Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Report

RHR Qualified 2nd in Round 1 of Pole Day Qualifying for the Indy 500, but fell to 7th in the Fast 9 Qualifying.

Ryan Hunter-Reay ended the day in seventh after the Fast Nine Shootout, his second and final four-lap average standing at 227.904mph. A disappointed Hunter-Reay, who started the 2012 Indy 500 from the outside of front row, will roll off from the seventh position for the May 26 500-mile race.

“We’re disappointed with the end result, but to get five Andretti Autosport cars in the Fast Nine is massive for this team,” said the defending series champion. “We went for it, we really went for it, and we just overshot it a little bit. Five hundred miles next week is all that counts. We’ll work together up there as a team, too, that’s the good bit.”

By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel

Fresh from launching its name coast-to-coast, AutoNation is starting its first nationwide drive for charity: a push to fight cancer, working with South Florida’s IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The Fort Lauderdale-based auto retailer will contribute an initial $500,000 to match funds raised by its associates and stores through its Racing for Cancer campaign, to be formally announced Wednesday, AutoNation Chief Executive Mike Jackson told the Sun Sentinel.

“So many of our associates’ lives and their families’ lives have been impacted by cancer. Everyone can relate to it,” said Jackson, explaining why AutoNation chose cancer as its first national charity cause. “And we’re entering the critical phase to make tremendous strides against cancer. It’s a winnable fight.”

AutoNation is teaming up with Fort Lauderdale’s Hunter-Reay in the effort for both professional and personal reasons. The respected race car champ lost his mother to colon cancer in 2009 and formed the nonprofit Racing for Cancer to help beat the disease. His group focuses on early detection and prevention, plus efforts to raise awareness and support the fight against childhood cancer.

“Nearly one-third of cancer is said to be preventable,” said Hunter-Reay, 32, in his Racing for Cancer website. “We can and must do more.”

For AutoNation’s top executives, cancer is personal, too. Jackson’s wife, Alice, has battled breast cancer. And the family of company president Mike Maroone has long funded efforts combating cancer through their foundation, helping the Children’s Cancer Caring Center in Weston among other organizations in South Florida and in New York, foundation records show.

Maroone is active with The Dolphins Cycling Challenge, a two-day cycling event in November to raise funds for the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also is a co-chair with his father, Al, on the Cleveland Clinic expansion drive in Florida, including additional cancer facilities.

Both Jackson and Maroone will participate personally in fundraisers during AutoNation’s anti-cancer drive, including cancer walks and events with Hunter-Reay, AutoNation said.

Those include Racing for Cancer’s third-annual Yellow Party in Indianapolis May 23. It’s the top annual fundraiser for Hunter-Reay’s nonprofit, held around the Indianapolis 500 race each year.

AutoNation also plans to take part in race-related events in areas where it has stores: Long Beach and northern California; St. Petersburg and South Florida; Fort Worth and Houston; and Baltimore. It also expects to add Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Denver to that list soon, executives said.

Three-fourths of funds raised through AutoNation for Racing for Cancer will be distributed in the markets where they are collected. The rest will help build a trust fund for the nonprofit, the group said.

The two-year campaign comes as AutoNation unifies the name on most of its dealerships coast-to-coast, taking down the former names of regional dealer groups and replacing them with AutoNation signs. The nation’s largest auto retailer now has more than 200 stores in 15 states and employs 21,000 people.

dhemlock@sunsentinel.com or 305-810-5009

Ryan Hunter-Reay began today’s race on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil from the pole position, his second of the season. After a strong showing in the DHL Chevy and leading a large portion of the race, Hunter-Reay suffered from a flat tire and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop costing him valuable track position. The reigning champion came to the twin checkers in 11th and currently sits sixth in the championship points standings.

“Extremely disappointing today. Absolutely had the car to win. Guys gave me a great, great car…the pit stops were awesome. Definitely needed to capitalize on this opportunity, but we got a flat tire about halfway through the race which pretty much sidelined us. We pit super early on the last stop, had to save fuel the remainder of the race. I was lifting halfway down the straightaway so… we were wounded and stayed that way. Happy for the teammates – James on the win and Marco on the third.”

