Ryan Hunter-Reay: Portrait of a Champion

Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay's life reads like a Hollywood movie, or at least a compelling autobiography that I'd love to read and write. It has all the components of an inspirational docudrama: personal triumph over tragedy and professional obstacles, a family history shrouded in deception and illegal activity, and a romance brought together by destiny. I attended the luncheon in his honor on Wednesday, hosted by Texas Motor Speedway, and I loved hearing his story. Unfortunately my view was obstructed by a tree, but I was able to peek through the trees to see Ryan as he was interviewed!

Ryan Hunter-Reay was born on December 17, 1980 in Dallas, TX, though he didn't live in Texas very long. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL and has for many years. He certainly played to the Texas crowd during the luncheon, mentioning his gun collection, his desire to fire the six shooters in victory lane, and the fact that he's the only IndyCar racer to drive a pickup truck. Even though the mayor's office made RHR an "official resident of Fort Worth" and presented him with a silver cowboy boot, RHR is a Floridian at heart. He loves the water and finds peace in it. To relax, he enjoys free diving (which also helps him work on his breathing, to develop stamina during a race), spear fishing, and looking at his 150-gallon custom-built aquarium, which was featured on National Geographic's Fish Tank Kings. Evidently his son Ryden has inherited Dad's love of the water, as he played in the fountain on Wednesday:

Life is good for RHR right now, but that wasn't always the case.

Not much has been written about RHR's father Nick and his alleged ties to a Colombian drug lord, and that's good for RHR. From what I can tell, Nicholas Hunter-Reay smuggled cocaine out of the country, was indicted for it, and fled before he could stand trial. That all took place before Ryan was born, though Nick was eventually caught in 1988. Apparently he has served his time, because he was at the Indy 500 banquet, where Ryan also thanked him for buying his first go-kart and for supporting him all these years. I will not speculate or comment further on this situation, because I don't know many of the details. But if Ryan had to deal with this while he was growing up, that would certainly be difficult. So his life has not been all wine and roses.

Not only did RHR face difficulties in his personal life, but his climb up the racing ladder was also not easy. In a way, he embodies the struggles of many race car drivers today, who clearly have the talent but are unable to land a full-time ride. Despite scoring a win (at Surfers' Paradise) in his first year of Champ Car (2003), and winning rookie of the year honors in both IndyCar (2007) and the Indy 500 (2008), he has frequently found himself without a ride at the start of a season. The reason most often given for his lack of ride? Not talent, that's for sure, but a lack of funding and sponsorship. And until Andretti Autosport signed RHR midway through 2010, after a series of successful races, he jumped from team to team hoping to be signed by someone.

The year 2010 had to be a difficult one for Hunter-Reay. He had just lost his mother to colon cancer in late 2009, and his professional career seemed to stall. He showed admirable fight and determination in winning Long Beach, a race that had been one of his mother's favorites. Long Beach is a special place for RHR, as it's also where he met his wife Beccy. But 2010 was also the year RHR's racing career really took off. He signed a two-year contract with Andretti, and finished 15 of 17 races.

RHR was not on the radar in 2012. Sure, he had won races and scored some impressive podiums, but I don't think many people outside of the Andretti camp considered him a legitimate championship contender. The championship was expected to be a close battle, once again, between Will Power and Dario Franchitti. Well they got half of that prediction right. The championship came down to the final race at Fontana. With a 17-point advantage going into the race, it looked like Power would win it until he spun and crashed on lap 55, nearly taking out RHR in the process. The team managed to repair the car enough so that Power could return to the race and gain a few more points, but RHR finished fourth to claim the title by just three points.

