Oliver Askew

Oliver Clark Askew (born December 12, 1996) is an American-Swedish^[1] race car driver who races under the American flag. He is the 2019 Indy Lights champion.^[2]

Oliver Askew
Askew in 2023
Nationality	American Swedish
Born	(1996-12-12) December 12, 1996 (age 26) Melbourne, Florida U.S.
IndyCar Series career
17 races run over 2 years
Team(s)	No. 7 (Arrow McLaren SP), No 45 (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
First race	2020 Genesys 300 (Texas)
Last race	2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 1 0
Previous series
2022 2019 2018 2017 2015	Formula E Indy Lights Pro Mazda Championship U.S. F2000 National Championship Formula Masters China
Championship titles
2017 2019	U.S. F2000 Indy Lights
Awards
2016	Team USA Scholarship

Personal life

Oliver Askew was born in Melbourne, Florida and raised in Jupiter. With his mother hailing from Sweden, Askew is bilingual in Swedish.^[3] Throughout his career, Askew frequently raced alongside friend and fellow Jupiter native Kyle Kirkwood.^[4]

Racing career

Early career

Askew began karting at the age of 8 in Jupiter. He finished third and sixth in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, and won the BNL Senior Max series in his European debut in 2015. At the end of the year, he signed with Absolute Racing to make his open-wheel debut in the last two rounds of the Formula Masters China, with two podium finishes in six races, but he failed to secure a racing program for 2016 due to a lack of funding.^[5]

In 2016, after being spotted during a winning performance in a one-off Skip Barber Racing Summer Series round at Road America, Askew was selected as a Team USA Scholarship recipient.^[6] This enabled him to compete in the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy, in which Askew won his heat and finished second in the final. Later in 2016, he won the $200,000 2016 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to compete in the 2017 USF2000 championship.^[7]

USF2000

Askew won the 2017 USF2000 championship. The win earned him a $400,000 scholarship from Mazda to race in the 2018 Pro Mazda series, the middle step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system to IndyCar racing.^[8] In May 2017, Askew joined the Rising Star Racing program which attempts to aid young American open-wheel drivers advance in their careers.^[9]

Pro Mazda

In February 2018, Askew signed with Cape Motorsports to drive in the 2018 Pro Mazda series.^[10] Askew scored his first Pro Mazda victory in Race 1 at Portland.^[11] He finished the 2018 season third in the Pro Mazda championship.

Indy Lights

In September 2018, Askew partook in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test with Andretti Autosport.^[12] In February 2019, Andretti confirmed Askew would race with them in the forthcoming championship.^[13] Askew won the 2019 Indy Lights championship, clinching at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. In winning the championship, Askew has been awarded a scholarship which guarantees him an entry into a minimum of three races in the 2020 IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500.^[14]

IndyCar

In July 2019, Askew joined the Portland test with Chip Ganassi Racing.^[15] On October 28, 2019, Arrow McLaren SP announced that Askew, alongside Patricio O'Ward, would race full-time for the team in 2020.^[16] A hard crash at the 2020 Indianapolis 500 left Askew with concussion-like symptoms; after racing the next four events, Askew sought treatment and was withdrawn from the harvest Grand Prix rounds.^[17] He was later cleared to return for the season finale.^[18] On October 12, AMSP dropped Askew in advance of 2021 without giving a reason why.^[19]

Askew returned to IndyCar with AMSP for the second race of the Detroit Grand Prix, standing in for the injured Felix Rosenqvist after the latter crashed heavily during the first race.^[20] He raced with Ed Carpenter Racing at the following race at Road America in place of the injured Rinus VeeKay.^[21]

In July 2021 Askew tested with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Barber Motorsports Park alongside Danish Formula 2 driver Christian Lundgaard.^[22] He later signed to drive the third Rahal entry for the final three races of the season.^[23] Askew's three race run with the team was mixed. He recorded a top ten finish and a RLL's only Fast Six qualifying slot on a road or street course at Laguna Seca but was caught up in accidents at Portland and Long Beach. He also caused significant damage to the #45 car in a crash in qualifying at Long Beach. Ultimately RLL chose Christian Lundgaard to drive the third RLL car full time in 2022, ending Askew's chances with the team.

