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INDYCAR MEDIA DAY


February 18, 2014


Ryan Hunter-Reay


THE MODERATOR:  We're joined by Ryan Hunter-Reay. 
Ryan, you've been out with the new Chevy engine, the upgrade of the twin turbo.  Your thoughts that both Honda and Chevy will have twin turbo engines. 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  It's going to be great to work with Honda this year.  I'm pretty optimistic about the way it's been headed.  Early days.  St. Pete is where you get the feeling of where everybody stands. 
Great time back in the 28.  Excited about that.  Everybody was hesitant about running the No. 1 last year.  I think we had a great season, but didn't put the whole thing together, had some bad luck. 
Looking forward to 2014.  A lot of new challenges coming at us.  Working with our new partner at Honda.  This series is ever evolving, competition getting tougher.  Penske added a car, Ganassi back to four with T.K. and Briscoe over there.  It's going to be tougher every year.  It's just how it works. 
We're looking forward to it.  But, like I said, still early days.  
THE MODERATOR:  Questions for Ryan. 

Q.  How much can you tell about other teams when you're testing?  Were you at Sonoma? 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  I wasn't, no.  We weren't at Sonoma.  We find it difficult to test there in the winter because it's so cold, so much different than what you experience on a race weekend. 
But like Juan was saying, it's so hard to tell where you stand because there's different generations of the engine being tested at that point.  There's different specs going.  One car is trying this exhaust, the other one is trying that. 
What you do get a feel for is where your level of mechanical grip is, what you can do testing that setup. 
We've been balancing the two of them.  We've been working with Honda, it's completely different than the single turbo, the drivability side of it.  Honda has a lot of work to do just to catch up to what Chevy has been used to. 
I think it's going to be great this year.  I think it's going to be very tight.  On the other side of the test, we've been working on developing our mechanical grip setup as well.  I haven't been on an oval this off-season.  Marco went to Fontana.  But been doing a lot of work at Sebring. 

Q.  What is it like having a son older than your boss?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  That's a good point.  Just having a son is amazing, especially at this age, being one year old.  He's into it.  He sat in the car at Daytona, the Viper, just loved it.  He lit up. 
Michael with twins, he has his hands full, for sure - as if he didn't have his hands full with Marco. 

Q.  You've had a lot of success at St. Pete.  What is it about that track that suits you really well?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  St. Pete's one of my favorite races.  It kicks off the IndyCar season.  It's a Florida race.  It's basically my home race now that we don't race in Homestead.  All the friends and family are there.  I love St. Pete downtown.  I can see why the Wheldons moved there, why Bourdais is there.  It feels like Fort Lauderdale of the West Coast. 
I love that it's the kickoff to our season.  It feels like it's been hot or cold there for me.  Either we DNF, have an issue, don't finish, strategize our way out of it, or we finish on the podium.  Hopefully it will be the latter this time around. 
I think we've been doing a lot of work on the car.  Mechanically I think we'll be there, mechanical grip-wise.  But we'll see. 
It's a fun racetrack.  It's got everything you need, big braking zones, passing zones, technical bits.  It can be tricky during the race because it changes so much. 

Q.  You mentioned it's a good way to gauge everybody, where they stand at the start of the season.  Do you feel like being successful at that one is vital to start off right?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  I would say so.  But look at Dixon last year.  He struggled horribly there that weekend.  Everybody was like, Good, we got rid of the red cars already, here we go on to race number two.  That couldn't be further from the case. 
The first one counts as much as the last one.  It does set the tone a bit for the team.  If you have a team that's been used to success and they stumble there, they can come back.  If you're still trying to work with people to get them all together, you stumble there, could make for a tough beginning of the season. 
I'm back again for I think this is year five with Andretti, with the same group of people.  I couldn't be happier.  We're ready to go for it. 

Q.  No American rookies in the series.  Does that matter to you at all?  Anything that can be done to get more American drivers chances?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  I think really as long as the drivers with the most talent are getting the opportunities, the ones with the most potential are getting the opportunities.  That's the best part.  Whether he's from the UK or Germany or the U.S., I think IndyCar is all about that diversity, every different discipline of racing, street courses, road courses, ovals.  Hopefully truly it is the best in the world. 
There's been a lot of American talent.  We have the veterans, myself, Marco, Graham.  Then the guys that have come in lately like Charlie Kimball, JR Hildebrand, Josef Newgarden.  I think there's plenty of American talent going through the IndyCar Series. 

Q.  Let's talk about the restart at Indy last year, the last one.  What did you see?  What did your mirrors look like?  Talk us through that. 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  I can't tell you how much I actually do think about that because it's such a big deal.  As a racing driver, especially as an IndyCar driver, the only thing you can ask for is to be in the position at the end of the race to be up front with an opportunity to go for it.  I had that opportunity.  I'm forever grateful for that.  I hope it happens again.
I've seen the other side of Indy where you struggle to qualify in the Toff 20.  Here I was at the end of the race leading the thing. 
I knew I was a sitting duck, but I was fine with that, because there were three or four more laps yet depending on how that yellow went.  I was good with that.  I knew it was going to be between Tony, Marco and Carlos.  Those were the cars that really were passing each other, us four, could do it every lap, every straightaway. 
Yeah, it's unfortunate.  For the race to end under yellow like that, it is unfortunate.  I think that was going to be one of the best finishes in Indy 500 history had it gone on.  There would have been a pass down the back straight and another down the front straight to the checkered that would have been epic. 
But I was a part of it. 

