Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay is an American professional racing driver who won the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship. He currently competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Hunter-Reay also won in the now defunct Champ Car World Series twice and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Hunter-Reay has competed in the Race of Champions, A1 Grand Prix, and sports car racing series including American Le Mans Series, the Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series and the IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship.
Hunter-Reay previously drove for Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar Series. When Hunter-Reay initially joined Andretti for 2010, he was only signed to drive for a partial season. Additional sponsorship was found and Hunter-Reay drove the entire season for Andretti. Prior to 2023, Hunter-Reay drove the number 28 car in the NTT IndyCar Series as a show of support for the estimated 28 million people living with cancer worldwide. Hunter-Reay, who lost his mother to colon cancer in 2009, acts as a spokesman on behalf of Racing for Cancer, an advocacy organization.
Career history
Early career
After winning six national karting championships in the World Karting Association, Hunter-Reay won a Skip Barber Karting Scholarship to race in Skip Barber Formula Dodge Series in 1999. Hunter-Reay won the series championship. Hunter-Reay then won a shootout against Formula Dodge drivers for the Skip Barber Big Scholarship and its $250,000 prize. Hunter-Reay would use the scholarship money to compete in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2000.Barber Dodge Pro Series
Hunter-Reay began to compete in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 1998. Hunter-Reay would drive the No. 28 Reynard 98E-Dodge V6 with no sponsorship. Hunter-Reay first competed in the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In the race Hunter-Reay started and finished in 23rd place after being involved in crash with John McCaig on lap 22. Hunter-Reay returned to the series later in the season at the race at Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. Hunter-Reay started in 21st place and finished in 22nd place after retiring due to damage to his car after four laps. Hunter-Reay scored no points towards the championship and finished 40th in the final point standings.Hunter-Reay returned to the series in 2000 to drive the No. 31 Reynard 98E-Dodge V6 with no sponsorship, but as winner of the Barber Dodge "Big Scholarship" Shootout. At the season-opening race at Sebring International Raceway Hunter-Reay started in ninth place and finished in eighth place. Hunter-Reay would qualify on the pole position at the race at BC Place in Vancouver and would finish in eighth place in the race. Hunter-Reay's best finish during the season was a second-place finish at the race at Nazareth Speedway. Hunter-Reay would finish fifth in the final point standings with 104 points, including four Top-5 finishes and an ultra-consistent 11 Top-10s in 12 races. Hunter-Reay would also win the Barber Dodge Pro Series Rookie of the Year award, which included a full sponsorship from the series for the following season.
Hunter-Reay returned to the series in 2001 to drive the No. 31 Barber Dodge Pro Series Rookie of the Year/Simpson Performance Products Reynard 98E-Dodge V6. Hunter-Reay would win his first race in the series at the third race of the season, at Lime Rock Park. In the race Hunter-Reay started in second place and led for 21 of thirty laps and would set the fastest lap of the race. Hunter-Reay would win his second, and final, race in the series at Exhibition Place. In the race Hunter-Reay only led the final six laps of the race after passing Matt Plumb, who had qualified on the pole position, had the fastest lap of the race and every lap in the race up to that point. Hunter-Reay would also have a pair of second place finishes at the races at Sebring International Raceway and Lime Rock Park. Hunter-Reay would finish fifth in the final point standings with 114 points.
