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Jack Harvey will drive the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) beginning with the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in a multi-year deal, team officials announced today.
Harvey, 28, from Bassingham, England, will begin his third full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2022. His best start is second, three times, and his best finish is third in the 2019 Indianapolis Grand Prix. In 2021, he earned four top-five starts and six top-10 finishes, with his best finish of fourth coming at St. Petersburg and Portland.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” Harvey said. “I’ve been working toward this moment for my entire career, and I’m so honored and thankful for the trust Bobby (Rahal), Mike (Lanigan), David (Letterman) 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 (Rahal) 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.”
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.
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to welcome Jack to our team,” team co-owner Bobby Rahal said. “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.”
Said team co-owner Mike Lanigan: “I have heard nothing but good things about Jack, and I think he will work well with our driver lineup. I think it’s 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.”
The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Feb. 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 .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 www.indycar.com and www.rahal.com.
“Our ongoing partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing continues to be a success,” said Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee chairman of the board, CEO and president. “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.”