By INDYCAR
INDIANAPOLIS — This is the 10th of a 12-part series of comprehensive team previews as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES prepares for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg set for March 13-15 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
The preview series features each of the full-time teams as well as teams running a partial schedule that includes the season-opening race. Today’s featured organization: Meyer Shank Racing.
Coming Wednesday: Team Penske.
The season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network on Sunday, March 15. The pre-race show begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with the green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Starting Lineup: Jack Harvey (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda).
2019 Recap: The team increased its season schedule to 10 races last season after competing in a partial, six-race season in 2018. The highlight of 2019 was Harvey’s and Meyer Shank Racing’s first-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES podium at the INDYCAR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after starting third. Harvey’s second-best qualifying effort in 2019 was at Portland International Raceway, starting fourth; he also finished 10th in three other races.
What’s New for 2020: Meyer Shank Racing will embark on its first full season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition in 2020 and a technical partnership with Andretti Technologies. The Ohio-based team will be competing full time in both the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as well as returning to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to defends its 2019 championship title. The growth of MSR also means that both the INDYCAR and sports car programs will have their own personnel; only team owner Michael Shank and team manager Jason Givens will cross over between both race series.
Keep An Eye On This: One thing will be how quickly MSR adapts to several new changes, including working alongside the Andretti Technologies program. Racing full time will allow for the team to get up to speed quicker with more track time than the team was used to in the past. It also will be the first time that MSR and Harvey compete at several of the oval circuits on the schedule.
Season Outlook: Harvey has every reason to be excited about his first full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The team has stuck to its growth plan and improved results have come. Interestingly, Harvey has competed in 19 series races but has yet to drive at four of the oval tracks on the 2020 schedule (Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway).
“A Different Breed” Notable: Harvey is one of only seven drivers to have won on the oval and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, accomplishing that in Indy Lights in 2015. Harvey took home six wins in his two years racing in Indy Lights, finishing runner up in the championship in both 2014 and 2015.
Owner’s Take: “We’re all eager to get the season off to a strong start and welcome back our two primary sponsors, AutoNation and SiriusXM. We had a promising test at COTA last month and we are headed in the right direction. We’ve got a multi-year program in place and have expanded to a full season, so our expectations continue to rise. We will have some new tracks to learn this year, but I think that Jack has every capability to produce some really strong results this season as we showed last year with a podium at Indy. My guys have put in a lot of work in the offseason to get this car prepared and now we just need to put it on track and show them what we came here to do.” – Michael Shank
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