Harding Racing: An All-Star Cast

Juncos Racing will participate in a limited schedule of races, while Carlin Motorsports will field a lineup that includes former CGR drivers Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball.

Famed sports car team owner Michael Shank announced at the Performance Racing Industry Show that his team will compete in “at least six races” this season with former Indy Lights driver Jack Harvey behind the wheel of a Honda-powered car. That team will have an alliance with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Team Penske will drop from four full-time entries to three, while Ganassi will go from four cars to two.

Andretti Autosport remains a four-car team and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will increase from one car to two with defending Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato joining Graham Rahal.

The major addition is a power-packed effort at Harding Racing that features experienced crew members and 23-year-old former Indy Lights champion Gabby Chaves as the driver.

The team is owned by Indian­apolis businessman Mike Harding. Former IndyCar executive Brian Barnhart was named Harding Racing president in December and Larry Curry is the team manager, with two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. serving as a consultant.

It was quite a year of growth for Harding Racing, considering the team didn’t start until January 2017. It began when Curry was running the Indianapolis Speedrome and needed to repave the facility.

“I was working for Mike Harding, doing a logistics deal where I put in a system where they could track all of their trucks and equipment,” Curry recalled. “Mike knew my background. Mike and I had met when I worked at the Indianapolis Speedrome. Actually, I hired him to pave it. When Mike found out I wasn’t there anymore he offered me this job to track all of his equipment.

“He encouraged me around March of 2015 and said, ‘You need to get involved with somebody for Indy,’” Curry added. “It’s the 100th running and you need to be there. You’ve been involved for so many years,’ so he gave me some time off and I went and did it. I went and did it and after the race was over I was up in his suite and Mike said, ‘You really like doing this, don’t you?’ I said, ‘Mike, for over 40 years this is what I did.’”

By spending time with Curry at the 100th Indianapolis 500, Harding saw a great opportunity to get involved as a team owner.

“He said, ‘Let’s go do it,’” Curry remembered. “I said, ‘Mike, I’m telling you. It’s a big commitment with a lot of money.’ He said, ‘That’s not what I asked you. I asked you if you would do it with me?’ I said, ‘Mike, I work for you and if that is what you want me to spend my time doing it, I will be happy to do it.’

“Each May, you might get somebody new around and they get excited and May is over and that excitement dies,” Curry continued. “It was just the opposite with him. He wanted to know if we could get a meeting with Chevrolet to get an engine or if we could get a meeting with Dallara to buy two new cars. I thought about getting one new car and one used one, but he wanted to get two new ones.”