Ryan Hunter-Reay returns to Pocono Raceway for this weekend’s ABC Supply 500 with the confidence of having led that race each of the last three years and winning in 2015.
But the driver of the No. 28 DHL Honda reminds he had chances to finish even higher in some of those races on the 2.5-mile tri-oval.
“It’s been some missed opportunities,” Hunter-Reay said Tuesday on a media conference call. “One of those results, we had a mechanical suspension failure during the race – that sidelined us. The next one, I think we were running second or third and got run over by Takuma (Sato) on pit lane in the entry, which broke the suspension.
“As recently as 2016, we were leading the race and had an electrical failure that put us all the way to the back of the field and came all the way back through to finish third. We just ran out of time. I think, more often than not, we’ve been very competitive there and we’ve shown we can be strong. Last year, I feel like we did about as good as we could have done.”
The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion finished 20th in 2013 and 18th the next year but has placed first, third and eighth since. He’s led 72 laps in those last three races.
One of the first priorities before Sunday’s 200-lap race is to qualify strong after figuring out the handling needed from the redesigned cars with universal aero kits in about two hours of practice time. Hunter-Reay laments starting 21st out of 22 cars last year after a hard crash in qualifying.
“We got up to the front, led the race, but in the end when it really became a shootout, we just couldn’t match the Penskes,” he said of his rivals. “Hopefully this year we can turn that around, all new car, it’s basically starting with a clean sheet of paper for everybody. It will be interesting to see how we can roll out.
“Will (Power) has a great record there. I definitely expect the Penskes to be strong, but I believe we can be there with them. It comes down to handling and hopefully we can get that sorted.”
Power, the 2014 series champion, has won the Pocono race each of the last two years and he’s been fourth twice. He returns this year fourth in the points, one spot ahead of Hunter-Reay, as everyone tries to chase down four-time series champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing, who has a 46-point lead on Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport.
Because the cars are different than before – and could be even more so with optional front-wing endplate extensions that INDYCAR is making available to teams at Pocono – Hunter-Reay concedes everyone will be trying to figure out the learning curve in a short time. “The Tricky Triangle,” as Pocono is often referred, has three levels of banking in the corners, from 14 degrees in Turn 1 to 8 degrees in Turn 2 to 6 degrees in Turn 3.
“You know what you want and what you need out of the race car to win that race,” Hunter-Reay said of benefiting from experience. “You know what you need out of it in Turn 3 versus Turn 1 and the (setup) compromise that’s there, because there is a compromise between the two.”
The 37-year-old Floridian concedes he needs a strong finish, sitting 95 points behind Dixon with four races remaining, to contend for the title. But Hunter-Reay recalls how he rallied with a win at Baltimore and a fourth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway to claim the 2012 series title.
“I learned a lot in my racing career, especially through the 2012 season, fighting for the championship with Helio (Castroneves) and Will Power. Once you thought somebody really had an upper hand, thought they were running away with it, everything turned around. There’s still a lot of racing to go.”
As the series’ winningest active American driver with 17 career victories, Hunter-Reay doesn’t count himself out.
“We’re going for it, no doubt,” he said. “We have to focus on every session, make the most of it, race wins. That’s what’s going to get you there.
“It’s not over until the last lap, especially with double points on the line (at the season-ending INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma), it could be a huge swing race.”
On-track activities for the ABC Supply 500 begin with a 60-minute practice at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday that streams live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and on the INDYCAR Mobile app.
Verizon P1 Award qualifying to set the starting grid airs live at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network. A final 60-minute practice starts at 4:45 p.m. and streams live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and on the INDYCAR Mobile app.
Live coverage of the 200-lap race begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.