Ryan Hunter-Reay Feeling “Pretty Cool” About Indy Car Season
Mar 27, 2008
IndyCar
Ryan Hunter-Reay is going over some of the things his racing contract states he’s not allowed to take part in, such as competitive go-kart racing.
“I can ride go-karts, but no passing, no competition,” he said.
The focus that he’ll use Saturday night in the Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is evident in how he has progressed through his career.
He joined Champ Car the next year, where he finished third at Mid-Ohio and stole a win at Surfers Paradise, Australia. He bounced around Champ Car at that point and despite success with teams that sometimes had little business having success, Hunter-Reay found himself searching for a strong foundation, an established team.
That happened midway through 2007, when Rahal-Letterman decided to make a switch from Jeff Simmons to Hunter-Reay.
“I just jumped in the car right off. A ‘get in it and go.’ All considering, it was great,” Hunter-Reay said. “Everything was aimed at making a decision for 2008. It was, ‘OK, let’s do 2007 and go from there.’ I got in the car, raised the spirits on the team … and it was a no-brainer to come back in 2008.”
“Being with a top IndyCar team, with a huge sponsor in Ethanol, being a part of that movement, and driving for Bobby Rahal and David Latterman, one unified season, opening in South Florida, my home, it’s all pretty cool,” said Hunter-Reay, who then smiles and corrects himself. “It’s been awesome.”
“I don’t have any big numbers set,” he said. “I know we’ve got a lot of work to do on the 1 1/2-mile ovals. We’re a 12th-place car right now and we’re better than that. We’re better than that on the road courses. That said, I want to consistently finish in the top seven … to be there in the end for a championship.
