Slight contact interrupts Harvey, Shank’s first day at Indy

By May 15, 2017, 5:00 PM EDT
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INDIANAPOLIS – Rookie Jack Harvey’s first day at the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, in the No. 50 Michael Shank Racing with Andretti Autosport Honda, has not been an easy one.

The past Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series runner-up and 2015 Freedom 100 race winner has completed the first of three phases of his Rookie Orientation Program but is questionable to return to the track for the final hour of practice.

The ROP requires drivers to complete 10 laps at 205-210 mph, then 15 from 210-215 mph, then 15 at 215 plus. Harvey did 15 laps during the ROP two-hour session and 14 laps this afternoon, and thus far has a best speed of 214.473 mph. He fought through clutch issues this morning, but those were resolved.

Harvey was on the warmup lane coming out of the pit lane and the car appeared to go straight into the Turn 2 wall, with reportedly a break with the steering column that caused an odd-looking incident to the car, and damaged the right front tire and upright area.

“It’s been a pretty challenging day for what was meant to be an easy process,” Harvey said. “We had some issues this morning, but we had managed to work through them. To have that happen, and I don’t know what did happen apart from I went to turn in and it went straight.

“I was coming out of the pits. I wasn’t even going fast. I was probably not even going 100 mph. So bizarre. We had just done a long run and had pitted because there was a yellow flag and then had that – random. Hopefully it’s the last time we come to the medical center.”

The Shank crew was hard at work diagnosing the problem and then working to repair the car. Shank’s crew, that is on the Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 program in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, comprises most of this crew in tandem with Andretti Autosport.

If there’s a positive to take from this, Harvey managed to largely hang on without causing significant damage.

The Shank crew is renowned for its tireless work ethic through adverse situations. The line “Welcome to Indianapolis,” now proves appropriate for both driver and team’s first day here as a collective unit.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”