BRITISH RACING DRIVER JACK HARVEY SECURES P17 AT SONOMA GRAND PRIX
18th September 2018
In the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season finale at Sonoma Raceway, British Racing driver Jack Harvey claimed a 17th place finish in his Meyer Shank Racing with SPM No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda.
Sonoma marked the sixth outing for Harvey this year, competing in a partial season with Meyer Shank Racing.
Qualifying on Saturday was another highly competitive session. Harvey was aiming to build on the strong momentum from his last race two weeks ago at Portland International Raceway, where he was regularly running in the top five throughout the whole weekend.
With one lap of the qualifying session remaining, Harvey pitted for a fresh set of Firestone reds and recorded his fastest lap of the weekend with a lap that initially was enough to move into the fast 12. However, track conditions continued to improve and he missed out on the chance to transfer forward by just two tenths of a second. Harvey’s 1:18.589-second lap time saw him secure P16 for Sunday’s race.
“Our qualifying run was probably representative of where we were in practice,” said Harvey. “The competition is so high when you get to this level. The guys are working really hard, and continue to engineer the car well for me but we just haven’t quite stumbled upon that perfect combination just yet. As always, we are working as hard as we can to put our car up front.”
Lining up on the grid on the eighth row, Harvey made a good start and fought off advances from the rest of the field until his first pit stop on lap 36. In a race with just one full course caution, Jack pushed hard throughout and put in a solid performance to maintain position. After three near-perfect pit stops and 85 laps of hard-fought running, Harvey crossed the finish line in P17.
“Overall, we had a lot of great moments in the year, but I don’t think we ever got the result that fully matched the potential that we had, or that the team deserved. However, I’m optimistic and hopeful that next year we will do more races and have more opportunities to get a better result,” said Harvey. “I really have to thank everyone from Meyer Shank Racing and SPM for all their hard work all season. I also want to thank AutoNation and SiriusXM for their backing to enable us to go racing. And finally, I want to say a big thank you to everyone back home in the UK for their continued support – it means a lot to me!”
“This year has been a whirlwind,” said Team Principal Mike Shank. “I think we came into it with realistic expectations and I think that helped us a lot. Obviously when we come to these races we want results. We want to get results for the team and of course for AutoNation and SiriusXM, who without them, we wouldn’t be here. This year has been a great stepping stone and we are aiming to do more IndyCar races next year. I can’t say enough about Jack and what he has done for us this year. We have all been learning together and now that we got the first season out of the way we can aim to get stronger and stronger for next year.”
About Jack Harvey:
Originally from Bassingham, Linconshire, Jack Harvey is competing in select rounds of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series for Meyer Shank Racing with SPM. An IndyCar Rookie in 2017, Harvey raced in the 101st Indianapolis 500, the Grand Prix at the Glen at Watkins Glen International, and the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma held at Sonoma Raceway.
Prior to IndyCar, Harvey posted six (6) wins and eighteen (18) podium finishes in Indy Lights, placing second place overall in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, narrowly missing Indy Lights Championships by the slimmest of margins. Racing from as early as he can recall, Harvey has previously competed in GP3, British F3, Formula BMW Europe, with his early race years spend in karting. Winning at every level of competition, Jack Harvey captured the 2012 British International F3 Series Champion, the 2010 Formula BMW Europe Vice Championship, and won Karting Championships, including the Junior British Champion, the Junior European Champion, and the Asian Pacific Champion. Additionally, in 2010, Harvey was nominated for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
Harvey trains and makes his offseason home in Carmel, Indiana.
About Cometic Gasket, Inc
Cometic Gasket, Inc., is a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the Automotive Performance, Powersports, Original Equipment and Remanufactured Engine Industries. Housed in a 70,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing center in Concord Township, Ohio, Cometic Gasket has maintained its deep roots in the performance industry while expanding to service the Domestic Automotive, Sport Compact, V-twin, Marine, Diesel, Agricultural, Industrial and Stationary Power markets. Today, Cometic Gasket offers over 85,000 SKUs, shipping gaskets and engine sealing solutions across the globe. For more information about Cometic, visit www.cometic.com.
