Marks third career front row start for Harvey and Meyer Shank Racing
St. Petersburg, Fla. (24 April 2021) – With a strong record of pace and performance in St. Petersburg, Jack Harvey and Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) entered the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race weekend with optimism. Qualifying on the front row for the third time in his INDYCAR career, Harvey once again demonstrated that he should be considered a top contender for Sunday’s 100 lap main event (12:00pm ET, NBC/SiriusXM Ch. 205).
Harvey made his St. Pete debut in 2018, broke into the Fast 12 for the first time during his 2019 run at the track, and was on the way to a top five finish in 2020 until he was taken out by a competitor reentering the track. Now coming back with four years of INDYCAR competition under his belt, Harvey is aiming to capture his first victory.
The first practice of the weekend got off to an unusually slow start for MSR, with Harvey clocking in the 15th fastest time on Friday. But hard work overnight by the crew put Harvey back in the top running order during practice two where he finished third fastest.
That momentum was translated into qualifying which saw Harvey make his eleventh appearance in the Firestone Fast Six. Harvey held the provisional pole with seconds to go, but ended the session with a second place starting position after posting a 1:00.570-second lap. The front row start marks the third career second place qualifying run from Harvey (Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2020), Road America (2020), St. Petersburg (2021)).
“There was a lot of work put in overnight and I trust everyone on the No. 60 crew, they’ve done a really great job all year,” said Harvey. “We felt confident coming into this weekend because of how it traditionally has gone for us in the past. The No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda was really looking strong. I’m really looking forward to sharing the front row with our pseudo teammate, Colton. I just want to have a good start to the race and then we will go from there.”
It is also a special weekend for MSR as its co-primary sponsor, AutoNation celebrates its 25th anniversary. Harvey celebrated AutoNation’s achievement with a new helmet design to give thanks to the Fort-Lauderdale based company. After qualifying on Saturday Harvey gifted the helmet to the AutoNation Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Marc Cannon.
“It’s a good weekend to have a good weekend,” said Harvey. “I wanted to do something to say ‘thanks’ to everyone at AutoNation. They have done so much for me over the years, so it was the least that I could do to congratulate them on 25 years.”
“I’m really proud of Jack,” said Mike Shank. “He did an incredible job today and it was great to get a front row start on the weekend that we’re celebrating AutoNation’s 25th anniversary. We had a few tweaks to make after Friday practice, but once we got the car balanced out, Jack was untouchable. It of course would have been nice to get the pole, but starting on the front row is a great place to be and we’ll try to get it done tomorrow.”
Coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will begin at 12:00pm ET on Sunday on NBC. IndyCar Radio will also have live coverage on SiriusXM Ch. 205.
