Ryan Hunter-Reay was happy to end Wednesday’s practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the fastest time after a challenging day at the 2.5-mile oval.
The former Verizon IndyCar Series champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner set the fastest lap of the day of 39.4388s – 228.202mph – to sit at the top of the field, and he admitted it was a nice feeling to be back at the front of the field having had a relatively quiet year with his Andretti Autosport team up to now.
“Coming off the year we had here last year, where I couldn’t get the car to do anything I needed it to, it’s nice to have the No. 28 DHL Honda up towards the front, especially here at Indy,” said Hunter-Reay.
“This is what we wait for all year – to get back here in Indy and start working on the car and build the energy of the biggest race in the world.
“We’re working through things with our set up; some qualifying things and some race things – just getting into the mix and getting into traffic. It’s been a fun day – a challenging one at times.
“When that wind switches around, it certainly throws you for a loop, but I was definitely pretty happy with the car there at the end.”
