Jack Harvey has yet to be cleared by the IndyCar medical team after being involved in hard wreck during the March 5 season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.
In a statement Monday morning, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Juri Vips was testing at Barber Motorsports Park in place of Harvey.
The team said Harvey was evaluated March 10 by IndyCar’s medical team and was not cleared to participate in the test. An IndyCar spokesman confirmed that Harvey will be evaluated again before the April 2 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Last year, Harvey missed the Texas race after suffering a concussion in a practice crash. Harvey was replaced by Santino Ferrucci (who is driving for AJ Foyt Racing this year) but returned for the next race at Long Beach.
Just before the halfway mark of the Firestone Grand Prix, Harvey was caught in an accident when Rinus VeeKay spun into the Turn 4 tire barrier on Lap 41. Kyle Kirkwood launched into the air from contact with the rear of Harvey’s car.
With help from medical personnel, Harvey exited the cockpit but was in pain while sitting on the back step of an ambulance.
According to IndyCar medical director Dr. Julia Vaizer, Harvey was in stable condition but was been taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg for further evaluation “out of an abundance of caution.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing later posted on social media that Harvey had been checked and released with a video of the driver. He since has tweeted that he was “all good.” Harvey also attended last Saturday night’s Supercross event in Indianapolis.
.@jack_harvey93 has been checked and released from Bayfront Medical Center.
Thank you to the @indycar medical team, who are the best in the business, and the helpful staff at Bayfront. #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/2fvl8BHbnh
— Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (@RLLracing) March 5, 2023
After finishing 22nd, Harvey was quoted in a team release: “It was a pretty disappointing way for our race to go there. I really couldn’t avoid Rinus and then just had a little bit of pain in both wrists when I was trying to get out of the car. Physically, I’d say it was a tough race but I felt great. The race was really playing out quite well for the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment car so it was a really disappointing end.”
Harvey’s teammates, Christian Lundgaard and Graham Rahal, both finished in the top 10 of the chaotic race at St. Pete. Lundgaard and Rahal both were testing Monday in their Dallara-Hondas at Barber.
Vips is an F2 veteran who also has been an F1 test driver. Last year, his Red Bull Racing reserve and test driver contract was terminated for using a racial slur during an online racing game. Vips tested for RLL’s IndyCar team at Sebring International Raceway last October.
