Officially, Ryan Hunter Reay’s qualifying run for the 99th Indianapolis 500 never happened. His four-lap average of 229.845 mph, including the first two laps above the key 230 mph mark, was washed away with the heavy rains that hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just after 12:30 p.m. with only Carlos Huertas’ and Hunter-Reay’s qualifying runs in the books.
Normally, a driver will make his attempt and offer a few quick words to the media before returning to his team to watch the qualifying line and plot future moves. But with heavy rains pelting the track, Hunter-Reay was allowed a little extra reflection on the past year of life as the defending champion of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
"It’s been an amazing ride. Everything that comes with it, I keep calling it ‘the gift that keeps on giving,’ because every month something else is coming,” Hunter-Reay said. “Whether it be the Pace Car or the ring or the Baby Borg or the face unveil (on the Borg-Warner Trophy), then you come to town and I’m all over the ticket, there’s just so much that goes on with this race. It’s just such a big deal to everyone involved.”
Winning the “500” is a big deal on its own, but the way in which Hunter-Reay got his title is still discussed and will continue to be for years to come. Three-time champion Helio Castroneves, who was chasing a historic fourth win, drove furiously in the final laps but Hunter-Reay was just bolder and faster enough to deny Castroneves and secure his own spot in Indy lore.
"It was an amazing fight. You realize at those moments; I remember at one point during that fight going down the backstretch and realizing just how important this race was to me. I would do anything for it. That’s how I felt at the time,” Hunter-Reay said. “I think it showed, too, with how much I put the car at risk trying to disrupt the rhythm of the race by passing Helio down in Turn 3. It was a pretty risky move and not a lot of grip to work with there at 230 (mph). “It was one of those times in a car where I thought, nothing else existed and that was the only thing that mattered. It mattered so much to me. It’s great to win the Indy 500 but to win a race that finishes like that, it brings it up a notch.”
Now, of course, the goal is to bring back all those feelings again with a repeat. The No. 28 DHL Honda is different with the new aero kits and Andretti Autosport is still figuring out its tendencies, and Hunter-Reay won’t know where he fits on the grid until qualifying begins anew on Sunday. But drinking the milk again has never been far from his mind.
“From the winter months and preparing the car to starting the year and the first laps run on the oval in testing, you’re thinking of the Indy 500. There’s just so much that goes into it,” the Floridian said. “To be able to have a shot at winning this race, everything has to go perfect. There’s so much that goes into it, you really appreciate it that much more when it’s all said and done.”
The rain allowed just a little bit more time to appreciate it.