Another Podium Finish for Harvey Brightens Tough Day at the Track for SPM

Another Podium Finish for Harvey Brightens Tough Day at the Track for SPM

Topics: Jack Harvey

Another Podium Finish for Harvey Brightens Tough Day at the Track for SPM

Monica Hilton
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
March 29, 2015

For more information contact:
Monica Hilton
monicah@spmindycar.com
608.669.3211

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Petersburg, FL - March 29, 2015 - Jack Harvey follow up Saturday's podium finish with another second place trophy on Sunday, giving Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) the strong start to the 2015 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season that that team was hoping for.

Harvey's teammates, Scott Anderson, Ethan Ringel and RC Enerson ended the day in P10, P12 and P13 (due to mechanical issues), respectively.

After the Indy Lights race, SPM drives James Hinchcliffe and James Jakes took to the streets of St. Petersburg for the Verizon IndyCar Series season opener.

Hinchcliffe started 16th and fought his way through a caution-filled race on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit. An ill-timed caution and a cut tire prevented the Canadian driver from earning the position his No. 5 Arrow Electronics car was capable of.

"It was obviously not the result that we wanted today," said Hinchcliffe. "I think the car had a lot more pace than we were able to show in the final charts. It was one of those days. We tried to get off strategy early and it looked like it was going to work out for us - there was a bunch of debris on the race track - but race control waited for everyone else to finish their pit stops before they threw the caution, and that really kind of hosed us. That left us back in the mix on a restart where we got hit by Gabby [Chavez], and cut a tire and went a lap down, so from there, you're kind of on damage control.

"It's too bad because I think the Arrow Electronics car had a lot more pace in it. Everyone at SPM has been working hard and learning a lot this weekend, and I think that's the biggest thing at this point. For us, it was as much a test session as a race weekend, being the first time out with the new car. We take a lot out of the weekend and will push forward into NOLA and beyond. I think we'll come back even stronger next race."

Jakes started the race in the 20th position and advanced to as high as 13th before contact from the No. 25 car pushed him off course. The British driver lost 10 laps while waiting to be restarted again on course, and finished the day in P22.

James Jakes commented, "It was a very frustrating day for the No. 7 MediaTech Honda SPM car. We were close to the top ten before we were involved in an incident. It would've been nice to just get some points this weekend but I want to say thanks to the SPM guys. They did a great job as always. We'll move onto the next round, and be stronger and better then."

In two weeks, the Verizon IndyCar Series heads to New Orleans for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana on Sunday, April 12. Fans can catch all the action live on NBC Sports Network starting at 2 p.m. CST. More information and tickets are available at www.GPofNOLA.com.

About Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) was established in 2001 and is owned by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt and Canadian businessman Ric Peterson. Schmidt was paralyzed (quad) in 2000 after an accident during testing at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. SPM fields cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and the Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tires. SPM is the most successful team in Indy Lights Series history with sixty-five race wins and seven championships. In addition, SPM won the coveted Indy 500 pole position in 2011, and has won four Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2013 and 2014.