By Dave Lewandowski – Indycar.com

Ryan Hunter-Reay earned his second Verizon P1 Award of the season by posting a track-record lap of 1 minute, 20.4312 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six for the fourth Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle.

“I gave it everything I had and it’s great to get the DHL Chevrolet up front again and on pole,” said Hunter-Reay, the reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion who has a pair of runner-up finishes on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit. “That’s three of the four races this year that we’ve been on the front row and twice on pole. I’m so happy for the guys and everything they’ve done for me.

“Starting on pole here is a challenge because you are a sitting duck out front on the long straights.”

Andretti Autosport teammate E.J. Viso will start a career-high second (his previous best was fourth in 2009 at Long Beach). Dario Franchitti, the pole winner in the inaugural race and in the most recent event at Long Beach, will start third and Tony Kanaan will start a season-high fourth in his home race.

James Hinchcliffe and Scott Dixon will share Row 3 for the 75-lap race May 5 (11 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network).

Will Power, who has won all three races on the temporary street circuit in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car and paced the 25-car field in the two practice sessions preceding qualifications, will start 22nd. Power had started from the pole in the previous two races (set the track record in 2012 of 1:21.2781) in Sao Paulo and qualified fifth in 2010.

He recorded two laps in Group 2 of the first 10-minute session before action was halted because of a red flag with about 3:30 left for an incident involving the No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts car for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driven by James Jakes. Time expired in the session before cars could return to the track.

“Tough break today to not be able to qualify the way we wanted,” Power said. “It’s especially bad because the Verizon car had been so quick all day. We felt pretty good going into the qualifying and unfortunately didn’t have time to run the lap we wanted after doing a lap on the blacks (Firestone tires). Now we turn the focus to doing the best we can (May 5) and getting the most out of the points.”

Team Penske teammate and IZOD IndyCar Series points leader Helio Castroneves will start 18th after a similar fate.

“We try to not leave the last minute to get caught in one of those situations but unfortunately today was our turn,” Castroneves said.

Josef Newgarden, who was 17th overall through the morning practice sessions, did not make a qualifying attempt because the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team was changing the Honda engine in the No. 67 entry. He will start 25th.

Ryan Hunter-Reay secured his second pole position of the season today on his way to claiming a new track record in Brazil. He turned a fast lap time of 80.43 seconds in the DHL Chevrolet.

“I gave it everything I had and it’s great to get the DHL Chevrolet up front again and on pole,” said Hunter-Reay. “That’s three of the four races this year that we’ve been on the front row and twice on pole. I’m so happy for the guys and everything they’ve done for me. Tomorrow’s when the challenge is though.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay heads to the streets of Brazil ranked sixth in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points standings. The defending champion has three previous starts in Brazil (2010, 2011 and 2012), each from inside the top five, and has recorded two second-place finishes on the street circuit (2010, 2012).

“I really enjoy the Sao Paulo street circuit. We’ve finished second here twice so, as a team, we certainly feel it’s time to take that next step and win one for DHL and Chevy in Brazil. I’d really like to be able to carry some momentum from a strong result here into the month of May at Indy. The weather is always a factor here as well, so as driver, you’ve got to be ready for anything – I’m fully expecting some wet weather running.”

Did You Know: Ryan is the proud owner of two Golden Retrievers: Captain Dan (named for Dan Wheldon) and Mr. Charlie Daniels (a rescue dog, who had been mistreated or injured by this previous owner). Both often travel to races to cheer on Ryan.

Optimisitic for a good race, Ryan Hunter-Reay started the Grand Prix of Long Beach on the outside of the front row. The No. 1 Chevy required a front wing change after becoming involved in the same incident as teammates Hinchcliffe and Viso. After returning to the race, the reigning champion was again involved in an on-track collision, leaving him recording a 24th position.

