The team made a joint entry with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2009 Indianapolis 500, piloted by Alex Lloyd. The arrangement with Chip Ganassi continued in 2010 for the Indy 500 with Townsend Bell driving. For 2011, SSM purchased the assets of FAZZT Race Team, retaining some the personnel and all sponsors, including Alex Tagliani. Townsend Bell, Jay Howard, and Wade Cunningham also drove for SSM in the 2011 IndyCar Series season. Chris Griffis, the team manager for Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Indy Lights team, died on September 12, 2011. He was 46. Just over a month later, at the 2011 season finale, Dan Wheldon died after he was involved in a 15-car wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Wheldon was driving the No. 77 in a joint deal between SSM and Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2012 SSM fielded a car for Frenchman Simon Pagenaud for the full season backed by Hewlett-Packard. Davey Hamilton joined Schmidt to field the number 77 car. Pagenaud went on to win the IZOD IndyCar Rookie of the Year Award. Pagenaud would score four podiums that year, while Bell returned for the Indianapolis 500" finishing 9th. In 2013, Pagenaud would be teamed with another Frenchman, Tristan Vautier, for the season. Schmidt would also bring on another investor, former Champ Car Atlantic owner Ric Peterson. While Vautier had a best finish of 10th, Pagenaud would score two wins for Schmidt at Detroit Round 2 and Baltimore, finishing third in points. Vautier was released at the end of 2013 and replaced by Russian driver Mikhail Aleshin. Pagenaud would go on to win the inaugural GP of Indianapolis and finish 5th in points. Aleshin would carry multiple top-10 finishes with a best finish of second at Houston round 2. However, a crash at Fontana ruled him out of the finale, and visa restrictions forced Aleshin to sit out 2015. Pagenaud would leave for Team Penske, with SPM taking on James Hinchcliffe and James Jakes. While the team would have a 1-3 finish at 2015 Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana with Hinchcliffe winning, the season would come undone at Indianapolis. During qualifying. Hinchcliffe crashed hard in turns 1-2 and was airlifted to a hospital. Eventually forced out due to his injuries, Ryan Briscoe and Conor Daly (who drove a No. 43 car at the Indy 500) shared the car for the remainder of the year.