Hunter-Reay honored (2nd Update)
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| Ryan Hunter-Reay |
UPDATE Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay was honored with the National Automotive Racing Lifetime Achievement Award Saturday by Jay Leno at the gala for the 13th annual Boca Raton Concours d’ Elegance presented by Mercedes-Benz and AutoNation.
Other 2019 award winners were Dietmar Exler, USA Mercedes-Benz President & CEO, the National Automotive Manufacture Lifetime Achievement Award, and Rick Hendrick, Owner of the Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Motorsports, the Automotive Lifetime Dealer Achievement Award. Some of the previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners include Roger Penske (2008), Bobby Rahal (2009), Mike Jackson, CEO AutoNation (2010), Wayne Huizenga (2011), Carroll Shelby (2012), and Emmerson Fittipaldi (2013).
Hunter-Reay, the 2012 NTT IndyCar Series Champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner, is the most successful American driver currently participating in open wheel competition with more wins than any other American open-wheel driver. Hunter-Reay is a two time ESPY Winner (2013 & 2014), an award given annually to the best driver, in any category, in the world.
Hunter-Reay is the recipient of both the IndyCar Rookie of the Year Award (2007) and Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Award (2008) and is the only American driver to have won races in the NTT IndyCar Series, CART, ChampCar, American LeMans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
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| Hunter-Reay (C) with Brian Quail (L) President Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward, County, Marc Cannon (R), Sr. VP and Chief Marketing Officer of AutoNation |
The 38-year-old, who resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife Beccy and three young boys, has driven for Andretti Autosport since 2010 posting 15 wins for the team and accounting for over half the teams IndyCar wins during that time. Last season Hunter-Reay recorded two IndyCar wins including the series final race at Sonoma Raceway after starting from the pole position, finished fourth in the IndyCar Series championship, and an overall win in the WeatherTech Lemans Series final race of the season at their ‘Petit Lemans’ race in a Daytona Prototype.
Hunter-Reay founded his Racing for Cancer charity in 2010 in honor of his mother’s passing from colon cancer in 2009. In the past five years the charity has raised more than 7 million dollars in partnership with AutoNation, for which he has been a spokesman since 2013.
The three-day event at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida, including the gala charity dinner and auction where the awards were presented, showcased an extensive collection of more than 200 automobiles and motorcycles. Bentley Motorcars, celebrating its 100th anniversary, was the designated marque of the year at the event.
Jay Leno, former host of the “Tonight Show" and current star of “Jay Leno’s Garage," was the Master of Ceremonies for the Awards Dinner where Hunter-Reay was presented his award as well as a Judge of the cars on display Sunday.
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| Ryan Hunter-Reay |
02/23/19 Video added below of the introduction of Hunter-Reay during the award ceremony.
02/17/19 Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay will be honored with the National Automotive Racing Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the gala for the 13th annual Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance presented by Mercedes-Benz and AutoNation.
Hunter-Reay, the 2012 NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner, has accumulated 18 races wins in an Indy car career that began in 2003. The 38-year-old Floridian won two races last season and finished fourth in the points, his best result in the championship since he won the title six years prior.
The three-day event at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida will showcase an extensive collection of more than 200 automobiles and motorcycles. Bentley Motorcars, celebrating its 100th anniversary, is the designated marque of the year at the event.
Jay Leno, former host of the “Tonight Show" and current star of “Jay Leno’s Garage," will attend the three-day event and perform at the dinner gala when Hunter-Reay will be awarded. For information on tickets, visit bocaCDE.com or call 954-537-1010.