Michael Shank has announced that British driver Jack Harvey will race for his Michael Shank Racing team at six-selected IndyCar races in 2018.
MSR will run a newly bought Honda-powered Dallara DW12 in partnership with the Schmidt-Peterson Motorsport team. Shank also confirmed his plans for the MSR IMSA team, which will run two Acura NSX GT3 cars next season.
Harvey, a former British F3 champion and a two-time Indy Lights runner-up, ran a car leased by MSR at this year’s Indy 500, where they were partnered not with SPM but instead with Andretti Autosport.
The 500 was Harvey’s first-ever IndyCar drive, and although he failed to finish the race, he made two appearances at the final two rounds of the season at Watkins Glen and Sonoma, driving for SPM.
The races that Harvey will appear at in 2018 are yet to be finalised, although the Indy 500 is planned, as are the races at St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Sonoma. Shank did reveal, however, that the car will carry sponsorship from SiriusXM and AutoNation.
“It all started running Jack at the speedway with Andretti, actually,” he said.
“That’s where we met and started building a relationship, not only with Jack but with AutoNation and SiriusXM. We found out that we have a lot of common things and a lot of long-term goals.”
Harvey affirmed his happiness at having the opportunity to drive with MSR.
“I had a very positive experience racing for Mike Shank in the Indianapolis 500, and it was great to build on that with SPM in the last two races of the year,” he revealed.
“Now to be racing for Mike and to also have the support of SPM for this program, it is the best of both worlds for me. I want to do as well as we possibly can for AutoNation and SiriusXM, and I cannot wait for St. Pete to get here.
“I believe in him, I believe in his vision. He fills me with confidence. I’m looking forward to going racing for him.”
