Hunter-Reay nominated for ‘Best Driver’ ESPY

Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion and Andretti Autosport driver of the No. 1 DHL Chevrolet, Ryan Hunter-Reay, is nominated for an ESPY award in the Best Driver category. The 32-year-old is nominated against Formula One's Sebastian Vettel, NASCAR's Brad Keselowski and fellow IZOD IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan.

In 2012, Hunter-Reay became the first American to win a unified IndyCar series title since 1994 when the IZOD IndyCar Series veteran garnered a league-leading four wins and seven top-five finishes during the 15 races, clinching the title just three points over second place. The Fort Lauderdale, FL resident is the only American to visit victory lane so far in 2013 when he won at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL and at the Milwaukee IndyFest in West Allis, WI; this allowed Hunter-Reay to top off his career wins with a grand total of eleven.

Additionally, Ryan has captured 70 top-10 finishes in 142 starts and holds the record as winningest active American driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series; the champion is the only driver ever to win in IndyCar, CART, Champ Car, ALMS and GrandAm.

This is Ryan Hunter-Reay's first nomination for an Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Award. Voting is now open and will close at the start of the ESPYS broadcast which will go live on ESPN from Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, July 17 at 9 p.m. ET.