Ryan Hunter-Reay rebounding after a tough couple seasons
Ryan Hunter-Reay is starting to return to his winning ways after not having scored a victory in 2 seasons.
Ryan Hunter-Reay first burst on to the IndyCar scene in 2007 running in 6 races with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Next season he would score a win at Watkins Glen in his first full time season. But it would not be enough to keep his spot at RLL Racing.
The American moved over to probably the most American team in the whole series, AJ Foyt Racing.
Some moderate success was not enough to satisfy Foyt either, and after one season Ryan was searching for a ride once again.
Hunter-Reay would sign with Andretti Autosport for the six races leading up the Indianapolis 500 that year. Ryan was driving for his career and his drive would pay off by winning in only his fourth IndyCar start with the team at Long Beach. With that win in place Michael Andretti would take a chance on the American and boy would it pay off.
In 2011 Hunter-Reay would capture another win and 3 podium finishes, whereas the following year he scored 4 wins and 6 podiums enroute to the series championship that year.
Two seasons later in 2014 he would capture 3 wins and 6 podiums but that was no big deal because one of those wins just so happened to be the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The year 2015 would not be so friendly to Ryan. Resulting in multiple DNF’s, however he still managed 2 wins and 3 podiums. It would get worse in 2016 and 2017 with Hunter scoring no wins at all and just 6 podiums between the 2 seasons.
The new sleeker, less downforce producing IndyCar body style for 2018 would bring a certain unknown amongst drivers for who would latch on to the diving style of less downforce.
Ryan Hunter-Reay could not be happier with the way the car drives and performs based on results.
In just the first 10 races of 2018 he has captured 1 win in the second round of the Dual in Detroit. Three second place finishes and has placed top 5 in all but 2 races.
The next stop on the IndyCar calendar is the 7/8 mile oval in Newton, Iowa. A place where Hunter-Reay has visited victory lane 3 times. He will definetly be looking to ride his wave of momentum in America’s heartland on July 8th.
And you can catch that race on July 8th on the NBC Sports Network or streaming live on IndyCar.com and always be sure to check back here on MotorLat for all of your IndyCar and Motorsports needs.