Sports car career

In January 2021, Askew made his sports car racing debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona driving for Riley Motorsports in the LMP3 class. Askew would go on to win the race in that class.^[24]

Formula E

Avalanche Andretti Formula E (2022)

In November 2021, it was announced that Askew would reunite with Andretti to partake in his rookie season of Formula E the following year, partnering Jake Dennis.^[25] He managed to score his first points in Formula E on his debut, after finishing 9th at the Diriyah ePrix.^[26]

Askew departed Andretti after just one season despite being rookie of the year, with his seat being taken by André Lotterer.^[27] Askew left the series following the season after being unable to secure a seat.

After Formula E

During the 2023 season, Askew would become a commentator for the Formula E broadcasting team, accompanying former Formula E Champion Nelson Piquet Jr and Naomi Schiff, starting with the Mexico City ePrix.^[28]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2015	Formula Masters China	Absolute Racing	6	0	0	0	2	34	10th
2017	U.S. F2000 National Championship	Cape Motorsports	14	7	7	8	11	351	1st
	F2000 Championship Series	N/A	2	0	0	2	0	46	25th
2018	Pro Mazda Championship	Cape Motorsports	16	1	3	2	5	303	3rd
2019	Indy Lights	Andretti Autosport	18	7	7	5	15	486	1st
2020	IndyCar Series	Arrow McLaren SP	12	0	0	0	1	195	19th
2021	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3	Riley Motorsports	1	1	0	0	1	1744	6th
		Forty7 Motorsports	1	0	0	0	0
		Andretti Autosport	5	0	0	1	0
	IndyCar Series	Arrow McLaren SP	1	0	0	0	0	61	29th
		Ed Carpenter Racing	1	0	0	0	0
		Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	3	0	0	0	0
2021–22	Formula E	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	16	0	0	0	0	24	16th

^* Season still in progress.

American open–wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
2017	Cape Motorsports	STP 2	STP 1	BAR 1	BAR 1	IMS 1	IMS 1	ROA 17	ROA 3	IOW 1	TOR 2	TOR 12	MDO 1	MDO 4	WGL 2	1st	351

Pro Mazda Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2018	Cape Motorsports	STP 5	STP 6	BAR 7	BAR 12	IMS 2	IMS 4	LOR 6	ROA 9	ROA 8	TOR 4	TOR 2	MOH 6	MOH 3	GMP 5	POR 1	POR 3	3rd	303

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
2019	Andretti Autosport	STP 3	STP 10	COA 1	COA 1	IMS 2	IMS 3	INDY 1	RDA 5	RDA 3	TOR 2	TOR 1	MDO 1	MDO 1	GTW 1	POR 2	POR 3	LAG 4	LAG 2	1st	486

IndyCar Series

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points	Ref
2020	Arrow McLaren SP	Dallara DW12	7	Chevrolet	TXS 9	IMS 26	ROA 15	ROA 21	IOW 3	IOW 6	INDY 30	GTW 14	GTW 17	MDO 19	MDO 15	IMS	IMS	STP 16			19th	195	^[29]
2021					ALA	STP	TXS	TXS	IMS	INDY	DET	DET 25									29th	61	^[30]
	Ed Carpenter Racing		21										ROA 12	MDO	NSH	IMS	GTW
	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing		45	Honda														POR 24	LAG 9	LBH 22

* Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2020	Dallara	Chevrolet	21	30	Arrow McLaren SP

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Points
2021	Riley Motorsports	LMP3	Ligier JS P320	Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8	DAY 1†							6th	1744
	Andretti Autosport						MDO 6	WGL 4	WGL 4	ELK 5	PET 10
	Forty7 Motorsport		Duqueine M30 - D08			SEB 4

