Oliver Askew was born in Melbourne, Florida, and raised in Jupiter. With his mother hailing from Sweden, Askew is bilingual in Swedish. He frequently raced alongside friend and fellow Jupiter native Kyle Kirkwood throughout his career.
Askew began karting at the age of eight. He transitioned to open-wheel racing in 2015 with Absolute Racing in Formula Masters China, achieving two podium finishes in six races. In 2016, he was selected as a Team USA Scholarship recipient, competing 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, securing a spot in the 2017 USF2000 championship. In May 2017, Askew joined the Rising Star Racing program, which aims to aid young American open-wheel drivers in advancing their careers .
Askew won the 2017 USF2000 championship, earning a $400,000 scholarship to race in the 2018 Pro Mazda series. In February 2018, Askew signed with Cape Motorsports to drive in the 2018 Pro Mazda series. He scored his first Pro Mazda victory at Race 1 at Portland and finished the 2018 season third in the Pro Mazda championship. He continued his progression in 2019, racing with Andretti Autosport in Indy Lights. He clinched the 2019 Indy Lights championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, earning a scholarship guaranteeing him an entry into a minimum of three races in the 2020 IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500.
A hard crash at the 2020 Indianapolis 500 resulted in concussion-like symptoms for Askew. After racing the next four events, he sought treatment and was withdrawn from the harvest Grand Prix rounds, later returning for the season finale. In October 2020, Arrow McLaren SP dropped Askew in advance of 2021 without explanation. He returned to IndyCar as a substitute driver for the injured Felix Rosenqvist at the second race of the Detroit Grand Prix, and later filled in for Rinus VeeKay at Road America with Ed Carpenter Racing. During the 2021 season, Askew caused significant damage to the No. 45 car in qualifying at Long Beach .
In January 2021, Askew debuted in sports car racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona, driving for Riley Motorsports in the LMP3 class, winning the race in that class. He also competed in Formula E with Avalanche Andretti in 2022, scoring points on his debut at the Diriyah ePrix and earning rookie of the year honors, before departing the series. He rejoined Andretti as a reserve/simulation driver for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Askew participated in his rookie season of Formula E in 2022, partnering Jake Dennis at Andretti. Despite being named rookie of the year, he departed the team after one season, unable to secure a seat for the following year. He briefly returned to the series as a commentator during the 2023 season, working alongside Nelson Piquet Jr and Naomi Schiff, before resuming his role with Andretti as a reserve driver.
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, recording 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. Ultimately RLL chose Lundgaard to drive the third RLL car full time in 2022, ending Askew's chances with the team. In September 2023, Askew rejoined Ed Carpenter Racing for a test at Barber, with a view to a possible race seat in 2024. His teammate for the day was rookie Christian Rasmussen—the Dane ultimately getting the nod.
This article is based on information from the Wikipedia article "Oliver Askew" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Askew). No primary archival research, autobiographies, period programmes, or specialist publications were consulted.
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