Q.  The driver nobody talked about in that was Wilson.  Probably better this year to be in a Honda than last year.  Talk about that a little bit. 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Yeah, it's early days.  Wilson was right there.  I don't think in that case he was the one that was going to be popping out and leading and pulling a bit.  I think he was hanging out there in fourth or fifth in the draft.  It will be a different deal when you pop out and try and lead that pack just based on speed, not talent or anything like that. 
I think Honda did a great job.  Obviously in 2012 they surprised everybody, just came out and blew us all away.  Hopefully we can do that again this year.  I'm hoping for some surprise present, gift engine that comes for May. 
But, no, I'm very optimistic.  Great to be working with the guys again.  I'm have a relationship with HPD on the ALMS side.  Just working with them in IndyCar for so many years.  They've been a great supporter of the series, its drivers.  It's good to be working with the same people again. 

Q.  Ryan, I remember many years ago you taking part in I think it was a Chevrolet before establishing yourself in a particular series.  It wasn't all that long ago.  When you look back, are you surprised how much you've accomplished in a relatively short period of time?  Do you feel this is your home or do you ever harbor ambitions to try something else?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Yeah, I remember being in the paddock for a full year to get that opportunity from Hendrick, going to every different NASCAR race.  I was a Champ Car guy.  I wasn't even an IndyCar guy.  It took some pretty hard knocking. 
Got the opportunity.  It was great.  I mean, Logano and I were going head-to-head in that thing.  He was very talented back then.  I just remember some of the names.  Good fun.  Learned a lot.  That's where my relationship started with GM, and it went from there. 
I would love to try anything.  But you have to do it right.  You can't just jump in with both feet, expect it to happen in a year or two.  Doesn't work that way.  I feel the same way.  Juan, he's no rookie.  He's won the Indy 500, the CART, IndyCar championship.  He's no rookie at all.  He'll get right back to it here. 
If one of the pure NASCAR guys came over here, it would take a few years as well.  Otherwise, I got a lot of respect for what goes on there.  I raced the endurance races, IMSA, Daytona 24, Sebring 12, Atlanta 9.  I would have done the Le Mans 24 this year, but Detroit conflicted with the official test there, so couldn't do that.
I'm up for driving anything as long as it's the right deal, and you get a fair shot at winning and succeeding. 
I'm happy where I am, couldn't be more thankful for the position that I'm in.  As you mentioned, a couple years ago pounding the paddock looking for a shot at even a truck test, to be an IndyCar champion a few years after that, you know, it's all about doors opening at the right time and taking full advantage of it. 

Q.  You mentioned Scott Dixon, his rough start last year.  What impressed you about his run to the title last year?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Scott is just relentless.  He's a guy that goes about his business quietly, professionally, always be there threatening for a race win.  I have a lot of respect for him, the way he goes about his job.  He's a guy that you always know will make your Sunday hard. 
But it doesn't surprise me at all that he's a champion.  He's a seasoned veteran.  He's working with the same team now, I don't even know what it is anymore, maybe 13 years.  It's ridiculous (laughter). 
When you have that chemistry, that combination, anything's possible.  They turned it around and made full use of it.  Deserving champion again. 

Q.  Having experience now with both Marco and James Hinchcliffe, now with your engineer, that familiarity helping both on and off the track, how that helps. 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  The team as a whole has been working really well together.  Coming back, working with the same group of people, the communication is there.  As I've always said, it's an open book of communication between us.  That's how things work well.  When James is finding something, it transfers to Marco and myself.  Marco and I have different driving styles, so it doesn't always transfer.  James and I are a little bit more similar on the street circuits. 
On the ovals, we all take each other's setup.  After that, it's interchangeable.  No problem.  And we're open with each other.  If we don't like something, we want somebody to know something, it's all open. 
It's a lot of fun on the side, too.  James, he's a living, walking comic show.  Never a dull moment with him, that's for sure.  You know the Go Daddy commercial, with the band, that sums him up to me right there.  I just wish he would wear his band hat all the time.  What do you call that guy? 

Q.  The conductor. 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Conductor.  They have a baton.  I just wish he would wear that more often, use the baton.  It fits him. 

Q.  Any concerns going back to Honda?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Sure.  There's a lot of work to do.  But going to twin turbo, I think Honda has to catch up to what Chevy has been used to for the past two years.  The good thing is we know what we had.  We do have a benchmark.  We know probably where Chevy is making progress in the off-season. 
We have an idea of where we need to be.  We're working on the drivability side of it with Honda, delivering that power, with the single turbo.  I can't believe how well-sorted they had it.  I drove the single turbo, jumped in the twin, now we're closing that gap. 
It's really good.  I'm optimistic.  Like I was mentioning before, you don't know where you stand until first practice at St. Pete.  Even then, you don't realize where you're at till first practice at the Indy 500.

Q.  Do you feel this is an opportunity for you to be the top team, run away, set the bar on that side of it?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Absolutely.  The advantage is Honda at any point, we need to take full advantage of that.  I'm sure that was the idea behind the move.  Not only the relationship that Andretti Autosport has with Honda, how many championships they've won with them.  But, yeah, it puts us in a unique situation that if something does go our way, we can hopefully and potentially take advantage of that to get closer to another championship. 

Q.  Personally, coming off of a championship season, last year had to be disappointing.  How driven are you to get back to where you were from a year ago?
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Yeah, absolutely.  I think last year was a good season for us.  We had two wins, three poles.  We should have won another two races, in my opinion, a couple of them.  Things just didn't go our way.  We had some bad luck, created our own luck.  That's racing. 
I think we had a good year.  As long as we can continue on that same path, pick up where we left off, I'm confident we can be fighting for the championship again. 
But it's going to take finishing races for sure.  That's something we didn't do last year for some reason or another. 
THE MODERATOR:  Ryan Hunter-Reay, thank you very much. 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY:  Thank you. 

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports



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