[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: AP/Jeffrey Phelps/indycar.com” align=”alignright” width=”195″]
[/media-credit]On July 8, Ryan Hunter-Reay won his third IZOD IndyCar series race in a row. The remarkable accomplishment hasn’t been done by an American in any major open wheel series since AJ Allmendinger attained the feat during the 2006 Champ Car season. Sure, all we have to do is look back to Will Power earlier in the 2012 season to find the last time someone has won three in a row. But that was for the powerhouse of Penske Racing and on road courses where Will has been exceptional for years. With all due respect to Will, RHR’s streak sparks many talking points for those amongst the racing community.
The long tenured team of Andretti Autosport (back then, Andretti Green Racing) hasn’t accumulated three victories in a row since Dan Wheldon won at St. Petersburg, Motegi, and Indianapolis in 2005. With his 3 victories this season, RHR has plunged himself into championship contention currently leading the standings by 34 points over Will Power. If the #28 DHL/Sundrop team were to bring home the championship this season it would be Andretti Autosport’s first since Dario Franchitti’s title in 2007.
The notable impact this streak may have on the season is this is the first time in years that the premier American open wheel racing series has seen an American driver with a legitimate shot to win the championship since 2006 saw Sam Hornish Jr. beat out Dan Wheldon in a tie breaker.
Critics should be hesitant when thinking of dismissing RHR’s run as just another swing of momentum for the racer. Hunter-Reay pushed his way through to finish P1 in all three of the outings and was never a favorite to win any event. These three victories came on a combination of two ovals and one street circuit. On June 16th in Milwaukee, Hunter-Reay started second behind Chip Ganassi’s #10 entry of Dario Franchitti. With Franchitti leading the early laps of the race and Helio Castroneves assuming the lead for 50 laps shortly after, RHR soared through the field to take the lead and never look back.
In the Iowa Corn Indy 250, Ryan was posed with a much bigger challenge. Castroneves was the car to beat throughout the first half of the race leading twice for a total of 133 laps. As the race drew on, new opponents presented themselves, Scott Dixon put himself in a clear shot to win by leading 76 laps during the closing half of the race and Marco Andretti (Iowa’s 2011 winner) challenged Hunter-Reay all the way to the final green flag laps of the race.
Honda Indy Toronto provided the IZOD IndyCar series with a return to the road and street courses on the calendar. Coming off two wins, RHR was looking strong and keen on continuing his success. With a weekend full of rain and limited practice, Hunter-Reay qualified 6th behind street course heavy hitters Franchitti, Power, Wilson, Bourdais, and Dixon. Per usual, Power dominated the race early on, but an unlucky caution on lap 24 caught him out early and spoiled the rest of his race. By pitting before the first caution flag flew, RHR leaped forward a few spots towards the front. As the race drew on, the pace of RHR’s car stayed consistent and enabled him to acquire the lead. By fending off passing attempts from Charlie Kimball and Mike Conway due to late race cautions, Hunter-Reay found himself in victory lane for the third time in a row.
At the end of the day, Ryan Hunter-Reay’s impressive streak of victories proves to be astonishing. This season has now seen an American winning three races consecutively in an American racing series and vying for a championship for the first time since 2006. The winning streak that RHR has amazed us with may soon be etched in the history books as one of the components that contributed to the success of America’s latest open wheel star.
