Ryan Hunter-Reay

American racecar driver
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Hunter-Reay at Road America in 2021
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1980-12-17) December 17, 1980 (age 43)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Racing licence FIA Platinum
Championship titles
1999

2012

2014
Skip Barber National champion
IZOD IndyCar Series champion
Indianapolis 500 winner
Awards
1997

2000


2002

2007

2008

2013, 2014
Skip Barber Big Scholarship
Barber Dodge Pro Series Rookie of the Year
WorldCom Rising Star Award
IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year
Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
Best Driver ESPY Award
IndyCar Series career
250 races run over 16 years
Team(s)No. 23 (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
Best finish1st (2012)
First race2007 Honda 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Last race2023 Grand Prix of Monterey (Laguna Seca)
First win2008 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last win2018 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma (Sonoma)
Wins Podiums Poles
16 44 6
Champ Car career
43 races run over 3 years
Years active2003–2005
Team(s)American Spirit Team Johansson (2003)
Herdez Competition (2004)
Rocketsports Racing (2005)
Best finish9th (2004)
First race2003 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Streets of St. Petersburg)
Last race2005 Hurricane Relief 400 (Las Vegas)
First win2003 Lexmark Indy 300 (Surfers Paradise)
Last win2004 Time Warner Cable Road Runner 250 (Milwaukee)
Wins Podiums Poles
2 3 1
Previous series
1998, 20002001

2002
2002, 20102013

20032005

20062013

2006
2012
2014
Barber Dodge Pro Series
Atlantic Championship
American Le Mans Series
Champ Car World Series
Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series
A1 Grand Prix
Race of Champions
IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship

Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became the first American to win since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. Hunter-Reay also won in the defunct Champ Car World Series twice and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to his experience in Indy car racing, Hunter-Reay has competed in the Race of Champions, A1 Grand Prix, and various forms of sports car racing (the 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. Hunter-Reay has since won both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship.

Prior to 2023, Hunter-Reay most recently drove the number 28 car in the NTT IndyCar Series. The number is 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.[1]

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 #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 McCraig 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 4 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 #31 Reynard 98E-Dodge V6 with no sponsorship. At the season-opening race at Sebring International Raceway Hunter-Reay started in 9th place and finished in 8th place. Hunter-Reay would qualify on the pole position at the race at Concord Pacific Place and would finish in 8th place in the race. Hunter-Reay's best finish during the season was a 4th-place finish at the race at Lime Rock Park. Hunter-Reay would finish 5th in the final point standings with 104 points. Hunter-Reay would also win the series rookie of the year award and would receive sponsorship from the series for the following season as a result.

Hunter-Reay returned to the series in 2001 to drive the #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 2nd place and led for 21 of 30 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 2nd-place finishes at the races at Sebring International Raceway and Lime Rock Park. Hunter-Reay would finish 5th 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 #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 6th 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 2nd place and finished in 18th 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 19th 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 4th 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 6th 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 7th place and finished in 4th 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 15th and finish 7th at the following race, at Circuit Trois-Rivières. At the tenth race of the season, at Road America, Hunter-Reay started 8th and retired from the race to finish in 24th place. Hunter-Reay then started 6th 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 6th 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 #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 14th 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 2nd place and finished in 3rd 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 15 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 #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 4th 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 (the only time Hunter-Reay finished in the top 10 in points in Champ Car) with 199 points.

Hunter-Reay at the Autosport International in 2005.

In 2005 Hunter-Reay began to drive for Rocketsports Racing in the #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 6th-place finishes at the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place and at Denver. Following the Hurricane Relief 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Hunter-Reay started 16th and finished 10th, 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 15th in points after the last two races of the season with 110 points.

IndyCar Series