Hunter-Reay named top Rookie
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| Ryan Hunter-Reay |
The ceiling of the race shop at Rahal Letterman Racing’s Hilliard, Ohio headquarters looks more like nearby St. John Arena than a workplace as the team hangs banners that chronicle milestones achieved by its drivers over the years – much like the championship banners that hang at the venerable Ohio State University arena.
The RLR banners celebrate wins, poles, championships and other accomplishments over the team’s 16-year history and features names like Bobby Rahal, Buddy Rice, Kenny Brack, Graham Rahal and Jimmy Vasser.
But after last night Indianapolis 500 Awards Ceremony, another name and another banner will be added to that honored list as Ryan Hunter-Reay (#17 Ethanol Dallara/Honda/Firestone) was officially named as the Indianapolis 500 Chase Rookie of the Year after his sixth-place finish in Sunday’s 500-mile race.
“This was a strong rookie field this season, perhaps one of the best in a long time, and it is very important to me to win this award," Hunter-Reay said. “This weekend was a big one for Rahal Letterman Racing and Team Ethanol and we put together a great race. The guys gave me great stops on Pit Lane every time I came in, and that gave me the confidence to go out and race hard on the track."
The Chase Rookie-of-the-Year honor puts Hunter-Reay in some Hall-of-Fame company as the 27-year-old Floridian joined such drivers as Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue and Rick Mears on the list of honorees. He became the top-finishing rookie of the race with a daring pass of Hideki Mutoh with six laps to go, but was not assured of the Chase Rookie-of-the-Year Award until after the media voting that took place on Sunday.
Hunter-Reay came from 20th on the starting grid to finish sixth in his first Indy 500 start. Hunter-Reay is also the first driver in Indy Racing League history to win the series’ Rookie-of-the-Year award in the year before winning the Indy 500 rookie honor. He earned last year’s season honor after running just six races in 2007, but was eligible for the Indy ROY award due to the fact that he was competing in his first Memorial Day classic.
Hunter-Reay and Rahal Letterman Racing will have precious little time to celebrate however, as the IndyCar Series pounds on toward Milwaukee this weekend for the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. The 225-lap event at the Milwaukee Mile will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon and can be seen live on ABC. RLR PR
05/26/08 Ryan Hunter-Reay, the highest finisher in a talented class of 11 first-year drivers in the Indianapolis 500, was selected the race’s rookie of the year Monday night. The 27-year-old driver for Rahal Letterman Racing started 20th and finished sixth in Sunday’s race, one spot better than Andretti Green Racing’s Hideki Mutoh. Hunter-Reay received a prize of $328,065 at the victory dinner Monday night, including a $25,000 bonus as the race’s top rookie. He also was the IndyCar Series rookie of the year in 2007 after joining Rahal Letterman at midseason.
His sixth-place finish was his best so far this year, following seventh-place runs in the opener at Homestead, Fla., and last month in Japan.
“This is a great finish for us," said the Boca Raton, Fla., driver, who began racing go-carts in the 1990s and drove in the Barber Dodge Pro Series and Toyota Atlantic Series before joining the former Champ Car Series in 2003. “This year, I think, means a lot more to the (top) rookie, the Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year battle than in a bunch of years.
“Man, this is a great field to be on top of," he said. The 11 rookies in the lineup were the most since 13 started the 1997 race, the year after the Indy Racing League was formed.