Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that it will be running a third car for the final three races of the 2021 IndyCar season, with Oliver Askew behind the wheel.
Askew’s rookie IndyCar season in 2020 was cut short when he was forced to miss a few races due to lingering concussion-like symptoms which resulted from a hard crash in the Indy 500.
He was not retained by Arrow McLaren SP at the end of the year, and the 24-year-old found a seat in sports cars and has been running races in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship throughout 2021.
Askew has run a couple IndyCar races this season as well, filling in for a couple ailing drivers including Felix Rosenqvist in Detroit and Rinus VeeKay in Road America.
Askew also took part in a test session with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Barber Motorsports Park in July, helping to solidify the deal that was announced today.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to run the final three races of the season with such a capable team in Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Askew.
“We had a very productive test together a few weeks ago at Barber and I’m excited to drive the team’s car again, this time in Hy-Vee colors in one of the most competitive racing environments the world has ever seen.
“I believe we can put together a great string of results and I’m excited to get to work.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has been running a third car alongside Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal at multiple events this season, with multiple drivers taking the controls.
Hy-Vee announced recently that it will be sponsoring a car full-time next season, presumably as a full time third car entry for RLL.
Details of next year’s arrangement, including a driver to fill the seat, have not yet been announced.
The first race of Askew’s deal to drive the #45 ride will be the Grand Prix of Portland from Portland International Raceway on September 12.
