Castroneves was in the lead with five laps to go before Hunter-Reay made his incredible move to retake the point. The two drivers slugged it out until the end with Hunter-Reay’s Honda defeating Castroneves’ Chevrolet by .060 seconds in what remains the second-closest finish in Indy 500 history.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Hunter-Reay recalled. “One of the coolest moments of my career, without a doubt.
“I won that race; it was a nail-biter. A sudden death overtime with Helio, seven laps to go, passing every lap on the inside or around the outside.
“When it was all said and done, I got that American flag out on the frontstretch. I told the fans I grew up a proud American boy and this was my dream. It was something I will absolutely remember forever and would love to do it again.”
As he celebrated, the massive crowd at tIndianapolis Motor Speedway chanted, “USA! USA! USA!”
“Those are career-defining moments and the group of people I did it with and how we won them,” Hunter-Reay recalled. “That is the biggest thing, how we persevered and were relentless winning the championship and the 500 is basically a microcosm of how my career has gone. I’m very proud of not only the path we took to get there, but the achievements themselves.”
The Indy 500 victory was one of three wins for Hunter-Reay in 2014. He won two more races in 2015. Beginning in 2016, Hunter-Reay was winless for two straight seasons, despite the fact he may have had the best car in the Indy 500 in 2016 and ’17.
“In 2016, that’s the biggest fish that got away,” Hunter-Reay admitted. “In 2017, that follows that up, but in 2016 I knew we had the car to win it. That was our race to lose, and we got taken out in pit lane by a ridiculous set of circumstances. That was absolutely our race to lose. I had the same feeling in 2016 that I did in 2014 about a quarter of the way through the race that this was the car to win the race, now we have to execute and make that happen. I knew that was the case.
“But that’s Indy. Everything has to be perfect. Pit lane, strategy, on track. Decisions being made on and off the track, have to fall your way. Yep, that’s a big one that got away.”
He broke through for two wins in 2018 but hasn’t won a race since. He finished eighth in the title race in 2019 and ’20. Through the end of July, he stood 17th in the standings this season.
Despite the lack of results, Hunter-Reay continues to have tremendous respect from his peers and the race fans.
“I’ve been doing this for a while and, obviously, everybody knows I have a lot of fight in me, and I give back in a lot of ways,” Hunter-Reay said.
He has changed since he broke into the sport in 2003 when he used to make really risky moves and not think about the outcome. Today, Hunter-Reay is more calculated about the risk, but he has the same approach and hunger.
“I’ve had to fight incredibly hard over the years,” he said. “Every time I would get three steps forward, it would be two steps back. That made me the driver that I am — the person that I am — even off the race track today.
“I wouldn’t have done it a different way.”
This season is the final year of Hunter-Reay’s contract with Andretti Autosport and the final year of DHL’s sponsorship with the team, which began in 2011 and ranks as one of the longest in recent IndyCar history.
The future remains uncertain for “Captain America,” but Hunter-Reay believes he has more heroics left in his career.
“Things have not been good as a whole and not as strong as we need them to be as a whole,” Hunter-Reay admitted. “We are here to win races. That is the only thing we are here to do. Like Michael Andretti (team owner) said, I agree, there needs to be a change up or mix up. I’ve been with the team for 12 years now and I think sometimes even a shakeup or fresh start does really well for all types of sports. I’m in agreement with him there.
“When it comes down to it, I’m here week-in and week-out trying to win races, but haven’t really got there to where does this stand, or where does that stand?
“I definitely know that I have wins left in me, especially Indy 500 wins and that is something that I will be focused on. Right now, I’m focused on the next race.
“Everything else is noise.”