07/07/2008
Andy Eubank
Sunday afternoon in New York Ryan Hunter-Reay got the kind of day he had been asking for. The driver of the number 17 Ethanol sponsored car was looking for a day with no luck, especially bad luck. And even though every IndyCar Series event winner probably benefits from at least a little good fortune during the race, Team Ethanol used a combination of a third place start, continued excellence in the pits, skill in the driver’s seat, and no bad luck to win the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen, at Watkins Glen International. To put it in Hunter-Reay’s own words, the race was won on the Fourth of July weekend by an American kid with Ethanol on the side of the car and Ethanol in the tank.
Hunter-Reay was running fourth late in the race during a caution period when Scott Dixon, attempting to heat up his tires before the restart spun all the way around and was hit from behind by pole sitter Ryan Briscoe. Dixon and Briscoe were running 2nd and 3rd behind leader Darren Manning and the mishap allowed Hunter-Reay to sneak past the wreckage into the 2nd position. On the restart with 9 laps remaining he wasted no time diving past Manning and into the leader’s position for the first time in the race.
Shortly thereafter another caution came out bunching up the field for what would prove to be one final restart. When the green came out Hunter-Reay got a great jump on Manning and 3rd place finisher Tony Kanaan and the Ethanol car steadily pulled away throughout the remaining laps for the first Rahal-Letterman racing team win since 2004.
The win gives Ryan Hunter-Reay a boost in the driver points standings as he jumps into the top 10. He sits at #9 just 21 points away from 5th place Marco Andretti.
Hear Ryan’s own version of the Watkins Glen race to victory circle Thursday. The new edition of Hoosier Ag Today’s Eye on the Ethanol Car will be a fun one to put together!
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