Jack Harvey, who made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut at this year’s Indianapolis 500, has been named by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to drive the team’s No. 7 Honda in the final two races of the 2017 season.
Harvey, a native of Lincolnshire, England, will compete in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen on Sept. 3 and the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sept. 17 with sponsorship from AutoNation and Sirius XM. It marks a reunion of driver and team since Harvey twice finished runner-up in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires while racing for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, collecting six wins and 18 podium finishes in the top level of the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder.
“It’s obviously a really exciting time for me and I’m really pleased to rejoin everyone here at SPM,” Harvey said. “We had a lot of success together in Indy Lights and I’m excited to be back with so many familiar faces.”
Harvey finished 31st in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil in May while driving for Michael Shank Racing with Andretti Autosport. He’ll be making his first Verizon IndyCar Series starts on permanent road courses at Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway.
“I’m really looking forward to getting on track at Watkins Glen and, although I haven’t driven there, it’s definitely been a bucket list track and one that I’ve been looking forward to driving on even before I came to America,” Harvey said. “I’m really excited to continue this journey with AutoNation and Sirius XM – I wouldn’t be racing this season without them. I can’t thank them enough for their continued support and I hope to be able to bring home two solid results for the end of the year.”
While Harvey has not driven an Indy car on a race weekend for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, he did test for the team last year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and caught the attention of the team’s general manager, Piers Phillips.
“Jack’s done a great job for the team throughout his Indy Lights career, and we have been looking at ways of incorporating him into our INDYCAR program, so it’s been wonderful to see it come to fruition,” Phillips said. “We look forward to finishing out the year with he and James (Hinchcliffe, driver of the team’s No. 5 Honda) and hopefully with some results up front.”
Sebastian Saavedra, who has driven the No. 7 Honda in two races this season, including Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 where he finished 21st, will drive the car again in this Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline before turning over the wheel to Harvey.