LONG BEACH, Calif. — On Sunday, one of the most productive and glorious combinations in recent NTT IndyCar Series history will come to an end. Ryan Hunter-Reay will drive his final race in the No. 28 DHL Honda for Andretti Autosport.
Together, it’s been quite a ride.
“I’ve been with this team for 12 years, have been with the same engineer longer than I’ve been married, and I’ve got three kids, so go figure that one out,” Hunter-Reay responded to a question posed by SPEED SPORT. “We’ve definitely been here a long time.
“In sports, in business, anything like that, everything evolves, it always does. Change is inevitable, and it’s good a good thing usually. I think it’s definitely a good time to shake things up. I wish Andretti Autosport, Romain Grosjean and DHL the best. I think DHL is on the car for 11 races next year with six being with a different sponsor. I wish them all the best. I’m looking forward to that next chapter and the challenges that lie ahead.”
Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip once was asked if his retirement was the end of an era. Waltrip quipped, “At least I had an era.”
In some ways, the same can be said about Hunter-Reay.
The driver from Florida was never the next A.J. Foyt or Mario Andretti. But Hunter-Reay’s career can best be compared to Tom Sneva. Both drivers won one Indianapolis 500 and an IndyCar Series championship. Sneva won two titles in 1977 and ’78.
Sneva had a career that included 14 IndyCar victories. Hunter-Reay won 18 IndyCar Series races.
As the best driver from the United States for much of his career, Hunter-Reay earned the title, “Captain America.”
Hunter-Reay won the 2012 NTT IndyCar Series championship in a tight, battle with Will Power. Even after Power crashed early in the race, Team Penske was able to repair Power’s damaged Chevrolet and return to the race.
It was a battle where every position mattered, and Hunter-Reay won the championship by just three points.
Two years later, he won the 98th Indianapolis 500 in a fierce battle with Helio Castroneves. It was as close to a life or death late-race battle for an Indy 500 win, with both drivers making risky moves.
Hunter-Reay defeated Castroneves by.060 seconds in the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
“It’s like everything else in my career,” Hunter-Reay told SPEED SPORT. “It’s been by my fingernails. It was fantastic.
“The special part about that championship is when people think about it, it’s a season-long fight. People think about Will Power spinning at Fontana. Really, it was us, the way we fought back the last five races and stealing Baltimore from Penske is what won the championship for us.
“Obviously, we had a great run. We checked all the major boxes off, like I’ve said.”
From 2010-’15, Hunter-Reay won at least one race a season. One of his biggest wins came in the 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach when he was driving an IZOD-sponsored car for Andretti Autosport on a limited schedule. That victory turned into a full-season ride.
He was winless in 2016 and ’17, but in both of those years, was a leading contender to win the Indianapolis 500.
He won two races in 2018 and has been winless ever since.
At the end of last season, both Andretti and Hunter-Reay realized it was time for a change.
Beginning next season, former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean takes over that ride at Andretti Autosport.
“That was always our understanding,” Hunter-Reay said. “It’s even written in my contract. You never know. We were third in that last stop at Indy when Alex Palou and Helio Castroneves were running in front of us. Who knows, we have a shot at fighting that out, we end up winning the Indy 500 or something like that, that tends to change your season. Look what happened to Helio, right? He goes out for a one-off, now going into a full program.
“If you hit a stride, never say never, things can be reworked and things like that. No, I think we’ve seen out our time there. I’ve just gone in every weekend kind of trying to have a straightforward weekend. Last weekend we had a fueling issue. It’s one thing or another. We would have finished in the top four or five.
“It’s been a lot of those this year, so I’m definitely ready to move on.”
Hunter-Reay is confident about the future, whether it’s full-time in IMSA or a ride in IndyCar.
When the checkered flag waves for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, it will be the end of Hunter-Reay’s time at Andretti Autosport and time for a new beginning.
“All good things, and some stale things, come to an end,” Hunter-Reay said. “I’m all smiles absolutely. Racing at one of my favorite racetracks in an IndyCar. You can either go through it with a big smile on your face or you can just be mad and kick the can all the time. That’s how I’ve always been, enjoy it, go forward with a positive attitude, that’s what I’m doing for sure.
“I’ll be 41 in December. I still feel like I’ve got race wins in me. Just waiting for the right opportunity and the right situation, and we’ll see where that leads.”