Andretti confirms Hunter-Reay's departure at season's end
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Marshall Pruett | September 14, 2021 1:57 PM ET
Andretti Autosport has taken the final step in preparing the way for a change of driver in its No. 28 Honda by confirming that Ryan Hunter-Reay will depart the team after the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach. As RACER has written throughout the summer, the team was working to secure the services of Romain Grosjean, who will take over the No. 28 entry next season.
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For Hunter-Reay, the relationship with Andretti started out as a lifeline that was extended after a tumultuous time in the late 2000s saw the American shuffled from Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Vision Racing, and A.J. Foyt Racing in a span of two seasons.
With a fresh start at Andretti Autosport in 2010, Hunter-Reay won on his fourth start in the No. 28 car and added 14 more, along with capturing the 2012 IndyCar Series championship and the 2014 Indianapolis 500 across 125 starts to date.
Hunter-Reay will have two races left to close his 12th season with the team on a high note. In a year that’s been fraught with misfortune, a fourth-place run at Nashville stands as his best finish.
Leading options for Hunter-Reay in 2022 appear to be at Ed Carpenter Racing as a possible road and street course partner for Carpenter in the No. 20, and his name has also been mentioned as a driver of interest at RLL – with whom he won at Watkins Glen in 2008 – in the No. 45 Honda, which is expected to become a full-time entry next season.
Outside of IndyCar, Hunter-Reay has been actively seeking opportunities in IMSA where he won most recently to close 2020 as part of the Mazda Motorsports DPi trio that captured the 12 Hours of Sebring.
What started as 3 races grew to over a decade of success. Over the next 2 weeks,
@RyanHunterReay will turn his last laps as our
#INDYCAR teammate. Thank you, RHR, for 15 wins, an Indy 500 victory & Series title. Always a champion, always a friend.
🎥:
https://t.co/YhvhHZwgZy pic.twitter.com/2vFeuTAU83
— Andretti Autosport / #AllAndretti (@FollowAndretti)
Andretti Autosport,
Ryan Hunter-Reay,
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