I tell the Ryan Hunter-Reay championship story in my classes, because it's an excellent example of how teamwork leads to both success and loyalty. RHR was an unexpected (but not undeserving) champion, so naturally he was asked what was the difference this year compared to years past? Why was he able to be so successful in 2012? He said, quite simply, because he was finally part of a team. A team that had chemistry and worked well together. That didn't happen overnight, but it happened with the stability that RHR had not had previously in IndyCar. He valued team Andretti Autosport so much that he turned down an offer from Roger Penske, considered to be the most prestigious ride in IndyCar. At the time his decision was mildly criticized, with some saying "You don't turn down the Captain!" Hunter-Reay, though, is having the last laugh now, as the same team that led him to the 2012 series title also helped him win the 2014 Indianapolis 500. And RHR made sure to thank them during his post-race interview. During the Q & A at Wednesday's luncheon, one fan commended him for this comment, calling it classy. But clearly RHR knows what many people don't: racing is a team sport, and it takes more than one talented individual to achieve success.

I have argued in other blog posts that RHR is the best all-around race car driver in the world today, and I stand by that claim. He has won on all types of tracks: road courses, street courses, and ovals, both here in the U.S. and internationally. He has also been on the podium of endurance races such as the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring. He now has the elite Indy 500 win to go with his IndyCar series title, and is a favorite to win the title again this year. He's come a long way, and it's hard to imagine he'll have to fight for a ride again any time soon.

Some people, when they experience struggles in life, make bad decisions. When Ryan lost his mother, it was devastating. We saw him tear up as he talked about her following the Indy 500. But rather than let it tear him down, he channeled his emotions into fighting for a cause. He became the global ambassador for Racing for Cancer, an organization that seeks to fund cancer research and support early detection. He also is actively involved in Livestrong, and drives the #28 to represent the 28 million people living with cancer (it's also the day his son Ryden was born). And may I say, having interacted with him and listened to him this past week, RHR is a genuinely nice guy. He is almost impossible to root against (though my boyfriend does, because RHR took out his favorite driver at Long Beach). IndyCar has its long-desired American champion, and if more Americans knew his story, I think they'd all support him. Now it's up to IndyCar to tell that story, promote him, and make him a household name.

Sources
www.ryanracing.com
IndyCar website
Wikipedia
RHR Facebook Page
Carleton Place, April 18, 2010
Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 25, 1987 & September 24, 1988
Orange County Register, April 19, 2010
Seattle Times, September 10, 2012

Indy 500 Hangover

The first IndyCar race I ever watched was the 1992 Indianapolis 500. As is well-known, that was the closest finish in Indy history, with Al Unser Jr. holding off Scott Goodyear on the final straightaway. From that moment, I was hooked. I'm grateful that I finally have the personal and professional life schedule that allows me to follow IndyCar more religiously, and the racing has only gotten better in the past few years. I hope that yesterday's Indy 500, the second closest finish in history, generated some new fans just like me.

The finish was the story of the race of course. I applaud the decision to red-flag the race with less than ten laps to go, which set up a thrilling sprint to the finish between eventual winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and runner-up Helio Castroneves. Fans were treated to IndyCar racing at its finest, with good clean back-and-forth action between the top two drivers. Hunter-Reay's bold pass on Helio in Turn 3, where he almost ended up on the grass, showed that he wanted and deserved this win. It was a heartbreaking loss for Helio, trying to join elite company by winning his fourth 500. But I want to say thank you to both drivers for having all of us on the edge of our seats, hearts pounding, as we watched that final lap play out. The finish created a lot of positive rhetoric about IndyCar, which the series desperately needs. It was truly awesome.

I was incredibly surprised that we went almost 150 laps without a caution. I think everyone just tried to settle into a rhythm, saving the aggression for the last 20 laps. We didn't see as much artificial passing with cars drafting each other as we did last year, and that was just fine with me. We still saw plenty of passing and lead changes, and even after 150 laps I had no idea who would win the race. Kudos to the drivers and teams for driving so smartly and safely for so long. That had to be difficult; your arms never get a break when the race stays under green like that.

