IndyCar: Jack Harvey to drive for Meyer Shank Racing in 2020

Jack Harvey is set to compete full-time in the 2020 IndyCar season driving for Meyer Shank Racing, which previously fielded one part-time entry.

After spending three seasons driving part-time in IndyCar, Jack Harvey is set to become a full-time driver for the first time in his career next year. He is set to drive the #60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing.

Meyer Shank Racing have fielded this #60 Honda as a part-time entry for the 26-year-old Harvey in each of the last two seasons after partnering with Andretti Autosport to field an entry for him in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 2020 season is set to be their first season as a full-time team as well, and they are set to field the #60 Honda with a technical alliance with Andretti Autosport.

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In the 2018 and 2019 seasons when they fielded the #60 Honda in six races and 10 races, respectively, they had a technical alliance with the Honda-powered Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team.

But Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports recently formed a partnership with McLaren to become Arrow McLaren Racing SP, and they switched to Chevrolet engines. However, team co-owner Michael Shank wanted to remain with Honda, so that is what they are slated to do with this new technical alliance.

Here is what Harvey had to say about this opportunity to drive full-time for the first time in his career next year, according to IndyCar.

"“This is the moment that we all work so extremely hard for. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to go racing with Meyer Shank Racing, AutoNation and SiriusXM full time. We have shown we can be competitive, and I can’t wait to build on that and get started on another multi-year program with this group.“This is the first time in four years I’ll be competing full time, I owe that to Michael (Shank), Jim (Meyer), Marc (Cannon), my manager Bob (Perona) and my family for the support and belief. I’ve never been so excited to go racing.”"

Harvey also confirmed that this is a two-year deal that runs through the 2021 season.

Here is what team co-owner Jim Meyer had to say.

"“It’s great that we are able to officially announce our full season effort for the 2020 INDYCAR season. This team and Mike (Shank) have worked very hard over the last two INDYCAR seasons to put us in a position where we can come back full time. It’s also exciting to have both SiriusXM and AutoNation return on board the No. 60; both have been outstanding parties to work with.”"

Here is what Shank had to add.

"“These last two years we have been taking the season in stride and really learning how to build our program to the point where we can run all 17 races. This year has been great and Jack has produced some spectacular results for us and we, as a team, are proud to have him back next year. And of course, all of this would not be possible without AutoNation and SiriusXM who have worked side by side with us from the very beginning and they are a big factor in getting our program to where it is right now.“Of course sticking by Honda was a very important decision to me. We have stood by HPD and Honda for many years in both the sports car and INDYCAR paddocks and to be able to continue to work with them in 2020 is something I am really grateful for.”"

Harvey has competed in 19 races over the course of his IndyCar career, and he has recorded four top 10 finishes, all in the 2019 season. He finished in a career-high third place in the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The Indy 500, in which he has competed three times, is the only oval race in which Harvey has competed. He finished in a career-high 16th place in the race in 2018 after running in the top two late but needing to pit for fuel with just over four laps remaining.

The 2020 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 15 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. How will Jack Harvey fare in his first full 17-race season in America’s premier open-wheel racing series?