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Arizona Concours roundtable evokes IndyCar drivers’ best memories

Hunter-Reay got the bug watching the CART IndyCars on the streets of Miami
Hunter-Reay got the bug watching the CART IndyCars on the streets of Miami

Ryan Hunter-Reay remembers vividly when he caught the bug to race Indy cars. The 35-year-old Andretti Autosport driver, who won the 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series championship and 2014 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, gladly recounted the story as part of a special roundtable discussion at the Arizona Concours d'Elegance in Phoenix featuring a quartet of Indy 500 winners.

The Concours ran Jan. 23-24 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and featured nearly 100 rare cars on display, including several vintage Indy cars on loan from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Joining Hunter-Reay on the panel to discuss the upcoming 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and other racing matters were Tom Sneva (winner of the 1983 Indy 500), Arie Luyendyk (1990 and '97) and Dario Franchitti (2007, '10 and '12). Lyn St. James, a seven-time Indy 500 starter and 1992 Indy 500 rookie of the year, moderated.

Hunter-Reay recalled when, as a youngster, he attended a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) street race on the streets of Miami. That's all it took to determine his destiny.

"I remember pressing my cheek up against a fence for the first time ever at an Indy car race in Miami and feeling one of those cars go by," Hunter-Reay told the audience. "That's when it hit me. That was it. I remember the chills going down my back. Being a kid, these guys were my superheroes."

The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to Phoenix International Raceway following an 11-year absence for the Phoenix Grand Prix on April 1-2. Hunter-Reay, in particular, is glad PIR is back on the schedule.

"I think it's great for the series," said Hunter-Reay, who has seven career wins on short ovals like the 1-mile PIR. "Short oval racing is unbelievably exciting for our cars. Having Phoenix back on the schedule is a big deal to me. With Andretti having a lot of success at Iowa and Milwaukee, I'm really psyched to see it on the schedule."