“We missed some of the grip today that we had in prior days. Some of the corners that were my strongest were my weakest today. I was definitely handcuffed, so we just started trying things. We were in the back anyway, I had to move forward again and I just got in too hot, no grip on the inside there. Just trying things, trying anything to make a bad day go a little better, but it just went from bad to worse. I feel really bad for the guys, they gave me a great car all weekend, we just missed it today. I absolutely missed it out there on the track, so we have to rebound in Brazil for sure and try to get the DHL Chevy on top again.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay will start from the outside of the front row for tomorrow’s 80-lap race after an intense qualifying session left him just a half-tenth a of second away from the pole position. “That’s just unfortunate – to lose it by a half tenth (of a second) hurts more than losing it by four tenths. It was close but today really doesn’t count, we’ll go get them tomorrow. We’re starting from the front row so things are looking up for us we’ll keep our heads up.” The reigning champ won here in 2010 (starting from the second position then as well) and hopes to see his name yet again added to the historic Long Beach victory lane tomorrow.

“The guys gave me a great car as always; this team has been doing a great job. The DHL Chevy has been just awesome. But that’s just unfortunate – to lose it by a half tenth (of a second) hurts more than losing it by four tenths. It was close but today really doesn’t count ,we’ll go get them tomorrow. We’re starting from the front row so things are looking up for us we’ll keep our heads up.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay is the winner of today’s IZOD IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Alabama, driving the DHL Chevrolet for Andretti Autosport. Hunter-Reay started the race from the pole position and led 53 of 90 laps.

This is Hunter-Reay’s first victory of the 2013 season as the American-born driver is on his way to defending his 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series championship title.

This is the 10th career Indy car victory for Hunter-Reay, a 32-year-old resident of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

This is his seventh win with Andretti Autosport, and he extends his distinction of being the winningest active American driver in the IndyCar Series and the only American driver to visit Victory lane in 2013.

His previous IZOD IndyCar Series victories were: Baltimore (2012/Andretti Autosport), Toronto (2012/Andretti Autosport), Iowa (2012/Andretti Autosport), Milwaukee (2012/Andretti Autosport), New Hampshire (2011/Andretti Autosport), Long Beach (2010/Andretti Autosport) and Watkins Glen (2008/Rahal Letterman Racing). He also has victories in the CART/Champ Car Series at Milwaukee and Surfer’s Paradise.

Hunter-Reay has now been the top-finishing American driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series points for three seasons in a row. Hunter-Reay is the only driver to score victories in IZOD IndyCar, CART Champ Car, Grand-Am and the American Le Mans series.

This is the 45th IZOD IndyCar Series victory for Andretti Autosport. Since 2003, Andretti Autosport has scored four series titles (’04/Kanaan, ’05/Wheldon, ’07/Franchitti and ’12/Hunter-Reay) and two Indianapolis 500 wins (’05/Wheldon and ’07/Franchitti).

Andretti Autosport has four full-time entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series, with Hunter-Reay, E.J. Viso (No. 5 Team Venezuela PDVSA CITGO Chevrolet) Marco Andretti (No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet) and James Hinchcliffe (No. 27 Go Daddy.com Chevrolet). Andretti Autosport is the only team with entries in each of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series categories.

Hunter-Reay takes the pole for the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

After a disappointing start to the season in Florida two weekends ago (retired early due to mechanical issues), Ryan Hunter-Reay responded by taking the Verizon P1 pole award – his first since the Edmonton Indy in July 2012. This is the reigning champion’s third career pole position (2004 Milwaukee, 2012 Edmonton, 2013 Barber). “You know this team has done so well this weekend – we just kept progressing,” said the defending series champ.

Ryan was the only Andretti Autosport driver in the Firestone Fast Six and did not disappoint. Very happy with the result, but recognizing the challenge of tomorrow’s Grand Prix, Hunter-Reay made sure to not get complacent. “Now we gottamake these Firestones (tires) hang in there for the entire race. It’s a very challenging track. It rewards aggressiveness, but if you step over just a little bit too far on the setup or on driving, it’ll definitely punish you.”

Ryan was obviously the fastest Andretti Autosport car today but dealt credit to his teammates who helped with the pole-winning setup. “I have three great teammates, four of us overall, working together in one direction. It’s a good way to, hopefully, start off our season.”