The crash between James Hinchcliffe, Ed Carpenter, and Townsend Bell really changed the complexion of the race. I do think Carpenter had an excellent shot to win the race at that point but he was an innocent victim and justifiably upset with Hinch. Who was more to blame for the incident, Hinch or Bell? That's tough to say, though the jury of professional opinion seems to argue it was Hinch. Credit Hinch for accepting the blame, too, and acknowledging he made a mistake. Bell, who was quite impressive again, did punt Carpenter a little bit, which may have set off a chain reaction.  But Hinchcliffe also stuck his nose where he probably shouldn't have, causing an ill-advised three-wide situation going into a turn. After listening to Bell's comments on the radio and after the race, it appears he did not realize they were three-wide going into that corner. Karma is a bitch, though, isn't it? Bell eventually crashed, setting up the red flag. The wreck also echoed the one at Long Beach earlier this year, when Hinch criticized his teammate, Hunter-Reay, for making a "rookie move," the exact same term Carpenter labeled Hinch's move at Indy. It's fair to say they won't be vacationing together any time soon.

What a race to forget for the Ganassi cars. Ryan Briscoe had a slight spin on the first lap and had to pit early. Surprisingly, he ended up as the top-finishing Ganassi car, at 18th. He was in the top ten until the last few laps, when he had to deal with a broken front wing. The other Ganassi drivers all had issues. Charlie Kimball's spin brought out the first caution. Scott Dixon inexplicably crashed a few laps later. And reigning Indy 500 champ Tony Kanaan ran out of gas as he pulled into the pits for his first stop, causing all sorts of problems that never went away. For a team that normally impresses and wins at Indy, these results likely do not sit well with its owner.

How impressive was Sage Karam? The rookie started on the last row, but charged all the way to the front and finished ninth. He had some fearless passes during the race. Ganassi might be looking to make a switch this year after witnessing that result!

Unfortunately, though Karam had the drive of the day in my opinion, he won't be winning the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award. That honor goes to sixth-place finisher Kurt Busch, who stayed out of trouble and just seemed to be enjoying the ride. I think his crash in practice put things in perspective for him, and he was content just to hang back, find a comfortable rhythm, and finish the race. He avoided wreckage in front of him a couple of times, perhaps because of luck, skill, or both. Busch's attempt to complete the "double" fell short due to engine problems in the Coca-Cola 600. I think his entry in the Indy 500 undoubtedly brought more interest and viewership to the event, which was beneficial for IndyCar. He also earned a great deal of respect with a good result. I felt, however, that all the post-race comments about Busch overshadowed Hunter-Reay's victory. I understand the attention, since so few drivers have attempted the double and since he is a NASCAR star. I was most bothered by some ignorant comments made after Busch had such a good finish. Some fans (mostly of the NASCAR variety) claimed that IndyCars, and the Indy 500 in particular, must not be too difficult to drive if someone in their first IndyCar race can finish sixth. Ugh, that angers me. I hate the NASCAR vs IndyCar battle, because I wishfully hope that the two series can successfully coexist (and help each other out) without fighting each other. I think Busch had a successful Indy 500 because he is a talented race car driver, number one, who also had several weeks of practice in an IndyCar, including a big learning experience by crashing in practice. And it's not like he's never driven on an oval, or at Indianapolis before. It seemed like those fans thought Kurt was just thrown into an IndyCar the day of the race without any training or discussion with his team. Was his top ten rookie-of-the-year performance impressive? Yes, definitely. But it should not diminish the performance of the five who finished ahead of him, including the WINNER, nor all the other regular IndyCar drivers. I hope Busch's success leads other NASCAR drivers to participate in the Indy 500. The publicity it generates helps both series, though it certainly helps IndyCar more. We'll see how those other drivers do.

I do not understand what is going on with Graham Rahal. He was the first car out of the race with electrical issues. But his part-time teammate Oriol Servia finished 11th. How is this possible? Don't they compare data? We should not see that much of a discrepancy between drivers on the same team. It baffles me. I keep hoping Graham has good results, but he keeps disappointing. Kurt Busch actually has one more championship point than he does now (a result of the double points earned from Indy), which is a sad reality.

