“He’s done a good job and I sat down with he and Pabst and told them I’d commit to continue through the end of the season, so we’re in good shape,” Penske said to RACER yesterday.
“We’ve got a plan, and if he gets to where we’d like him to get to, there could be an option for next year. So we’re on it, for sure.”
21-year-old Rowe became first black person to win an IndyCar-sanctioned event in the USF2000 series last year, driving for the Penske-funded Force Indy team under its ‘Race for Equality and Change’ programme.
He was then dropped as the team moved up to the Indy Lights series, forcing Rowe to compete this year with Pabst on a race by race basis with his crowdfunded budget.
“It was less pressure and more just stressful – you know how racing is, it can go any way,” he told Motor Sport on the strains of racing this way last week. “Every session is like: “I just need to get through this.’
“It sucks – weekend to weekend, you know your career could be done.”