Jack Harvey has been officially confirmed at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as the new driver of the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda alongside team veteran Graham Rahal.

As RACER reported months ago, Harvey’s five-year stint with the Meyer Shank Racing team would conclude with the native of England taking his talents to RLL as the replacement for the outgoing Takuma Sato, and with a new deal in hand, the 28-year-old will look to earn his first NTT IndyCar Series pole and win with the outfit owned by Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Mike Lanigan.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to welcome Jack to our team,” Rahal said. “I first heard of him during his time in Indy Lights. He has a great record of success over the years in all forms of racing so I’m pleased that he agreed to join our team. He and Graham will work well together and be a strong foundation for our driver lineup that will raise not only the level of each driver individually but of the team as a result. I respect and appreciate his commitment and work ethic to racing on and off the track which is so key. And I also respect the way he deals with people – friendly and respectful. I think we’re going to have a lot of success together and I very much look forward to having him with us.”

For Harvey, RLL provides a chance to take the next step in his career as the team maintains a regular presence around the top 10 — Rahal placed seventh and Sato earned 11th — in the most recent Drivers’ championship. To date, Harvey’s best season-long performance came in 2021 with 13th.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” Harvey said. “I’ve been working towards this moment for my entire career and I’m so honored and thankful for the trust Bobby, Mike, David and Piers (Phillips, president) have placed in me. Hy-Vee has massively committed to elevating IndyCar as a series and I’m honored to be representing their brand on track in the No. 45. I’m eager to get to work with Graham and the entire team. We have common goals of competing for wins and championships, and I’m confident we’ll be contending from the drop of the green flag next year.  This is an exciting next chapter, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.”

Randy Edeker, CEO and president of Hy-Vee, added, “Our ongoing partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing continues to be a success. Over the past two years, we’ve enjoyed being a part of a sport that continues to see its fan base grow substantially year after year. Now, as we look ahead to the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season, we look forward to hosting our own doubleheader event at the Iowa Speedway and seeing the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda take the track in the nationally televised event.”

The last piece of business for RLL to confirm is the identity of its third full-time driver. The move to a third entry was in progress last season as Santino Ferrucci, Christian Lundgaard and Oliver Askew combined to make nine starts with the best results belonging to a pair of sixths claimed by Ferrucci.

As RACER wrote in its most recent silly season update, Denmark’s Lundgaard continues to be positioned as the leading candidate to earn the contract from RLL, but Ferrucci is also known to have considerable support from within the team’s leadership group.