They haven’t played a gig together since they won Motul Petit Le Mans in October 2023, but Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun are ready to rock again.
“We’re bringing the band back together, so to speak,” Blomqvist said as he and Braun prepare to reunite with Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. “Coming into this year, we know how to maximize the package and work together as drivers. All those little, small things will help us tremendously.”
After a year away from IMSA’s top level, Meyer Shank Racing returns with a two-car, Acura-backed effort in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. Blomqvist and Braun will co-drive the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, while Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly will co-drive the team’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06.
For Blomqvist and Braun, familiarity is essential to the story. In 2023, they won three races and finished third in the final driver standings.
“I feel like we have a very similar style and want the same thing out of the car – that was crucial to the success we had together in 2023,” Braun said. “That’s the professional side. On the personal side, we’ve become really good friends and hang out quite a bit and obviously stayed close and in touch throughout 2024. Having that confidence and knowing what you expect and knowing the subtle nuances of small things just makes it a stress-free buildup to 2025.”
The confidence of familiarity comes from similar experiences. Born on different continents six years apart, their racing exploits are extensive and diverse – and very much alike.
Blomqvist’s dad, Stig, was the World Rally Championship driver champion in 1984. Braun’s dad, Jeff, is a veteran racing engineer with an extensive resume in IMSA and IndyCar racing. The sons began racing early and advanced quickly.
At just 15, Tom Blomqvist was racing – and winning – in Formula Renault UK. He worked his way to Formula 3, then Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, then Formula E. In 2022, he teamed with Oliver Jarvis to win the WeatherTech Championship’s Daytona Prototype international (DPi) championship with Meyer Shank. Included were victories at Daytona and Petit Le Mans.
At 17, Colin Braun was the youngest driver to compete in the prototype class in the Rolex 24. His career included stints in NASCAR, including the Craftsman Truck Series rookie of the year award in 2008, and a lengthy run in sports cars that covers more than 150 races and three driver championships.
Blomqvist and Braun concluded the 2023 season by teaming with Helio Castroneves to win Petit Le Mans, adding to wins that season at Daytona (with Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud) and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
“We had some really good results in ‘23,” Blomqvist said. “During that year, you start to learn so much about one another – what they want, not only from the car, but about their strengths and weaknesses. We were able to help each other in that.”
Their season away from full-time IMSA work in 2024 also looked similar. Both competed in the IndyCar series – Blomqvist in five races for Meyer Shank, Braun in one race for Dale Coyne Racing. Both drivers also competed part time in the WeatherTech Championship – Blomqvist in the five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races with the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, Braun in four races in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class.
“This year was a bit of a strange season for both of us,” Braun said. “We were in touch through both of our IndyCar programs, bouncing ideas off each other. With him doing the endurance rounds, I’d see him at the IMSA races. As this program has kicked up, I’d say we text and are in contact every day. We’re friends, but on the professional side, we’re getting ready and ramped up. There are a lot of things to discuss and push forward on.”
The ability to compromise – to find the common ground about their approach to the car and the race – is their shared secret weapon.
“We’ve done it for long enough that the egos are put aside,” Blomqvist said. “That’s kind of what endurance racing typically is all about. There’s always a tiny bit of compromise in there somewhere. You’ve got to be OK with that while maximizing it. It’s rare in a way, but it’s also a testament to Colin’s personality and how he is as a person. We’re both quite chill, and I think that helps.”
With an IMSA-sanctioned test looming this week at Daytona International Speedway and the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test kicking off the 2025 season little more than two months away, the band is ready for its reunion.
“If I could’ve picked the co-driver, the manufacturer and the team, I don’t know that I could have put it together any better than it came back together,” Braun said. “I’m super excited and ready to get back to work and pick up right where we left off in ‘23.”
IMSA Wire Service PR
-
-
-
-
-
