INDYCAR News and Notes – July 20, 2015
- Hunter-Reay cherishes return to Victory Lane: Ryan Hunter-Reay’s 2½-year-old son Ryden could soon have the coolest bedroom night light of any child of a Verizon IndyCar Series driver.
Hunter-Reay, who earned another vintage gas pump trophy with a thrilling victory July 18 in the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway, promised he’d give one to his son, who enjoys playing with the unique winner’s prize.
“My little boy loves it because you can switch the light on top,” Hunter-Reay said after winning on the 0.894-mile oval for the third time in four years. “I’m going to put this one in his room. He’s old enough now to actually get what a win is. Every time I go to the airport he says, ‘Dada, win.’ This is pretty cool.”
Maybe Ryden’s younger brother, 4-month-old Rocsen, will receive one of the others as a night light for his room in the family’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., home.
Hunter-Reay’s victory – by 0.5046 of a second over CFH Racing’s Josef Newgarden – was a reprisal of their 2014 duel to the finish, and possibly carried more weight. It certainly was more satisfying, Hunter-Reay noted.
“The win last year was pretty cool because (race strategist) Michael (Andretti) made a great call,” he said of the late stop for tires under caution. “I was pretty skeptical at the time. We blitzed the field at the end of the race. That was a lot of fun.
“But this is a big deal, to come in and to be on the slump we’ve been on, to come in from ninth, work at it, earn the race win, really earn it in the fashion that we did, it’s a statement win. It’s big for everybody involved in this team.”
Hunter-Reay was in the heart of the championship chase with six races left when he won in July 2014. The 2012 series champion finished sixth in the standings, and the lighted gas station pump trophy remained a beacon through a challenging 2015 season that had included three top 10s through 12 races.
“It’s still been a tough season. But that makes this win sweet. The last 20 laps felt like an hour and a half just knowing how important this was to me, to the team, to our partners, DHL, Auto Nation, Honda. This is a big win.”
Hunter-Reay inherited the lead on Lap 264 of 300 when Graham Rahal pitted under caution and staved off repeated challenges from Newgarden, who led a field-high 111 laps, after a Lap 278 restart.
“We went out and earned this one,” Hunter-Reay said. “We took it away from them. That’s a big deal. As the sun went down, kept my foot in it, kept my head down, kept positive about it because it didn’t feel very good at the start, but was hoping it would come to us and it did. That’s how we won this race the past two times, is being really strong at the end of the race.
“Feels great to be back in Victory Lane. Certainly I’m not happy with the way the season’s gone at all. More than anything at all, I just feel relief, like a big exhale is how I can describe it.”
- Americans succeed at Iowa: The July 18 Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway proved to be a banner day for six of the eight American drivers racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, the winningest active American driver, scored his first win of 2015 and 15th of his career. Hunter-Reay became the third American driver to win in the past four races, joining Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden among the nine race winners this season.
Three race-winning Americans are the most in the series since 2011 when Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, and Ed Carpenter recorded victories. Add Charlie Kimball’s 2013 victory at Mid-Ohio and six of the Americans currently competing in the series have won races.
The race-winning drivers aren’t the only Americans making waves. At Iowa, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Sage Karam scored his first podium finish – the sixth-youngest driver ever to finish on the podium — while fellow rookie Conor Daly has a best finish of sixth in his five races this season.
Newgarden completed the podium at Iowa Speedway for the first American sweep since Sam Hornish Jr., Marco Andretti and Michael Andretti finished 1-2-3 in the 2006 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
“I think it’s always great when Americans do well,” said Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti. “It’s very important to note that it’s an international series and there’s international drivers. So when the Americans do well and they beat the rest of the world, it’s always great.”
A look at Americans currently competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport – 15-time Indy car race winner, who won the 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series title and 2014 Indianapolis 500. Winningest active American Indy car driver.
Ed Carpenter, CFH Racing – Co-owner/driver of CFH Racing is a three-time Indy car race winner and two-time Indianapolis 500 pole sitter.
Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport – Third-generation driver from one of racing’s most famous families is a two-time Indy car race winner. Only driver to complete every lap of every race in 2015 season.
Josef Newgarden, CFH Racing – Rising star has won his first two Indy car races and his first pole in what has been his breakout season. Was the 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal is having his best season in Indy car racing, scoring a win at Auto Club Speedway in June. Currently second in Verizon IndyCar Series championship standings.
Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing – Scored his first win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2013. Finished third in the Indianapolis 500 in May.
Sage Karam, Chip Ganassi Racing – At 20 years old, is youngest driver racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Has finished in the top five in two of his past three races and qualified a career-best third at Milwaukee. Was the 2013 Indy Lights champion.
Conor Daly, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports – Son of former Formula One and Indy car driver Derek Daly has performed as a super-sub in 2015. Finished a career-best sixth at Belle Isle 2 and led his first career laps.
- Inside the box score – Iowa Corn 300: Numbers to note following the Iowa Corn 300 at the 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway oval — the 13th round of the Verizon Indy Car Series season:
1 – Career podium finish for Sage Karam, who at 20 years, 4 months, 15 days, became the youngest top-three race finisher since Graham Rahal won at St. Petersburg in 2008 (19 years, 3 months, 4 days).
2.61 – Average running position of runner-up Josef Newgarden for the 300 laps.
5 – Positions gained by Graham Rahal in the final 30 laps of the race (ninth to fourth).
5.25 – Average running position of winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.
6 – American drivers in the top seven positions. The last time American drivers swept the top four positions in an Indy car race was at Chicagoland in 2001 (Jaques Lazier, Sam Hornish Jr., Eddie Cheever Jr. and Jeff Ward).
7 – Wins for Andretti Autosport in the nine races at Iowa Speedway (three by Hunter-Reay, one each by Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and James Hinchcliffe).
15 – Indy car wins for Hunter-Reay, who tied Alex Zanardi for 30th on the all-time list. … Positions improved by Sebastien Bourdais (24th to ninth), most of any of the 24 starters.
18 – Races without a DNF by Juan Pablo Montoya before his streak ended at Iowa Speedway. Montoya’s last DNF was also at Iowa Speedway in July 2014.
37 – Passes for position by Bourdais, the most of any of the 24 starters.
44 – Poles earned by Helio Castroneves, which ranks fourth on the all-time list. Mario Andretti (67), A.J. Foyt (53), and Bobby Unser (49) are the top three on the list.
46 – Laps in which Rahal improved his position, most of any driver.
246 – Consecutive starts by Kanaan, extending his all-time record that started in 2001.
1,857 – Laps completed by Marco Andretti, the only driver to complete every lap of every race in 2015.
Sources: Verizon IndyCar Series PR