Hunter-Reay hopes to be seventh different winner at Infineon

Ryan Hunter-Reay sees no reason why he can’t make it seven.

Hunter-Reay, whose Aug. 14 win in New Hampshire was upheld by an appeals panel earlier this week, has been the hottest driver on the open-wheel series over the past two months. With five consecutive top-10 finishes, he’s jumped from 21st to eighth in the season standings.

"We’ve had a bit of momentum here the last few races,” Hunter-Reay said. "We’ve been quick the whole year but it’s just putting it all together. It comes down to putting yourself in position to win, which is what happened at New Hampshire.”

The 31-year-old Hunter-Reay is coming off his first IndyCar win this season and third of his career.

It didn’t come easy.

The course at Loudon was slippery from rains that fell throughout the day and the race was marred by multiple crashes, including one involving Hunter-Reay’s Andretti Autosport teammate Danica Patrick that led to the controversial finish.

Patrick’s car slid sideways in the wet conditions following a restart with about 10 laps to go, causing a multiple-car accident that knocked out several drivers including Team Penske’s Will Power, currently second in the standings behind Dario Franchitti of Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Franchitti’s teammate, Scott Dixon, and Spain’s Oriol Servia believed they passed Hunter-Reay before the yellow flag came out but IndyCar series president of competition and operations Brian Barnhart made the decision to revert the finishing order to what it had been before the final restart. Newman/Haas Racing and Target Chip Ganassi appealed the decision but a panel upheld Barnhart’s decision earlier this week and Hunter-Reay was awarded the victory.

Don’t expect much passing

The road course at Infineon Raceway is one of the most unique on the IndyCar circuit. Spread over rolling hills not far from the Napa Valley wine country, the 12-turn, 2.303-mile course presents drivers with challenges they don’t normally confront on ovals.

The key to winning the 75-lap race at Infineon has come down to qualifying.

Each of the past three winners — Will Power (2010), Dario Franchitti (2009) and Helio Castroneves (2008) — all started from the pole. No driver has won here qualifying lower than fifth.