Harvey's promising Indy GP fades with disastrous pit stop

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads...0&h=600&crop=1 Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Robin Miller | May 15, 2021 6:25 PM

He made a great start on his favorite track and was holding down second despite being on the harder black tires for the first stint. Not only did it look like another podium at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday for Jack Harvey, but that first victory certainly seemed possible. Then he got gunned down by a mechanical gremlin that ruined his day.
So, instead of a great finish for the Meyer Shank Racing team, Harvey was relegated to 23rd place.

“We had a wheel gun fail on that second pit stop,” said the 27-year-old Briton, who qualified third in his AutoNation/Sirius Honda and dived ahead of front-row starter Josef Newgarden as the field funneled into Turn 1 at the start.

“We had a great start and held P2 for a decent bit there, and we had a five-second lead on the guy that ended up winning the race.”

Everything was looking good until he pitted on Lap 37. Not only did the wheel gun malfunction and cost him precious time but he also picked up a flat right-rear tire and had to limp around the track at 50mph, which effectively KO’d any chance of a decent result. So the little team that came into the GMR Grand Prix sitting 10th in the points has dropped to 13th heading into the Indianapolis 500.

“We talk about it week in and week out, that we all do this as a team, and that’s easy to say when you have a good weekend,” said Harvey. “This is when it matters now for us to all come together and to reset.

“The next one is always the important one, whether it’s Indy or Detroit, and we’ll be ready.”

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing, IndyCar