Harvey moves on to pole day for the 2018 Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis, Ind. (18 May 2018) – On a pressure-packed day that saw multiple stoppages for weather and the return of bumping to Indianapolis 500 qualifying, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) emerged from a long Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to claim a position in the 2018 Indianapolis 500. MSR driver Jack Harvey in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda posted a four-lap average of 225.720-mph in his second qualifying attempt to earn a grid spot for the Memorial Day classic.
The pressure was on, but the Meyer Shank Racing crew responded to the challenge with Harvey also coming through at the clutch time. Team partner Jim Meyer drew for Saturday’s qualifying order with Harvey set to go out third in the order.
Harvey posted an initial four lap average speed of 225.233-mph. Looking to improve on that speed, the team headed back to the garage to continue to adjust the car for the changing conditions and to prepare for the second qualifying attempt later in the afternoon.
Two heavy rain showers soaked the track which caused significant rain delays and narrowing the window for a second qualifying attempt. The skies parted and the sun showed enough to dry the track for the last hour of qualifying activities. Right on cue, Harvey delivered a strong second qualifying run to insure the car would not be bumped from the field with an average speed of 225.720-mph – 27th quickest lap of the 33 car field.
Harvey and Meyer Shank Racing will now move onto pole day to set the official grid for the Indianapolis 500 on May 27th.
“We felt really close to the bubble because of our disappointing first run,” said Harvey of his first qualifying attempt. “I have been sweating it all day. It was tight until the checkered flag dropped. The second run was a much better run than the first. Meyer Shank Racing has done a great job the whole month. What’s been confusing at times is that we don’t know exactly where the speed is, but everyone at Meyer Shank Racing has done a great job at figuring it out for me. We know what we need to do and then we would execute it. The guys are putting the hours in, so we will just keep trying heading into pole day tomorrow.”
Pole Day will kick off with a morning practice session at 12:00 p.m. ET with Qualifying beginning at 2:45 p.m. ET.