by Team RHR on March 6, 2013 in News
American-born champion becomes firsts open-wheel RACER of the Year since 2003
IRVINE, Calif., (March 6, 2013) – The readers of RACER magazine and Racer.com have chosen IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay as their overall RACER of the Year and Road Racer of the Year for 2012.
Now in its 18th year, the RACER of the Year Awards presented by Hawk Performance is open to racers from a wide cross-section of motorsports series and determined entirely by reader voting. It’s that breadth of competition and fan-powered format that gives RACER of the Year its prestige and makes it an accolade that racers want to win.
Past winners of the overall RACER of the Year include Tony Stewart, Michael Schumacher, John Force, Lewis Hamilton and Jimmie Johnson. In joining them, Hunter-Reay becomes the first overall winner from North American open-wheel racing since Paul Tracy in 2003, the first IZOD IndyCar Series Champion and first American born open-wheel champion to win the prestigious award.
Over the course of the 2012 season, Hunter-Reay took four victories in his DHL/Sun Drop sponsored Andretti Autosport Dallara-Chevrolet, more than any other driver, taking two oval wins, at Milwaukee and Iowa, and two street-course wins at Toronto and Baltimore. He clinched the title in a tense season finale at Fontana, eventually beating Will Power (Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet) by just three points.