Roth Racing announced on 26 November 2007 that they had signed Howard to drive their second car for the 2008 IndyCar Series season.

He competed in five races, before being replaced by paying drivers Pablo Donoso and Richard Philippe for the remainder of the season.

With just minutes left before the gun would fire to signal the 33-car field, Howard's entry was withdrawn due to pressure from next in queue, veteran driver Paul Tracy.

[citation needed] On 28 August, Howard competed in his last race with SFR, fulfilling his contract with the team.

On 10 October, Howard won the RoboPong 200 all-star kart race at the New Castle Motorsports Park along with teammate Bill McLaughlin Jr., beating such notable drivers as Will Power and Graham Rahal, among others.

[7] Howard noted in an interview on 14 October 2010, on Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee on 1070 The Fan Indianapolis, that he would in no way return to SFR after the year they had.

Howard was announced on 23 April 2012 as the driver of a Mike Shank Racing entry, which was filed for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500.

[10] Jay returned to Sam Schmidt Motorsports and competed in the 2018 Indy 500 for the second consecutive time in the race and for the team.

In January 2017, Howard began running the "MDD Sprint Kart Championship" series at NOLA Motorsports park.

In a national promotion with MTV and American Family Insurance, Howard served as a driver coach for music-obsessed teen Lauren Goodell during the fall of 2009.

Howard married his longtime girlfriend Courtney Nicoson on Saturday, 29 October 2011 in a private ceremony in Indianapolis, Indiana.