Shank to run Harvey in 6 IndyCar races

Jack Harvey

Michael Shank Racing will run Jack Harvey in six Verizon IndyCar races in 2018.

The announcement, made Friday at the PRI Trade Show in the Indiana Convention Center, is the latest step for Shank as he continues to build towards a full-time Verizon IndyCar Series program.

"It’s a big step for my team. We’ve been trying to do it for a long, long time," said team owner Michael Shank."We felt it was the right time, the right situation, everything was kind of lining up to do it the right way.

"We’ve been in business for 23 years racing cars solely for a living and we’ve taken conservative steps every step of the way. We saw this as a shot to be competitive, not over reach out budget and try to build something over the next two years."

The car, which will carry sponsorship from SiriusXM and AutoNation, will also have technical support from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Shank said Friday the team recently acquired a new chassis, which will be assembled at the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before being handed off to MSR.

"I’m good with taking small steps. It’s that conservative side that has served us well," Shank said."It has gotten us a lot of wins and poles and things in sports cars. We have a lot to prove in IndyCar though. We have the right people in place already, equipment is ordered and the technical alliance has started to work, so we’ll see."

Michael Shank

Shank said three races are confirmed with more to follow. The team will run St. Petersburg, Fla., Long Beach, Calif., and then the Indianapolis 500. Three additional races will be announced at a later date.

Curb Records, CAP and Associates, Rocky Fork Co. and Roberts Service Group will also serve as sponsors for the Verizon IndyCar Series program.

"I’m extremely lucky with AutoNation and SiriusXM that they have stuck with me this year and this relationship is growing and building," Harvey said."It’s a multi-year agreement with the two teams I raced with last year.

"I like Michael a lot as person," Harvey continued."He’s been extremely successful in everything that he has done. I know Sam so well because he brought me from Europe to North America in the first place. This is a great collaboration of people."