Hunter-Reay finishes strong in Sonoma

After what appeared to be a disastrous season, Ryan Hunter-Reay bounced out of the IndyCar Series cellar to nearly break into the top five of the championship standings.

The Andretti Autosport driver came into Sonoma 11th in the standings, but a runner-up finish and double points pushed Hunter-Reay up to sixth in the final championship results, moving ahead of Marco Andretti for best on the team.

Hunter-Reay’s wave of momentum started four races ago with a win in Iowa, then a seventh at Mid-Ohio, followed by another win last week at Pocono.

The 2012 IndyCar Series champion had more top 10 finishes in the last four races (4) than in his previous 12 starts (3).

“It was a good finish to the season, that’s for sure,” said Hunter-Reay. “We won two of the last four races – we finished second today, so it’s been a really good streak.

“Today we jumped a few spots in the championship… we finished sixth which is crazy coming from 11th in the championship this morning. It’s been a great run and it’s great that it ended on a high note like this headed into a busy off season.”

About Joey Barnes 600 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

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