Category: Auto Racing

The announcement isn’t a shock; it has been talked about for months. What is a bit of a surprise is that Harvey will drive the number 45 Hy-Vee car. The 30 is still open, although an announcement for that ride could come soon. The official announcement from Rahal is below:

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (October 11, 2021) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Bassingham, England native Jack Harvey, 28, will pilot the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda beginning with the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in a multi-year deal.

Hy-Vee, Inc., an employee-owned supermarket chain that operates more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, has been the primary sponsor of the No. 15 and No. 45 entries for 11 races with the team since 2020, and will expand their program to become a full-season primary sponsor of the No. 45 entry beginning in 2022 in a multi-year agreement. They will also be a team-wide associate sponsor.

Hy-Vee first joined the team as the primary sponsor of Graham Rahal’s entry for Race 2 at the Iowa Speedway in 2020 where he finished third. The company was also the primary sponsor of the team’s entry for Spencer Pigot at the Indy 500 and an associate sponsor of Rahal’s entry for the legendary race. In 2021, they have been a primary sponsor at 9 races: the Indy 500, Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader and Mid-Ohio races with Santino Ferrucci, at Road America and World Wide Technology Raceway with Graham Rahal and at Portland, Laguna Seca and Long Beach with Oliver Askew.

In 2022, Harvey will begin his third full season in INDYCAR. His best start to date is second place in the 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and his best finish is third in the 2019 Indianapolis Grand Prix. In 2021, he earned four top-five starts with a best of second place on the Indianapolis road course and earned six top-10 finishes with his best coming at St. Petersburg and Portland of fourth place.

The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 25-27. The 17-race schedule includes the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 on Saturday, July 23, and the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 on Sunday, July 24 – both at Iowa Speedway. Hy-Vee will provide broad support for the doubleheader event through a wide-ranging partnership that will bring INDYCAR racing back to the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway, located near their headquarters in Des Moines, after a one-year hiatus. For more information about the series or team, visit http://www.indycar.com and http://www.rahal.com.

QUOTEBOARD:

JACK HARVEY, Driver of the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. I’ve been working towards this moment for my entire career and I’m so honored and thankful for the trust Bobby, Mike, David and Piers (Phillips, president) have placed in me. Hy-Vee has massively committed to elevating INDYCAR as a series and I’m honored to be representing their brand on track in the No. 45. I’m eager to get to work with Graham and the entire team. We have common goals of competing for wins and championships, and I’m confident we’ll be contending from the drop of the green flag next year.  This is an exciting next chapter, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.”

RANDY EDEKER, Hy-Vee’s Chairman of the Board, CEO and President: “Our ongoing partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing continues to be a success. Over the past two years, we’ve enjoyed being a part of a sport that continues to see its fan base grow substantially year after year. Now, as we look ahead to the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, we look forward to hosting our own doubleheader event at the Iowa Speedway and seeing the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda take the track in the nationally televised event.”

BOBBY RAHAL, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “I can’t tell you how pleased I am to welcome Jack to our team. I first heard of him during his time in Indy Lights. He has a great record of success over the years in all forms of racing so I’m pleased that he agreed to join our team. He and Graham will work well together and be a strong foundation for our driver lineup that will raise not only the level of each driver individually but of the team as a result. I respect and appreciate his commitment and work ethic to racing on and off the track which is so key. And I also respect the way he deals with people – friendly and respectful. I think we’re going to have a lot of success together and I very much look forward to having him with us.”

MIKE LANIGAN, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “I have heard nothing but good things about Jack and I think he will work well with our driver line up. I think its important that they mesh well together, and I know Graham has a lot of respect for him. He has shown a lot of potential and we’re looking forward to building on that. We welcome him to the team.”

About Hy-Vee, Inc.
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of $11 billion annually. The supermarket chain is synonymous with quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. Hy-Vee ranks in the Top 10 Most Trusted Brands and has been named one of America’s Top 5 favorite grocery stores. The company’s more than 90,000 employees provide “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle” to customers every day. For additional information, visit www.hy-vee.com.

About Jack Harvey
Harvey will begin his third full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2022. The 2021 season marked Harvey’s fifth year of competing with Meyer Shank Racing (MSR). He began his Indy car journey in 2017 with MSR at the Indianapolis 500. The relationship grew into a partial six race season in 2018 which saw Harvey’s best finish of 12th on the streets of Long Beach. In 2019, MSR expanded its IndyCar program to 10 races with Harvey. He got off to a fast start, making his first top-10 finish at the season opener in St. Petersburg. The Brit’s success didn’t end there as he went on to score his first ever IndyCar podium finish during the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course. The 2020 season was Harvey’s first full-season IndyCar campaign and he made two back-to-back front row starts at the INDYCAR Grand Prix and Road America. Despite several instances of bad racing luck, Harvey closed out the season with six top-10 finishes. In 2021, he earned four top-five starts with a best of second place on the IMS road course and he earned six top-10 finishes with his best of fourth place coming at St. Petersburg and Portland.

Prior to joining the INDYCAR SERIES, Harvey was the Indy Lights runner-up in 2014 and 2015, winning six races over the two seasons. He is one of six drivers who have won on the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – winning one of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis races and the Freedom 100 in 2015 while racing in Indy Lights. He has won 10 racing championships in his career, including the 2012 British Formula 3 Championship.

About Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Brownsburg, Ind., is co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. In 2022, the team will move to a purpose-build, 115,000 square foot, state-of-the-art racing headquarters in Zionsville, Indiana and compete in its 31st year of competition. The team will attempt to add to its 29 Indy car wins – including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice and the 2020 Indy 500 with Takuma Sato — their 33 poles, 108 podium finishes and 1992 series championship.  The team also competed in the American Le Mans Series from 2009-2013 as BMW Team RLL where they won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category in 2010 and swept all three GT titles in 2011 – Manufacturer, Team and Driver. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and has brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 93 podium finishes as well as a second-place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017. The team was also the 2020 Michelin Endurance Champions. For 2021, the team is competing for back-to-back Michelin Endurance Championships.