Hunter-Reay Finds A Seat In IRL, Replaces Fired Jeff Simmons

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Big-time open-wheel racing returned to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time since Paul Tracy won a Champ Car World Series race here in 2003, and the fans returned en masse to this picturesque area to watch the IndyCar Series prepare for Sunday’s Honda 200.
That impressed the drivers who qualified on Saturday in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd and returned on Sunday to race in front of an even bigger crowd.
“Today, I have to say the amount of fans that were here were unbelievable,” said race-winner Scott Dixon. “The first pace laps, I got on the radio to the team to tell them the hills were packed, there were so many people here. It was great to see.
“It’s great to be back here at Mid-Ohio.”
Tony Kanaan was equally impressed.
“I have to thank the fans — I’ve never seen so many people here,” Kanaan said. “I was waving at them at the end of the race. It was a great event. Mid-Ohio is a great race track. Not a lot of passing, but a great event and looking forward to coming back.”
The fans were located all around the course in the great viewing areas that make it so unique.
“When we came here for the test day last month, there were a lot of excited fans, and the people that were here were intense,” said Danica Patrick after qualifying second on Saturday. “They know about racing here, they are educated, they follow it, and the fan base is excited about having IndyCar racing back at Mid-Ohio.
“After driving for Rahal Letterman for a few years and living down in Columbus, I know how passionate the fans are here for their open-wheel racing. I’m glad they have embraced us in the IndyCar Series.”
Helio Castroneves won the pole, his sixth of the season, and that ties Billy Boat’s record for most poles in one season set in 1998. Castroneves finished third in the race.
“This place here is a tradition,” Castroneves said. “I remember watching the IndyCar Series when I lived in Brazil and this race. The mounds and the hills on this course are full of people, and it’s just awesome. It’s fun when you go out there and see a lot of people.
“It was the right move for the IndyCar Series to come here.”
 
• Patrick had the best road-course qualifying effort of her career, as she improved from fifth in single-lap qualifications to second in the “Saturday Six” qualifying format.
Castroneves won the pole with a lap at 121.620 miles per hour, lapping the 2.258-mile road course in 1:06.8375. Patrick’s lap was 121.089 mph for a lap at 1:07.1257.
Castroneves went from sixth to first in the final 10-minute session.
 
• Super Aguri Panther Racing will move Indy Pro Series driver Hideki Mutoh up to IndyCar for the season  finale at Chicagoland Speedway in September.
Mutoh will join Panther drivers Kosuke Matsuura and Vitor Meira. He will drive a No. 60 Formula Dream Dallara-Honda for his IndyCar debut.
“I’m very happy and excited about this opportunity to race for Super Aguri Panther Racing in the IndyCar Series,” Mutoh said. “I have learned a lot this season in the Indy Pro Series and want to do well at Chicagoland. It has been a goal of mine since I arrived in the United States. I also look forward to working with Vitor and Kosuke, who have been a big help to me as I adjust to this style of racing.”
Mutoh is second in the Indy Pro Series Championship behind Alex Lloyd.

• For the first time in his IndyCar career, three-time champion Sam Hornish, Jr. missed the “Saturday Six” on a road course.
Hornish was the seventh-fastest qualifier in Saturday’s single-lap qualifications with a lap at 118.895 mph.

• Ryan Hunter-Reay made his IndyCar debut on Friday for Rahal Letterman Racing. He replaced Jeff Simmons, who was fired by the team on Wednesday after a series of crashes this season in the Team Ethanol car.
Simmons had already set up his motor home at Mid-Ohio earlier this week before the team called and told him he was fired.
Hunter-Reay is a former Champ Car driver who has been trying to find a NASCAR ride.
“I’m 26 years old. I’m not a spring chicken, but I’m not old. I’m still young,” Hunter-Reay said. “I think I can bring that to the team. I’ve had success on ovals in the past and I hope that carries over here. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t.”
The driver is jumping into a car that has belonged to another driver for the last season and a half.
“You feel like you’re with somebody else’s girlfriend — for a second,” Hunter-Reay said. “Then you get over that real quick. It’s like the business world. It’s harsh. It’s tough. And sometimes you’re on the upside of it and sometimes you’re on the downside of it.”