2020 Harvest Grand Prix

The 2020 Harvest Grand Prix was IndyCar Series event held on October 2–3, 2020. It made up the twelfth and thirteenth and penultimate rounds of the series' 2020 season. Rinus VeeKay won pole for the first race with Josef Newgarden taking victory. Will Power led every lap from pole position to take victory in the second race.

Background

As a result of races cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the IndyCar Series announced on April 6, 2020, that a third trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be added to the 2020 season as a support race for the Intercontinental GT Challenge's Indianapolis 8 Hours. The Harvest name paid tribute to the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, the only event held outside the Month of May at the Speedway between 1911 and 1993. Following further race cancellations, on July 27, 2020, the IndyCar Series changed the weekend from a single race to a doubleheader weekend.

The Speedway opened the gates to spectators for the first time in 2020 after being behind closed doors for much of the season, with a limit of 10,000 spectators for practice day, and the three race days (including the Intercontinental GT Challenge event that was the feature).

Entrants

A. J. Foyt Enterprises announce the signing of Sébastien Bourdais for the remainder of the 2020 season starting with the Harvest Grand Prix. Locally based Dreyer & Reinbold Racing made their third race weekend appearance with Sage Karam, making 2020 the most appearances by the team since the 2013 season. A week before the race, Indycar's medical team declared rookie Oliver Askew as not fit to drive. Arrow McLaren SP replaced Askew with vetern Hélio Castroneves. It would be Castroneves' first open-wheel start away from Team Penske since the 1999 Marlboro 500. A day later, James Hinchcliffe was announced as taking over Andretti Autosport's #26 entry for Zach Veach.

KeyMeaningRookiePast winner DriverTeamEngine1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet4 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet7 Hélio Castroneves Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Honda12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda18 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda20 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet26 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda41 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet55 Álex Palou Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda88 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian Honda

Practice

A single practice session was held over the weekend. The session was held October 1 at 2:15 PM ET

+Top Practice SpeedsDriverTeamEngineLap Time155 Álex Palou Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda 01:10.1777260 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 01:10.2773388 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 01:10.3857 Source:

Race 1 – October 1–2

Qualifying Qualifying was held the day before the race at 6:20 PM ET. As the event was doubleheader, series rules meant qualifying was a single round (instead of two rounds as normal), split into two groups. Drivers from the group with the fastest driver having the better time started in the odd number positions, while the group whose fastest time was worse than the other group took even number positions.

Qualifying classification Driver Team Engine Group Time 1 21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 2 01:09.6903 1 2 1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 1 01:10.4706 2 3 88 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 2 01:09.7048 3 4 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 1 01:10.5686 4 5 98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian Honda 2 01:09.7140 5 6 60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 1 01:10.6234 6 7 10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 2 01:09.8007 7 8 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 1 01:10.6500 8 9 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 2 01:09.8193 9 10 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 1 01:10.7290 10 11 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 2 01:09.8830 11 12 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1 01:10.8953 12 13 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 2 01:09.9872 13 14 20 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 1 01:10.9374 14 15 8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 2 01:10.0017 15 16 14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 1 01:10.9588 16 17 55 Álex Palou Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda 2 01:10.0323 17 18 26 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda 1 01:10.9630 18 19 7 Hélio Castroneves Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 2 01:10.3965 19 20 18 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 1 01:11.0040 20 21 24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 2 01:10.6224 21 22 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 1 01:11.0488 22 23 4 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 2 01:10.7500 23 24 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 1 01:14.8983 24 25 41 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 2 01:11.7237 25 Source:

Race The first race was held October 2 at 3:30 PM ET.

Race classification

Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired PitStops Grid LapsLed 1 1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 85 1:44:28.5561 3 2 34 54 2 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 85 +14.2940 3 8 40 3 21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 85 +15.0377 3 1 15 37 4 88 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 85 +17.3950 3 3 29 33 5 10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 85 +18.4580 3 7 1 31 6 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +26.1379 3 4 28 7 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 85 +27.3767 3 11 5 27 8 60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 85 +28.5311 3 6 24 9 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 85 +30.7960 3 12 22 10 8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 85 +36.9727 2 15 20 11 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 85 +47.5513 3 9 19 12 20 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 85 +56.9548 3 14 18 13 4 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 85 +1:10.8969 3 23 17 14 26 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda 85 +1:11.9901 3 18 16 15 18 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 84 +1 Lap 3 20 1 16 16 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 22 14 17 55 Álex Palou Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda 84 +1 Lap 3 17 13 18 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 84 +1 Lap 3 24 12 19 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 84 +1 Lap 3 13 11 20 7 Hélio Castroneves Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 19 10 21 14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 16 9 22 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 4 10 8 23 24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 21 7 24 41 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 83 +2 Laps 3 25 6 25 98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian Honda 79 Mechanical 3 5 5Fastest lap: Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) – 01:10.5582 (lap 21) Source:

Race 2 – October 3

Qualifying Qualifying at 10:20 AM ET.

Qualifying classification Driver Team Engine Group Time 1 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 2 01:08.9767 1 2 88 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 1 01:09.1017 2 3 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 2 01:09.2315 3 4 55 Álex Palou Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda 1 01:09.1584 4 5 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 2 01:09.2477 5 6 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 1 01:09.1755 6 7 60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 2 01:09.4216 7 8 10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1 01:09.2988 8 9 1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 2 01:09.4557 9 10 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 1 01:09.3258 10 11 18 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 2 01:09.4791 11 12 98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian Honda 1 01:09.3730 12 13 26 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda 2 01:09.5754 13 14 21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 1 01:09.4057 14 15 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 2 01:09.5824 15 16 8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1 01:09.4109 16 17 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 2 01:09.6077 17 18 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 1 01:09.6739 18 19 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 2 01:09.9216 19 20 7 Hélio Castroneves Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 1 01:09.7761 20 21 14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 2 01:09.9427 21 22 24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 1 01:09.9159 22 23 20 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 2 01:09.9531 23 24 4 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 1 01:09.9661 24 25 41 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 1 01:10.1960 25 Source:

Race The second race of the weekend was held October 3 at 2:30 PM ET.

Race classification

Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired PitStops Grid LapsLed 1 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 75 1:32:08.5228 2 1 75 54 2 88 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport Honda 75 +0.8932 2 2 41 3 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 75 +6.1900 2 3 35 4 1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 75 +9.5889 2 9 32 5 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 75 +10.0770 2 5 30 6 60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 75 +17.9886 2 7 28 7 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 75 +18.5055 2 10 26 8 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 75 +20.5209 2 15 24 9 55 Álex Palou Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda 75 +23.2356 2 4 22 10 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 75 +35.4374 2 19 20 11 10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 75 +39.4429 2 8 19 12 18 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 75 +40.2812 2 11 18 13 26 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda 75 +52.7124 2 13 17 14 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 75 +52.9907 2 17 16 15 8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 75 +54.5865 2 16 15 16 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 75 +55.3748 3 6 14 17 21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 75 +59.7606 2 14 13 18 14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 75 +1:10.9683 2 21 12 19 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 75 +1:11.4686 2 18 11 20 20 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 74 +1 Lap 2 23 10 21 7 Hélio Castroneves Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 74 +1 Lap 3 20 9 22 98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian Honda 74 +1 Lap 2 12 8 23 4 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 74 +1 Lap 3 24 7 24 24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 74 +1 Lap 2 22 6 25 41 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 73 +2 Laps 3 25 5Fastest lap: Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) – 01:11.3775 (lap 53) Source:

References