What was up with the pre-race show on ABC? The feature on TK and his medallion/good luck charm was excellent. But the segment with Josef Newgarden and some Catwoman-like thing in a bathtub of milk was incredibly bizarre. Granted, Newgarden showed he might have a future in horror films when his racing career is over, but that whole bit was unnecessary. I think it would be better if the pre-race focused more on the drivers. When NBC televises the Olympics, they spend a great deal of time telling athletes' stories, particularly the unique or interesting ones. That gives viewers more understanding of who these people are, since most of them are unknown to the public, and it gives them someone to root for. The same approach would be beneficial for ABC's pre-race coverage. All of these drivers have a story, and some, like Hunter-Reay's, are actually fascinating and inspirational. IndyCar fans are familiar with most of them, but these stories should be told to all the viewers that just turn in for the Indy 500 each year. Give them a driver to watch and root for.

A lot of people criticized ABC for showing a split-screen on the last few laps with the racing on one side and the drivers' significant others' reactions on the other side. Truth be told, I didn't even notice this was done until I read about it later. I was solely focused on watching RHR and Helio battle it out. So it didn't bother me at all, but I understand why it would be aggravating for some viewers. ABC/ESPN still has some improvements to make in their motorsports coverage, that's for sure, but this year has been light-years better than last year with Marty Reid.

I want to devote a blog entry to Ryan Hunter-Reay later this week, because he deserves the recognition. I will be attending a luncheon in his honor on Wednesday, so stay tuned! For now, though, let's savor and celebrate that fantastic Indy 500. I'm glad we have less than a week until the next IndyCar race, too!

My Media Day Adventure

I had the great pleasure of participating in Indy 500 Media Day this past week. I had not realized how big and spread out Media Day was, but IndyCar does a great job of sending its drivers all over the country to promote not only the Indy 500 but upcoming races as well. (Except for California; why weren't any drivers sent to Fontana or Sonoma?) I don't know how they determine which driver gets to go to which location, but I think Tony Kanaan got a pretty good assignment.

TK was the lone driver sent to promote the Firestone 600, and someone saw this as an excellent opportunity to jointly promote Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. Six Flags is debuting a new ride this season, called the Wahoo Racer. The ride pits six competitors against one another, who race down a waterslide head-first on a  foam toboggan. What a perfect promotion for a race car driver! TK was one of the first people to christen the new ride, along with an Arlington, TX city manager (who ultimately won) and members of the Arlington police and fire departments. As I watched TK's splashdown, I wasn't convinced he fully enjoyed it but he gamely participated anyway. He also rode the "Mega Wedgie," which is a thrill ride like a halfpipe. Typically two people ride a raft down the halfpipe, but TK did it all by himself. I rode both of these rides, and they were a lot of fun. My boyfriend, who is much taller than me and can get better angles, took some pictures:

TK, moments after finishing last in the inaugural Wahoo Racer 500

After the race, TK presented the trophy to the winner, along with a pair of "six shooters" (water pistols in this case), as is tradition for anyone who wins a race at Texas Motor Speedway. He also donned the traditional cowboy hat:

In keeping with Indy 500 tradition, all six participants also received a small bottle of milk:

After drying off and changing clothes, TK did some interviews and joined some fans for lunch. Since this was announced as a "meet and greet," I had expected a more organized fan Q & A experience, but I still greeted TK and had my picture taken with him. When TK left, we were invited to ride the open rides, but most people left instead. (Not me! I had never been to Hurricane Harbor, and I love riding some waterslides so I took full advantage of the free opportunity to enjoy the Wahoo Racer and other rides multiple times.) I think the Six Flags employees got a little bored, and the poor DJ was left to play music for about ten people. The event was supposed to be free for the first 100 fans (plus a guest) to sign up, but I don't think there was anything close to 100 fans there. I suspect that's because the event was scheduled from 9:30am-2:00pm on a Tuesday, when kids were still in school and most people were working. But it also wasn't publicized very much in my opinion. I'm not sure if TMS season ticket holders were invited, but that would have been a nice touch if they had been. It sounds like other cities had much better Media Day turnout, especially Milwaukee. Nonetheless, I appreciated the opportunity to take part in some fun water rides and meet one of my favorite IndyCar drivers, so thank you Texas Motor Speedway. My first (and hopefully not my last) Indy 500 Media Day was a blast!