Atlantic Championship
Hunter-Reay began to compete in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, at the time the main development series for the FedEx CART Championship Series, in 2002. Hunter-Reay would drive the No. 1 Medlock Ames Winery/U.S. Print Swift 014.a-Toyota 4A-GE for Hylton Motorsports. Hunter-Reay would make his debut at Fundidora Park. Hunter-Reay would start in sixth place and retire to finish in 23rd place. At the second race of the season, on the Streets of Long Beach Hunter-Reay started in second place and finished in eighteenth place after having the fastest lap of the race. At the third race of the season, at the Milwaukee Mile, Hunter-Reay qualified on the pole position, had the fastest lap of the race and led the most laps of the race. Hunter-Reay would retire from the race to finish in nineteenth place. At the fourth race of the season, at Laguna Seca Raceway, Hunter-Reay qualified on the pole position, had the fastest lap of the race and led the most laps to get his first win in the series. Hunter-Reay would then finish in fourth place at the following race of the season, at Portland International Raceway. At the sixth race of the season, at Chicago Motor Speedway, Hunter-Reay started in sixth place and led the most laps and had the fastest lap of the race to win his second race of the season. At the seventh race of the season, at Exhibition Place, Hunter-Reay started in seventh place and finished in fourth place. Hunter-Reay would then get his third, and final, win of both the season and his Atlantics career at the eighth race of the season, at Burke Lakefront Airport, after leading the most laps. Hunter-Reay would then start fifteenth and finish seventh at the following race, at Circuit Trois-Rivières. At the tenth race of the season, at Road America, Hunter-Reay started eighth and retired from the race to finish in 24th place. Hunter-Reay then started sixth and finished 22nd at the following race, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. At the following race of the season, the season-ending race at the Pepsi Center, Hunter-Reay retired from the race and finished in an unknown position. Hunter-Reay finished out the season ranked in sixth place in the final point standings with 102 points.Indy car racing
Champ Car World Series
Hunter-Reay began to compete in the Champ Car World Series in 2003 to drive the No. 31 American Spirit Team Johansson Reynard 02i-Ford Cosworth XFE for American Spirit Team Johansson, a team owned by former Formula One and Champ Car World Series driver Stefan Johansson. The previous year Reynard Motorsports filed for bankruptcy and the Champ Car program became owned by Walker Racing. The chassis struggled to compete with the Lola B02/00. The team also competed for the majority of the season without sponsorship. The only race that the team ran with sponsorship was the Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez where the car ran with sponsorship from Gonher de Mexico. In the first twelve races of the season Hunter-Reay's best start was a seventh at the G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway and a best finish of sixth at the Molson Indy Vancouver at Concord Pacific Place. During this time Hunter-Reay was ranked fourteenth in points. At the thirteenth race of the season, the Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Hunter-Reay qualified in second place and finished in third place. Five races later at the season-ending Lexmark Indy 300 at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Hunter-Reay started from twelfth place and would make his first of three mandatory pit stops to get slick tires as the track was changing from wet to dry in various parts of the track. Hunter-Reay would soon lead for fifteen laps and would keep his car on the track while several other cars were crashing and/or spinning off of the track. Hunter-Reay would go on to win his first Champ Car race.Hunter-Reay began to drive for Herdez Competition in 2004 in the No. 4 Herdez Lola B02/00-Ford Cosworth XFE. In the third race of the season, the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 250 at the Milwaukee Mile, Hunter-Reay would qualify on the pole position and lead for all 250 laps to get his second and final Champ Car win. Following the race Hunter-Reay was ranked third in points. Hunter-Reay's best finish in the remaining races was a fourth at the Grand Prix of Road America at Road America. In the race Hunter-Reay started second and made contact with former teammate Jimmy Vasser on the first lap and dropped the two to the rear of the field. Hunter-Reay charged up through the field to get fourth place while Vasser finished eighth. Hunter-Reay would finish ninth in points with 199 points.
Image:RyanHunter-Reay2005.jpg|thumb|left|Hunter-Reay at the Autosport International in 2005.
In 2005, Hunter-Reay began to drive for Rocketsports Racing in the No. 31 Lola B02/00-Ford Cosworth XFE. The car did not have consistent sponsorship and had to have sponsorship for various races from autobytel.com, Briggs & Stratton, Cytomax and Red Paw Systems. At the Grand Prix of Denver at the Pepsi Center the car ran without sponsorship. Hunter-Reay's best finish during the season was a pair of sixth place finishes at the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place and at Denver. Following the Hurricane Relief 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he started 16th and finished tenth, Hunter-Reay was replaced by Michael McDowell for the final two races of the season. Hunter-Reay was 14th in points following the Las Vegas event and would drop to fifteenth in points after the last two races of the season with 110 points.
IndyCar Series
2007–2010
Hunter-Reay began to drive for Rahal Letterman Racing in the No. 17 Honda for the final six races of the season as a replacement for the released Jeff Simmons. Hunter-Reay made his series debut at the Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In his debut Hunter-Reay started tenth and finished seventh. At the following race, the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Hunter-Reay started twelfth in the race and had to make a pit stop to replace his damaged helmet. He would finish in sixth place and would be the last car on the lead lap. Hunter-Reay's best start of the season was a fifth at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix at Belle Isle State Park, where he finished eighteenth due to clutch problems after 24 laps. Hunter-Reay would finish seventh after starting twelfth at the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Despite only competing in six races, Hunter-Reay was able to finish 19th in points with 119 points and would win the series rookie of the year award, setting the record for fewest starts in a season by a driver who won the award.Image:RHRIndy2008.jpg|thumb|right|Hunter-Reay practicing for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.
Hunter-Reay returned with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2008. At the season-opening Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hunter-Reay started ninth and finished seventh. Hunter-Reay would then get another seventh at the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi after starting tenth. At the Indianapolis 500 Hunter-Reay qualified in twentieth place on the third qualifying day after crashing in turn three on Pole Day. However, he managed to finish the race without incident, finishing in sixth place and winning the race's rookie of the year award. During the next four races Hunter-Reay's best finish was an eighth at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway.
