Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
The cast: Race engineer – Allen McDonald. Race strategist – Robert Gue. Chief mechanic – Ryan Negron.
Twitter: @mikhailaleshin, @SPMIndyCar
The car: No. 7 Honda, SMP Racing primary sponsorship
The driver: Mikhail Aleshin turned 27 on May 22. … He is the first driver from Russia to compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Resided in Indianapolis during the season. … Recently was married in Russia. … Plays the guitar.
Season finish: Aleshin placed 16th in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings, starting 17 of the 18 races because of a post-qualifying practice crash for the Aug. 30 season finale at Auto Club Speedway.
The gist: Aleshin, who tested a Verizon IndyCar series car on Nov. 18, 2013, was second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. … He is a former Formula Renault 3.5 champion and competed in GP2 among other series in Europe. … After recovering from injuries suffered in the practice crash, Aleshin returned to rehabilitate in Russia. ... He was teammates with Simon Pagenaud. ... His 2015 plans have not been announced.
Season stats: Aleshin recorded a podium at Houston 2 among seven top-10 finishes. The top 10s came in pairs – seventh and seventh (Belle Isle 2, Texas in early June), second and seventh (Houston 2 and Pocono in late June/early July) and eighth and seventh (Milwaukee and Sonoma in August). … Sixth in the second race of the season at Long Beach, after qualifying 20th, opened some eyes. … He led four races and was running at the finish in 12 of the 17 he competed. … He qualified three times in the top 10, including eighth for the Auto Club Speedway race he wasn’t able to start.
Year over year: 2013 did not compete in Verizon IndyCar Series. 2014 best qualifying of second at Houston 2 (14.4 average), best finish of second at Houston 2 (14.2 average).
Video: Team co-owner Sam Schmidt reviews the season
He said it: "I always expect more. I'm never happy. I'm this kind of person. I want to win, and if I win the race, I think I could be still faster. But, at the same time, I understand I just need to work as hard as I can and work as hard as I can outside of the car and the track.”
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