Harvey to Start Fourth at Portland Grand Prix

Portland, Ore. (31 August 2019) – The improvements of Meyer Shank Racing’s (MSR) IndyCar program continue to show results, as Jack Harvey took the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda to the second row in qualifying after posting the fourth fastest time of 58.100-seconds at Portland International Raceway on Saturday.

Racing a select schedule of IndyCar events in 2019, the return to Portland marks the second race visit to the track for MSR and Harvey who used lessons learned from last year to start off the Portland Grand Prix race weekend on the right foot. 

The growth of the MSR IndyCar program has seen continued improvement, and the Portland weekend has proven no different. With a track that clocks in lap times at just under one minute long, the 23 car IndyCar field showed just how close the competition is. Heading into qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the top 11 were separated by just a half of a second. 

Harvey and the MSR squad built speed with the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda from Friday’s practice day, concluding the final practice session seventh quickest. Posting his best 2018 qualifying run at Portland International Raceway, Harvey was aiming to build on that experience on Saturday.

Quick initial pace saw Harvey fifth quickest and improving into the Top 12 qualifying group. In just his second-ever appearance in the Firestone Fast Six (previously qualifying third at the INDYCAR Grand Prix), Harvey continued to show pace in the intense final qualifying to set the grid for Sunday’s race.

Harvey nearly matched his best qualifying run of the season and held third until the final lap, where his 58.100-second lap placed him fourth on the grid for the Portland Grand Prix. 

“We are a part time team, so to get into the Firestone Fast Six, it’s a really great accomplishment for everyone at Meyer Shank Racing,” said Harvey. “We have learned some really great things this weekend and we have progressed really well and the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM car has been fast. We had a good race brewing here last year, but a yellow flag hurt us. We put ourselves in a good position to try to replicate last year’s race. I’m proud of what this team has achieved and hopefully we can finish a couple of spots better tomorrow and end up on the podium.”

“Jack did a phenomenal job today,” said Mike Shank. “He did everything that we had talked about leading up to qualifying and I couldn’t be more proud. These results are what drives us. We came into the season with some goals, and as a team we are continuing to exceed those goals. We are feeling really good heading into the race tomorrow.”

The Portland Grand Prix will be broadcast live on NBC on Sunday starting at 3:00pm ET. Live race coverage will also be played on SiriusXM Ch. 205.