Ryan Hunter-Reay “was not pursuing” an IndyCar Series return until Ed Carpenter called him last week, but the man they call ‘Captain America’ is ready to grasp this fresh opportunity. It’s the latest twist of a rollercoaster career that’s seen Hunter-Reay reach the peaks of a championship title in 2012 and win the Indianapolis 500 in 2014.
His career in Indy cars began in the Champ Car days of 2003, driving for Stefan Johansson, and the Texan made an almost immediate impact by winning a wild race at Surfers Paradise in Australia. Between then and now there’s been the dips, including losing his Rocketsports drive towards the end of the 2005 season, before a Lazarus-style IndyCar Series debut with Bobby Rahal’s squad in 2007.
