American racing driver (born 1996)
Oliver Clark Askew (born December 12, 1996) is an American racing driver. He is the 2019 Indy Lights champion.
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.
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. 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.
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. In May 2017, Askew joined the Rising Star Racing program which attempts to aid young American open-wheel drivers advance in their careers.
Pro Mazda.
In February 2018, Askew signed with Cape Motorsports to drive in the 2018 Pro Mazda series. Askew scored his first Pro Mazda victory in Race 1 at Portland. 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. In February 2019, Andretti confirmed Askew would race with them in the forthcoming championship.
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.
IndyCar.
In July 2019, Askew joined the Portland test with Chip Ganassi Racing. On October 28, 2019, Arrow McLaren SP announced that Askew, alongside Patricio O'Ward, would race full-time for the team in 2020. 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. He was later cleared to return for the season finale. On October 12, AMSP dropped Askew in advance of 2021 without giving a reason why.
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. He raced with Ed Carpenter Racing at the following race at Road America in place of the injured Rinus VeeKay.
In July 2021 Askew tested with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Barber Motorsports Park alongside Danish Formula 2 driver Christian Lundgaard. He later signed to drive the third Rahal entry for the final three races of the season. 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 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.
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. He managed to score his first points in Formula E on his debut, after finishing 9th at the Diriyah ePrix.
Askew departed Andretti after just one season despite being rookie of the year, with his seat being taken by André Lotterer. 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. It would ultimately be his only season as a Formula E commentator.
Personal life.
Oliver Askew was born in Melbourne, Florida and raised in Jupiter. With his mother hailing from Sweden, Askew is bilingual in Swedish. Throughout his career, Askew frequently raced alongside friend and fellow Jupiter native Kyle Kirkwood.
Racing record.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results.
† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP3 Championship.
References.
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