page_title: Ryan Hunter-Reay
section_title: Champ Car World Series
hierarchical_section_title: Ryan Hunter-Reay / Career history / Indy car racing / Champ Car World Series
caption_attribution_description: English: Ryan Hunter-Reay at Autosport International 2005
context_page_description: Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became the first American to win since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. Hunter-Reay also won in the defunct Champ Car World Series twice and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to his experience in Indy car racing, Hunter-Reay has competed in the Race of Champions, A1 Grand Prix, and various forms of sports car racing.
  Hunter-Reay currently drives for Andretti Autosport. When Hunter-Reay initially joined Andretti for the 2010, he was only signed on to drive for a partial season. Additional sponsorship was found and Hunter-Reay began to drive the entire season for Andretti. Hunter-Reay has since won both the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon IndyCar Series championship.
  Hunter-Reay currently drives the number 28 car in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The number is a show of support for the estimated 28 million people living with cancer worldwide. Hunter-Reay, who lost his mother to colon cancer in 2009, acts a spokesman on behalf of Racing for Cancer, an advocacy organization.
context_section_description: Hunter-Reay began to compete in the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford in 2003 to drive the #31 American Spirit Team Johansson Reynard 02i-Ford Cosworth XFE for American Spirit Team Johansson, a team owned by former Formula One and Champ Car World Series driver Stefan Johansson. The previous year Reynard Motorsports filed for bankruptcy and the Champ Car program became owned by Walker Racing. The chassis struggled to compete with the Lola B02/00. The team also competed for the majority of the season without sponsorship. The only race that the team ran with sponsorship was the Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante Presented by Banamex/VISA at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez where the car ran with sponsorship from Gonher de Mexico. In the first twelve races of the season Hunter-Reay's best start was a seventh at the G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway and a best finish of sixth at the Molson Indy Vancouver at Concord Pacific Place. During this time Hunter-Reay was ranked 14th in points. At the thirteenth race of the season, the Champ Car Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Hunter-Reay qualified in 2nd place and finished in 3rd place. Five races later at the season-ending Lexmark Indy 300 at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Hunter-Reay started from twelfth place and would make his first of three mandatory pit stops to get slick tires as the track was changing from wet to dry in various parts of the track. Hunter-Reay would soon lead for 15 laps and would keep his car on the track while several other cars were crashing and/or spinning off of the track. Hunter-Reay would go on to win his first Champ Car race.
  Hunter-Reay began to drive for Herdez Competition in 2004 in the #4 Herdez Lola B02/00-Ford Cosworth XFE. In the third race of the season, the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 250 at the Milwaukee Mile, Hunter-Reay would qualify on the pole position and lead for all 250 laps to get his second and final Champ Car win. Following the race Hunter-Reay was ranked third in points. Hunter-Reay's best finish in the remaining races was a 4th at the Grand Prix of Road America presented by the Chicago Tribune at Road America. In the race Hunter-Reay started second and made contact with former teammate Jimmy Vasser on the first lap and dropped the two to the rear of the field. Hunter-Reay charged up through the field to get fourth place while Vasser finished eighth. Hunter-Reay would finish ninth in points (the only time Hunter-Reay finished in the top 10 in points in Champ Car) with 199 points.
  In 2005 Hunter-Reay began to drive for Rocketsports Racing in the #31 Lola B02/00-Ford Cosworth XFE. The car did not have consistent sponsorship and had to have sponsorship for various races from autobytel.com, Briggs & Stratton, Cytomax and Red Paw Systems. At the Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver presented by PacifiCare at the Pepsi Center the car ran without sponsorship. Hunter-Reay's best finish during the season was a pair of 6th-place finishes at the Molson Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place and at Denver. Following the Hurricane Relief 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Hunter-Reay started 16th and finished 10th, Hunter-Reay was replaced by Michael McDowell for the final two races of the season. Hunter-Reay was 14th in points following the Las Vegas event and would drop to 15th in points after the last two races of the season with 110 points.
caption: Hunter-Reay at the Autosport International in 2005.
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