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP3 Championship. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Powertrain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pos	Points
2021–22	Avalanche Andretti Formula E	Spark SRT05e	BMW iFE.21	DRH 9	DRH 11	MEX 17	RME 14	RME 15	MCO 15	BER 15	BER 15	JAK 13	MRK 11	NYC 19	NYC Ret	LDN 4	LDN Ret	SEO Ret	SEO 5	16th	24

References

1. Nyström, Magnus (March 5, 2020). "Oliver Askew okänd svensk i Indycar 2020 - har dubbelt medborgarskap" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
2. . indycar.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
3. "10 Questions with Oliver Askew – Motorsports Tribune" August 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine "Motorsports Tribune"
4. "Catching Up with Kyle Kirkwood and Oliver Askew, Part One". November 15, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
5. "US Kart Star Askew Set for Open-Wheel Debut at Zhuhai – eKartingNews". ekartingnews.com. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
6. DeHarde, Christopher (January 12, 2017). "Oliver Askew: A Diamond in the Rough". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
7. "MRTI: Oliver Askew’s two-month, two-scholarship wild ride" NBCSports.com
8. "Askew wraps USF2000 title as VeeKay wins Watkins Glen finale" "NBC Sports"
9. "Oliver Askew formally confirmed on Rising Star Racing program" NBC Sports
10. "Oliver Askew says staying with Cape Motorsports for Pro Mazda “a no-brainer”" Formula Scout
11. "Askew wins, VeeKay takes Pro Mazda title in Portland Race 1" Racer.com
12. "Askew leads Indy Lights as Chris Griffis Test concludes". September 23, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
13. . February 11, 2019. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
14. “ Indy Lights: Askew clinches 2019 title while VeeKay wins Laguna Seca race 1”
15. Miller, Robin (July 27, 2019). "Askew set for Ganassi IndyCar test". RACER. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
16. "ARROW MCLAREN SP CONFIRMS O'WARD, ASKEW FOR 2020 SEASON". IndyCar.com. INDYCAR. October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
17. Fryer, Jenna (September 24, 2020). "IndyCar: Askew sidelined with concussion symptoms, Helio in". Associated Press. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
18. Pruett, Marshall (October 20, 2020). "Askew cleared for St Pete return". Racer. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
19. Pruett, Marshall (October 12, 2020). "AMSP to split with Askew after St Petersburg". Racer. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
20. "Oliver Askew will replace Felix Rosenqvist at IndyCar Detroit - NBC Sports". MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports. June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
21. Pruett, Marshall (June 18, 2021). "Askew impresses in ECR debut at Road America". Racer.com. Racer Marketing and Media. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
22. Medland, Chris (July 27, 2021). "F2 race winner Lundgaard tests an IndyCar for Rahal". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
23. Malsher-Lopez, David (September 1, 2021). "Askew to race for RLL in final three 2021 IndyCar rounds". Motorsport.com.
24. Pruett, Marshall (January 31, 2021). "Askew thrilled after acing IMSA debut". RACER. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
25. Malsher-Lopez, David (November 24, 2021). "Askew joins Dennis in Andretti Formula E squad". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
26. "Askew: Diriyah Formula E debut 'most fun racing in a long time'". www.autosport.com. January 29, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
27. Boxall-Legge, Jake (September 6, 2022). "Lotterer to remain in Formula E with Andretti, Askew out". Motorsport.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
28. https://www.automobilsport.com/race-categories--24/race-categories--24,246699,Formula-E---Where-to-watch-the-first-race-of-the-season-and-the-debut-of-the-all-new-Gen3-race-car,news.htm^{[bare URL]}
29. "Oliver Askew – 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
30. "Oliver Askew – 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Oliver Askew career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Anthony Martin	U.S. F2000 National Championship Champion 2017	Succeeded by Kyle Kirkwood
Preceded by Patricio O'Ward	Indy Lights Champion 2019	Succeeded by Kyle Kirkwood 2021