Jim Ayello

jim.ayello@indystar.com

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Jack Harvey knows he's in an enviable position. Driving for Andretti Autosport in the Indianapolis 500? A lot of drivers would kill to be in his spot.

"To have the opportunity to do this with one of the best teams on the grid — a team that has won two of the past three races there – is more than I could have dreamed of," the 23-year-old driver from England said in a news release. "We have been working incredibly hard over the last 18 months to make this happen, and it’s hard to put into words what this means to me. I want to thank the whole Andretti Autosport team for this opportunity."

Harvey is a two-time runner-up in the Indy Lights series (2014-15). He has six Indy Lights victories to his name, including the Freedom 100 and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and 18 podiums.

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“Jack is a rising talent in open-wheel racing,” Andretti Autosport’s Michael Andretti said in the release. “He’s had an impressive career in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder and the British F3 series and we’re really pleased to be able to give him a shot in an Indy car at this year’s Indy 500.”

While the 500 will be Harvey's first race in an IndyCar Series machine, it won't be the first time he has driven one. Harvey tested with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at Sonoma in 2015.

This May, Harvey will join a pair of Indianapolis 500 winners in Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014) and Alexander Rossi (2016), as well as Marco Andretti and Takuma Sato on the Andretti team.

Follow IndyStar reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jamesayello; and on Instagram: @jimayello.