Indy 500 Qualifying

Now that the two-day qualifying experiment is complete, it's time to step back and reflect. Feedback for this year's qualifying was largely positive, from both drivers and fans. Personally, I think I echo the thoughts of many IndyCar fans who thought qualifying was good, but needed something extra. Let's weigh the pros and cons of qualifying this year.

Pros
The most notable benefit of having qualifying spread over two days, culminating in Pole Day on Sunday, was the television ratings. Saturday earned a 0.8-0.9 rating, which is comparable to what IndyCar receives for a race. Mark Miles had to be grinning from ear to ear upon seeing the ratings for Sunday, however, which earned a 1.2 rating. Anything over 1.0 is considered a huge success for qualifying. Evidently IndyCar piqued enough interest on Saturday that viewers wanted to see who would emerge as the polesitter. Sunday also had no competition from NASCAR, and with Kurt Busch's attempt to do the double this year, I'm sure some NASCAR fans who watched Saturday night's All-Star Race tuned in to see how he would do. Attendance was poor on Saturday, but that may have been due to the rainy, cold weather conditions. Sunday's attendance looked great, and certainly better than last year. So on sheer numbers alone, IndyCar has to consider this year's experiment a success.

Saturday featured some great drama, as teams scrambled to finish in the Fast Nine. This led to some teams using the "fast lane," which threw out any previous speeds and started from scratch. To me, allowing cars to make multiple qualifying attempts has always been one of the Indy 500's strengths. We've had that kind of drama for the last few years, despite what some fans say. The first full qualifying day that I watched was when Ryan Briscoe won the pole in 2012. I remember being on the edge of my seat as teams kept making runs to try and dethrone him. I thought to myself, who needs bumping? That was good enough for me. And that same suspense took place this year, as drivers on small teams like Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter, and J.R. Hildebrand found their way into the Fast Nine, beating out big fish like Chip Ganassi Racing.

The race for the pole went down to the wire...literally. As James Hinchcliffe nervously looked on, it appeared that Ed Carpenter's first couple of laps wouldn't be enough for the pole position. But suddenly the tides turned, and Ed won the pole for the second year in a row with an average speed of 231.067, the fastest time since 2003. Not only that, but it was interesting to see which drivers gained speed from Saturday (Montoya more than anyone), and which ones lost speed (Ryan Hunter-Reay, really?). Carpenter was also a hometown favorite, so it was great to hear the collective cheer from the crowd as he was awarded the pole.

Cons
Both days left me feeling a little empty, but Sunday left me feeling emptier than Saturday. Qualifying was over by 3pm, which felt too soon. I felt like one run for the pole wasn't enough. One run for positions 10-33 makes some sense, so I can support that. I was left wanting more, which is probably because in years past we have gotten more. The shootout for the pole can be highly enjoyable and thrilling, and I just didn't feel like it was this year. I would've liked to see more.

Saturday's conclusion felt a little ho-hum, but I suppose that was to be expected considering there was no bumping. Future years might create more drama, but Saturday certainly did not lack action. Cars were constantly on track so there was always something to watch. Unfortunately there weren't that many fans present to watch.

The points awarded for qualifying definitely needs to change. Carpenter earned 42 points for winning the pole, which is almost as many as a race winner receives. That just seems ridiculous. Will Power commented that he didn't even know so many points could be earned from qualifying for this race. For a championship, the emphasis should be on winning races--as many of them as possible on all types of tracks.

At first, the qualifying procedure was quite confusing. And I imagine it would have been even more confusing had there been more than 33 cars fighting for spots. But I quickly caught on after watching it on TV. It really isn't that much different from what I've seen in the past, except that it was spread over two days instead of just one. Perhaps the ratings number would have been higher on Saturday if people weren't so confused. Saturday, to me, was more exciting than Sunday. I will say that the Indy 500 qualifying process is far less confusing than NASCAR's supposed All-Star Race. I still don't understand how all that works, or why it's even called an "All-Star" race. But that's a rant for another day!

