Indianapolis, Ind. (15 May 2021) – All signs were pointing towards Jack Harvey racing to a podium return and potentially a breakthrough INDYCAR Series victory with Meyer Shank Racing on Sunday during the GMR Grand Prix, but a flat tire on lap 38 ended all hopes of him scoring his best career INDYCAR finish.
The start of the 85-lap race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course saw Harvey take aggressive action in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda to secure second place at the start through a frantic Turn One.
As one of the only cars in the top 10 to start on Firestone primary tires, Harvey quickly established a strong race pace as he grew his advantage on the pursing field. The team’s tire strategy was looking to play out perfectly for Harvey who kept the leader within sight through the first two pit cycles.
But all hopes of what could have been an INDYCAR victory started to deteriorate on lap 36 following Harvey’s second stop. After an issue with the wheel gun during the stop, Harvey returned on track looking to make up ground. But the setback was compounded significantly when the tire lost pressure and Harvey was forced to make a slow lap back to the pits for a replacement.
Unfortunately, Harvey returned on track a lap down but was still focused on the task ahead and to collect championship points.
After 85-laps of racing Harvey took the checkered 23rd.
“We had a really great start and held P2 for a decent bit there,” said Harvey. “The strategy was just great and we had a five second lead on the guy that ended up winning the race. But on that second pit stop we had a wheel gun fail. We talk about it week in and week out, that we do this all as a team, and that’s easy to say when you’re having a good weekend. This is when it matter now, for us all to come together and to reset. The next one is always the important one, whether its Indy or Detroit, we’ll be ready.”
MSR will have a quick break before resetting to oval action next week as practice begins for the Indianapolis 500 which will see the team’s two-car entry of Harvey and Helio Castroneves turn their first official laps in preparation for the 500.
