IndyCar 2021 Preview: Meyer Shank Racing
Photo: Chris Jones/Getty Images for IndyCar
By Michael Eubanks
This is the eighth of a 10-part weekly series of previews of each full-time team slated to compete in the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series. Each preview will give an overview of all drivers currently signed to drive for the team, recap the team’s 2020 results, describe what’s new for the team in 2021 and provide an outlook for the team’s performance this season.
Today’s preview features Meyer Shank Racing. The season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama takes place on April 18.
2021 Drivers (name, car number, all Honda-powered): Jack Harvey - No. 60, Helio Castroneves No. 06 (partial schedule)
2020 recap: After running a partial schedule for the past several seasons, MSR ran the full schedule for the first time in 2020. Harvey finished 15th in the overall point standings, with a best finish of sixth in the second race of the Harvest Grand Prix. Harvey would go on to record five other top 10 finishes in the Covid-19 shortened campaign.
What's new for 2021: Harvey returns for his fifth consecutive season, while the team fields a second entry — albeit a part-time effort — for the first time in its history. Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves joins the team for six races after spending two decades with Team Penske.
Season Outlook: With its first full season in the books, MSR now has an opportunity to build upon the foundation it built last year and continue to grow as a team. Over the offseason, the team announced a partnership with Liberty Media (which owns Formula One and the Atlanta Braves, among other properties), which now owns a minority share in the team. The team also recently broke ground on a new, 45,000 square-foot facility in Pataskala, Ohio. It’s clear spirits are high within the organization, and those good feelings will likely continue to grow with the addition of Castroneves, who despite turning 46 in May, still shows the enthusiasm for IndyCar racing that made him a fan favorite. Although he’ll only run six races this season (Indy 500, Nashville, IMS road course, Portland, Laguna Seca and Long Beach), Castroneves’ years of experience behind the wheel could prove beneficial in providing feedback and mentorship for Harvey, who still looks to win his first race. Of course, for Helio, there still is no race he’d like to win more than Indy. Should he climb the fence at The Brickyard again this May, he’ll join some very exclusive company by becoming only the fourth four-time winner of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Jack Harvey is back for his second full season with MSR (Photo: Chris Jones/Getty Images for IndyCar)
Driver Quotes: “Honestly, everybody at Meyer Shank Racing is doing really well. It's been a really exciting time for Michael (Shank) and Jim (Meyer) and all of us involved over at MSR. New factory, got a new teammate this year which no doubt is going to come up, new co-owners, as well, in Liberty Media. It's just a fantastic time to be a part of this team, and I guess one of the things we're trying to move away from being is the little team that could. We just want to be the team that did.
“Testing has gone really well, and me, Michael and Jim have all chatted about it and I think we all truly believe we are in a good position to have some good success this year. I don't know what that looks like. Obviously, we're going to do our best. There's a few big races we want to win, one of them particularly at the end of May if we can. I think we just want to try and build on the success that we showed last year, didn't necessarily always get, but we qualified really well.
“We identified a few things at the end of last season that we're hoping we have worked on that are going to pay dividends … and we just want to keep building on the things that we've already put into place because I think it's a great team and we're doing some really fantastic things and we just want to keep it going.” - Jack Harvey
Helio Castroneves will compete in six races for MSR this season. (Photo: James Black/Getty Images for IndyCar)
“I have to thank obviously Team Penske to put me in the sports car program because I feel that it was a great experience, and I feel much better as a driver today than actually I was three years ago.
“But you know, even though I was in the sports car program, IndyCar has always been part of my life. I enjoy it very much. I love the sport. I grew up in open-wheel. Basically, as soon as the Acura program was terminated, I said, ‘You know what, let's go back (to IndyCar). Let's go back because I feel that I have unfinished business in the IndyCar world.’ And here we go.
“Having this program, six races, it's a great opportunity to come back and build something unique. Again, Mike and Jim, they are able to build something really spectacular, and I felt this could be a long way, and hopefully that's the goal.
“And again, not only that, but it's coming back to the Indy 500, which obviously everybody knows we're really searching for that number four. Couldn't do it anymore with Team Penske; it would be awesome to do it with Mike and Jim and everyone at Shank Racing.” -Helio Castroneves