All in all, I think we need to give the qualifying experiment a few more years to really assess it. For now, it works. Maybe because the ratings numbers were higher than expected (or maybe because Kurt Busch adds some increased intrigue), but I have seen far more promotion for this year's Indy 500 than I ever have before. During last night's NBA game, ESPN cameras showed both Carpenter and Helio Castroneves in the crowd, leading the announcers to talk more about IndyCar. Ads for both the Indy 500 and the Verizon IndyCar Series ran multiple times during the game, and they continue to be aired during other programming. Not only are we seeing more television advertising, but yesterday's Media Day was a promotion extravaganza that I had the pleasure of witnessing in person. More on that to follow later this week. I really feel like IndyCar is growing and moving in a positive direction. It's exciting to watch.

Thoughts on the Inaugural GP of Indy

I realize I am rather late in posting this review, but it has been a crazy week of family visits, graduations, and meetings. I was not even able to watch the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis in real time, but I have caught up now. Once you got used to seeing IndyCars driving in a different direction at IMS, and once we got past that horrible start, it was an enjoyable race. Let's do a quick recap before Indy 500 qualifying starts tomorrow.

With all due respect to winner Simon Pagenaud, the story of the race happened much earlier than the checkered flag. Sebastian Saavedra surprised everyone by scoring a pole position, but unfortunately he never got the chance to take a lap as pole sitter. His car would not go during the standing start, and he suffered a violent impact after both Carlos Munoz and Mikhail Aleshin crashed into him. His promising day was sadly cut short. OK, so can we please finally admit that standing starts DO NOT WORK in IndyCar, at least right now? With all the hype surrounding this historic race and a chance to showcase IndyCar on national television, a start like that was a major letdown and I'll bet some viewers immediately changed the channel. I agree with Ed Carpenter, I am not a fan of them. For one, they're just not that exciting. And after witnessing Saavedra's collision, I think they're downright dangerous. Unless technological changes to these cars are made, someone is going to get killed during these standing starts. Derrick Walker apparently does not see this, as he announced this week that standing starts would continue. I wonder, can he live with himself if something tragic does happen?

I'm not sure what IndyCar is trying to do with these restarts, but I don't think they're working, either. It seems most, if not all, drivers concur. The wait-to-accelerate strategy not only causes accidents, it doesn't work well for how fast these cars are. Graham Rahal was the most vocal critic of the restarts, after he was victimized by Montoya, who was a lap down. Granted, the leader can and should set the pace, and the cars in the back should be patient. But it seems to make more sense to let IndyCars accelerate as they come off of a turn, rather than wait until they are halfway down the straightaway. I suspect they will fix these new rules before the next road race.

It was interesting to see Scott Dixon and Will Power battling once again, though this time Dixon appeared to run himself off the road more than Power. And Power did actually receive a penalty, as he should have, for running over a hose in pit lane. Can this quiet the conspiracy theorists for now?

We saw a scary moment with James Hinchcliffe, after a piece of Justin Wilson's car clocked him on his visor and knocked him out briefly. He suffered a concussion, but he has already been cleared to resume racing, which is great news. I feared the worst when we saw him holding his head while he was carted off on a stretcher. When news broke that he blacked out and drove off course, we also realized how lucky Hinch was. It could have been much worse, so let's be thankful it wasn't.

Jack Hawksworth continues to impress. He qualified on the front row, led much of the first half of the race, and now leads the Rookie of the Year standings. He has been a pleasant surprise this season.

In the end, the race did have some suspense as a fuel-mileage strategy played out. Oriol Servia came in for a splash-and-dash, though he may not have needed to. Pagenaud pitted around the same time as Servia and he was able to make it to the end. Servia's team either didn't want to take that risk, or they weren't getting as good of fuel mileage as Pagenaud. Pagenaud's win made Honda look good, as the Japanese manufacturer got their first win of the year.

It sounds like the GP of Indy will return next year, and why not? The event appeared to be a success, with 1.3 million viewers and better-than-expected attendance. All those naysayers who criticized IndyCar for hosting another race at IMS in May can eat their words. I still think it would be better to have the road course race later in the year, perhaps even as the season finale, but it was a good idea and they prepared a good track for racing. Now, on to the big one!