About Meyer Shank Racing:
After making a mark for himself as a professional racing driver, team owner Mike Shank first started Michael Shank Racing in the Champ Car Toyota Atlantic Championship, flourishing with the likes of Kenny Wilden, Sam Hornish Jr., and Johnny Rutherford before switching the team into a new direction and into the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004.
Michael Shank Racing led the first race that they entered and finished on the podium in the second race of the team’s history. 2016 marked the teams 250th Prototype start where the team saw victory at the season finale event – the Petit Le Mans.
With a new era in 2017, MSR moved out of Prototype competition and into the GT ranks and served as a factory team for the inaugural year with the Acura NSX GT3. The team earned success after collecting two wins in the car’s first season of competition in 2017. The same year also marked the first time Michael Shank Racing entered the famed Indianapolis 500 with Rookie driver Jack Harvey, impressing the field after overcoming several setbacks.
The 2018 season saw Michael Shank Racing return to IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship competition as a customer racing team, returning with two Acura NSX GT3. The team also made the move to enter the Verizon IndyCar Series with a select schedule of events with driver Jack Harvey piloting the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda. Jim Meyer also entered the Michael Shank Racing family in 2018, serving as new co-owner alongside Mike Shank as the team was rebranded as Meyer Shank Racing.
About Schmidt Peterson Motorsports:
Established in 2001 and owned by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt and Canadian businessman Ric Peterson, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) currently competes in the Verizon IndyCar Series. With a storied history in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series with over 70 wins, over 70 pole positions and seven championship wins, the Indianapolis-based team has also found success in IndyCar with six wins, two Indianapolis 500 pole positions and five poles claimed overall, as well as three top-five finishes in the championship points standings. For more information, please visit spmindycar.com.
About MBK Sports:
MBK Sports (MBK) is a full-service sports agency dedicated to the growth and fulfilment of its clients’ careers and potential, both on and off the field, in the short and long-term. Founded by long-time NFL agent and attorney Eugene T. Lee in 2015, and with offices in New York City, Indianapolis and Los Angeles, MBK’s far-reaching footprint is impacting lives nationwide through a foundation of faith and a dynamic combination of diligence, experience, integrity and industry expertise.
About AutoNation, Inc.:
AutoNation, America’s largest automotive retailer, through its bold leadership, innovation and its comprehensive brand extensions, is transforming the automotive industry. As of September 30, 2017, AutoNation owned and operated 361 new vehicle franchises from coast to coast. AutoNation has sold over 11 million vehicles, the first automotive retailer to reach this milestone. AutoNation’s success is driven by a commitment to delivering a peerless experience through customer-focused sales and service processes. Through its Drive Pink initiative, AutoNation is committed to drive out cancer, create awareness and support critical research. AutoNation continues to be a proud supporter of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and other cancer-related charities.
About SiriusXM:
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the world’s largest radio company measured by revenue and has approximately 32.2 million subscribers. SiriusXM creates and offers commercial-free music; premier sports talk and live events; comedy; news; exclusive talk and entertainment, and a wide-range of Latin music, sports and talk programming. SiriusXM is available in vehicles from every major car company and on smartphones and other connected devices as well as online at siriusxm.com. SiriusXM radios and accessories are available from retailers nationwide and online at SiriusXM. SiriusXM also provides premium traffic, weather, data and information services for subscribers through SiriusXM Traffic™, SiriusXM Travel Link, NavTraffic®, NavWeather™. SiriusXM delivers weather, data and information services to aircraft and boats through SiriusXM Aviation™ and SiriusXM Marine™. In addition, SiriusXM Music for Business provides commercial-free music to a variety of businesses. SiriusXM holds a minority interest in SiriusXM Canada which has approximately 2.8 million subscribers. SiriusXM is also a leading provider of connected vehicles services, giving customers access to a suite of safety, security, and convenience services including automatic crash notification, stolen vehicle recovery assistance, enhanced roadside assistance and turn-by-turn navigation.
