ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Ryan Hunter-Reay is beginning his comeback tour in the NTT IndyCar Series as the new driver at Ed Carpenter Racing.
Hunter-Reay had already established himself as one of the best drivers of his generation with 18 career IndyCar victories including the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and the 2012 IndyCar Series championship.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida racer could have spent the rest of his life outside of race car and enjoyed a special status of his time in racing.
But Ed Carpenter was not satisfied with the performance of his racing team.
Last week, Carpenter released Conor Daly as the driver of the No. 20 Bitnile.com Chevrolet on June 7.
On June 8, Carpenter announced Hunter-Reay would be the driver in the No. 20 moving forward, but it would be on a race-to-race basis.
Hunter-Reay was in the car Friday at Road America for Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America. He was 22nd fastest out of 27 drivers with a fast time of 1:43.1368 on the newly repaved 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course.
Carpenter is hoping Hunter-Reay can help the team learn what it needs to become a weekly contender in the series because of the driver’s impeccable experience.
It’s not one thing that Hunter-Reay is going to help change at ECR, it’s a collection of little bits, pieces, procedures, and protocols that the successful driver will bring to the team.
“We’re taking it in stride and plowing forward,” Hunter-Reay said Friday before practice. “I have no idea how long the term is yet. The ball is in my court and I’m looking forward to racing with the team for the rest of the season.
“There has been a lot of details, a lot of new people to work with and familiar faces. It’s been a matter of getting a lot done in seven days. When you look at everything that has gone into it, they have done a phenomenal job.”
Hunter-Reay is inputting his own thoughts and ideas to the way ECR runs its operation. A new, but proven, way of evaluating the program can help Carpenter’s team improve, at least that is the hope.
“I have a lot of experience working with many teams in the IndyCar paddock, many of the people and I have a lot of experience to pull from,” Hunter-Reay said. “That’s a strength that I look forward to using.
“If we come out of this weekend with progress and going to the next race, meaning we learned things to change or manipulate to the next race, that will be progress. This isn’t a situation of dropping me in and saying, go faster. This is a methodical process.
“We’re going through everything, from the approach at the beginning of the weekend, the pre-plan to how we go through the practices. If we can find things to sprinkle into Mid-Ohio, we can progress gradually from there.”
Hunter-Reay has been friends with Ed Carpenter for much of his career. He drove for the team’s predecessor, Vision Racing, in 2009. He tested with ECR in 2013 and 2021 and worked with the engineers. When Carpenter called Hunter-Reay and asked for help with direction with the team, the driver was ready to grab his helmet and get back in the car.
The call came during the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix weekend, when Daly started 15th and finished 15th. In a season when Daly had finishes of 20th at Texas, 23rd at Long Beach (Calif.), 25th at Barber (Ala.) Motorsports Park, an eighth-place finish in the 107th Indianapolis 500 wasn’t going to be enough to keep him at ECR.
Although Daly was popular with the fans, IndyCar is a results-based business and Carpenter is attempting to improve the team’s results.
“Obviously, this is a tough situation,” Hunter-Reay said earlier this week. “A lot has happened in a short amount of time. There’s just a whole lot to take in. It’s so multifaceted. There are so many variables here at play.
“Bottom line is tough situation, especially mid-season. I feel for Conor. I’ve been on either end of that deal, and in some cases numerous times. I’m a big fan of his, and hopefully he’ll be back in the IndyCar Series soon where he belongs no doubt.
“We’re just plugging away hour by hour here, day by day, and looking forward to the weekend ahead.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge, but I’m also a realist. I’m approaching this from a pretty disciplined standpoint in curbing some expectations there and just taking this, like you said, how is that first session? I’m taking it lap by lap, outing by outing, and at the moment we’re going day by day just trying to prepare for this thing.
“There’s a lot to digest and a lot to consider.”
When Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport agreed at the end of 2020 that the 2021 season would conclude their relationship, he was ready to step back and try some new things.
He got to drive in Tony Stewart’s Superstar Racing Experience series. He also had the opportunity to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in IMSA and drive the famed Cadillac sports car.
“I really enjoyed it,” Hunter-Reay said. “I enjoyed taking a step back and kind of getting a renewed sense of kind of where I wanted to be.
“I was not pursuing anything full-time in IndyCar. That was not my objective.
“Obviously apart from the very unique scenarios that may come along, this one I didn’t foresee. Last year obviously I was on call for the 10 car (when Alex Palou’s situation at Chip Ganassi Racing was tenuous because of an agreement with McLaren). That was quite the roller coaster because I never knew where that was going to go, but I kept myself ready.
“I kept myself mentally dialed in ready to jump in the car at any given point. So, I think that primed me not only for the 500 this year but where we are right now.
“But no, that was not my objective just a few weeks ago. Just a week ago.”
Hunter-Reay competed in the 107th Indianapolis 500 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on May 28. He started 18th and finished 11th, leading eight laps.
He was content to return to his regular life and drive in SRX, which this year will race on Thursday nights. Hunter-Reay hopes to continue to compete in that series because it won’t conflict with the IndyCar schedule
“I’ve been nonstop since ’03 and with the same organization for 12 years, so it was a good time to just take a step back for a moment,” Hunter-Reay said. “I got to do a lot of things I wouldn’t have. I got to coach my kids’ teams. That means a lot. They’re at an age where they’re so impressionable, it’s really nice for dad to be home for a change and not always be at an airport and sleeping at a hotel.
“That was something that was very enjoyable, and at the same time, it allowed me to come back very refreshed and focused, and here we are.”