rest of the weekend.

At present’s information of Pagenaud’s ongoing absence from the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, which is able to attain six consecutive races after Saturday’s IndyCar race on the IMS street course, attracts a bolder line beneath the unpredictable nature of mind accidents. There’s no reply to when the lingering results of a concussion will subside and permit for a return to the cockpit.

It additionally raises the uncomfortable query of whether or not he’ll be capable to resume his profession earlier than the championship concludes on September 10.

There are simply over 30 days left within the season, and for his sake as a free agent, Pagenaud is dealing with a heart-wrenching urgency to exhibit he’s at full power and able to delivering nice outcomes to safe a brand new contract to remain in IndyCar.

There have been few hints of the complete implications of Pagenaud’s Mid-Ohio crash when he first emerged from the automobile. Travis Hinkle/Motorsport Pictures

With out the required clearance from IndyCar’s medical workers to get again to work, he’s in a scenario that’s turning into extra precarious because the clock winds down and the alternatives to drive are surrendered to time. Pagenaud could have the August 27 oval race at World Extensive Expertise Raceway, the street course at Portland on Sept. 3, and Laguna Seca circuit on the ten^th because the final probabilities to compete earlier than the offseason arrives and almost 5 months of inactivity ensues.

My sympathy for Pagenaud is immense. As a former champion and Indy 500 winner, his acquisition by MSR was an enormous factor for the workforce because it went into 2022 with Helio Castroneves as his teammate. And regardless of just a few shiny spots alongside the way in which, 2023 – the second yr of their two-year contract – was stuffed with disappointment previous to the crash.

The sympathy from his workforce can be a robust factor, and as Mike Shank advised me after Linus Lundqvist made a robust case to be given the keys to the No. 60 for the remainder of the season, they aren’t speeding to maneuver on from Pagenaud.

“We’re simply not these individuals,” he stated. “We’re not going to let Simon out of our lives as a result of a component failed on our automobile. That’s heavy for me. So we need to see him get higher, on his time.”

The place the issue for Shank, fellow co-owner Jim Meyer, and Pagenaud is discovered is within the want for MSR to boost its sport in 2024.

The workforce arrived at Mid-Ohio with Castroneves sitting 20^th within the championship and Pagenaud in 24^th, which is miles under expectation. And whereas MSR’s drivers on no account shoulder all of the blame for the workforce’s poor type, the Ohio-based outfit should enhance if it needs to maintain its companions and sponsors totally invested in this system.

Going ahead is the one acceptable consequence subsequent yr, and having the ability to proceed operating with Pagenaud over the past three races would give MSR an opportunity to make an knowledgeable choice on whether or not he’s prepared to guide the workforce in that course of. With out that probability, MSR will want our sympathy as effectively.

“We’ve a really delicate stability we’re coping with, as a result of we’ve additionally received 45 folks that work right here full-time and we now have to start out determining our Plan A and Plan B and what our future might appear like,” Shank stated. “It doesn’t really feel so good for anybody; not understanding what that can be. I can inform you that we’ve made no choice on that but, and we’re actually taking it week by week with Simon.”