On Monday morning, the team provided Harvey with a special present for his 31st birthday by revealing via social media his name being stamped on the car for Long Beach.
The Briton was already previously slated to contest 14 points-paying rounds, which originally excluded Long Beach, the Indianapolis 500 and Toronto. However, that schedule now expands to 15 as he will pilot the No. 18 Honda at the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit in California.
Rookie Nolan Siegel, who is also running full-time in Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports, was previously supposed to drive the No. 18 entry for Long Beach but will now slide over to the No. 51 sister car that is partnered with Rick Ware Racing.
Happy birthday @jack_harvey93 ! Hope you like your birthday present! Can’t wait to have you back behind the wheel @GPLongBeach ! #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/HpIWeSfolq
— Dale Coyne Racing (@DaleCoyneRacing) April 15, 2024
Siegel, who made his series debut at the non-points round at The Thermal Club last month, is only set to run two more rounds after this weekend – the Indy 500 and Toronto – that don’t clash with his Indy NXT schedule. The limit of four IndyCar races will allow Siegel to keep his rookie eligibility for 2025.
A veteran of 80 IndyCar starts, Harvey made his debut with DCR in the season-opening race on the Streets of St. Petersburg last month, qualifying 27th and finishing 19th.
Since then, Harvey has been a presence within the team, providing coaching and guidance to Siegel, as well as sports car ace Colin Braun, who made his IndyCar debut in the No. 51 for at St. Petersburg before also driving at The Thermal Club just outside of Palm Springs, California.
Although Harvey has the majority of the scheduled starts for DCR, the musical chairs of team-mates also rotated a new addition after DCR confirmed last week that Katherine Legge would drive the No. 51 Honda for the Indy 500.
Legge contested her third Indy 500 last year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, finishing 33rd following an incident after just 41 of 200 laps. She previously drove for DCR during the 2007 Champ Car season, scoring two top 10s, including a best of sixth (Vegas Grand Prix).