At the Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen at Watkins Glen International Hunter-Reay started in third place and was running in fourth place late in the race between Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and Darren Manning. Briscoe and Dixon then made contact and dropped down the running order as a result. Manning took the lead only for Hunter-Reay to take it away on a lap 52 restart. Hunter-Reay would win his first IndyCar Series race and Rahal Letterman would win their first race in four years.
Image:Ryan Hunter Reay 2007 Mid Ohio.jpg|thumb|right|Hunter-Reay In 2007
Hunter-Reay's best finish in the remaining races of 2008 was a sixth at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix at Belle Isle State Park. Hunter-Reay finished out the season ranked eighth in points with 360 points. Following the end of the season there was a non-points race, the Nikon Indy 300 on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit. In the race Hunter-Reay started fifth and finished third.
At the end of the year, American Ethanol withdrew their sponsorship due to financial problems and left Hunter-Reay without a team. Prior to the season Hunter-Reay tested a car for HVM Racing. Hunter-Reay was eventually offered a position at Vision Racing to drive the #21 Vision Racing Dallara IR07-Ilmor-Indy V8 HI7R. The team had no sponsorship to start off the season, despite this Hunter-Reay managed to start fourteenth and finish second at the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the Streets of St. Petersburg. In the process, Hunter-Reay gave Vision their best finish in an IndyCar Series race. Hunter-Reay's next best finish for the team came at the next race of the season, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the Streets of Long Beach where Hunter-Reay started twelfth and finished eleventh. At the Indianapolis 500 the team found sponsorship from Izod and William Rast. Hunter-Reay struggled to qualify for the race and on Bump Day at 5:52 p.m. Hunter-Reay was bumped from the field by John Andretti. Hunter-Reay was able to requalify, bumping Alex Tagliani by 0.0324 seconds. Hunter-Reay started 32nd after Tagliani replaced teammate Bruno Junqueira in his qualified car. In the race Hunter-Reay spun in turn four on lap twenty and crashed, resulting in a 32nd place finish. Following the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway Hunter-Reay and Vision parted ways. Hunter-Reay was then announced as the replacement for Vítor Meira, who was injured while racing at Indianapolis, in the No. 14 ABC Supply Company Dallara IR07-Ilmor-Indy V8 HI7R for A. J. Foyt Enterprises. In his debut for the team at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway Hunter-Reay only completed two laps due to a crash. Hunter-Reay would only get two top-tens for Foyt with a seventh at the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place and a fourth at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Hunter-Reay's only top-ten start of the season for either Vision or Foyt was a seventh at Mid-Ohio. Hunter-Reay would finish fifteenth in points with 298 points. Hunter-Reay was tenth in points following his split from Vision.
Image:Ryan Hunter-Reay AA Signing 2010 05 27.JPG|thumb|right|Hunter-Reay in 2010 at an autograph signing.
Image:Ryan Hunter-Reay St. Petersburg, FL 2010 001.jpg|thumb|left|Hunter-Reay competing in the 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
Image:Ryan Hunter-Reay 2010 Indy 500 OWAS.JPG|thumb|right|Hunter-Reay in May 2010 at an autograph signing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Image:Ryan Hunter-Reay 2010 Indy GP of Sonoma 001.jpg|thumb|left|Hunter-Reay competing in the 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway.
In 2010, Hunter-Reay began to drive for Andretti Autosport in a part-time schedule that would consist of all races through the Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay would drive the No. 37 Izod Dallara IR07-Ilmor-Indy V8 HI7R. At the season-opening São Paulo Indy 300 on the Streets of São Paulo Hunter-Reay started 4th and would lead for twenty laps, only to be passed by Will Power on lap 58 of 61. Three races later at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the Streets of Long Beach Hunter-Reay started second, set the fastest race lap and led for 64 of 85 laps to win the race. Following the race Hunter-Reay was ranked third in points. At the next race, the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway Hunter-Reay started 22nd and finished fifth. At the Indianapolis 500 Hunter-Reay qualified in a disappointing seventeenth place. In the race Hunter-Reay was on his way to a top-ten finish when on lap 199 in turn three he ran out of fuel causing Mike Conway to drive over the left side of Hunter-Reay's car and flip into the catchfence. At the same time Hunter-Reay lost control and drove into the wall. Hunter-Reay would finish in eighteenth place. Following the race Hunter-Reay was fifth in points and was given additional races. The team would race with additional sponsorship from Ethanol at select races. Prior to the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen at Watkins Glen International Hunter-Reay was announced as a driver for all the remaining races. Hunter-Reay's best finish following Indianapolis was a third at the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. Hunter-Reay would finish seventh in the final point standings with 445 points.