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Steinbrenner Racing Joins Forces with Harding Racing for 2019 IndyCar Season

Steinbrenner Racing and Harding Racing will join forces in 2019 to field two entries in the IndyCar Series.

Current Steinbrenner Racing driver Colton Herta will pilot the No. 88 entry while 2018 Indy Lights Champion Patricio O’Ward will drive the No. 8.

“We are happy to announce that Mike Harding of Harding Racing and George Steinbrenner IV of Steinbrenner Racing will join forces in 2019 to become Harding Steinbrenner Racing,” team president Brian Barnhart said in a press release. “We will be making the move to a two-car team, fulfilling a goal we stated earlier in the year. We have decided to go all in for the future by hiring two recent stars of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series, Freedom 100 winner and Indy Lights Series runner-up, Colton Herta and reigning Indy Lights Series Champion, Patricio O’Ward.

“We are thrilled with their performance in the 2018 Indy Lights Series in which they ran 1-2 for Andretti Autosport. We are also exceptionally proud to have recently provided them with them their inaugural IndyCar experience at Sonoma Raceway.”

O’Ward and Herta battled for the 2018 Indy Lights Championship with O’Ward picking up the title. The two made their IndyCar debut last Sunday in the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma with O’Ward finishing ninth and Herta 20th. The news comes following Harding Racing’s first full-time effort in the series.

“The 2018 IndyCar season has been a tremendous learning experience for me,” Harding said in the release. “Now I am eager to join with Steinbrenner Racing and create the powerhouse team I know Harding Racing can be. George Michael Steinbrenner IV entered the Mazda Road to Indy with the intent to win, and I believe Harding Steinbrenner Racing will quickly impress the IndyCar paddock too. Let’s go racing.”

With the promotion to the IndyCar Series, George Michael Steinbrenner IV, 22, becomes the youngest team owner in Series history. The record was previously held by Sarah Fisher who was 28-years old when she started Sarah Fisher Racing.

“I am extremely excited to make the leap into the IndyCar Series,”George Michael Steinbrenner IV, owner of Steinbrenner Racing said. “Since I was a kid, it has been my goal to be a team owner in the IndyCar Series and I’m so excited to be doing that with Harding Racing. They are a team that shares our values that they don’t want to just be here, but to be a dominant mainstay in the series.”

About the author

His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.

During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.

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