2008 Dallara Rahal Letterman Racing Indycar

Ryan Hunter-Reay

Bursting onto the IndyCar scene in dramatic fashion in 2007, Ryan Hunter-Reay is making his first full-season run in the IndyCar Series in 2008, driving the Ethanol-sponsored machine for Rahal Letterman Racing.

Ryan joined the team in the middle of 2007, literally stepping into the cockpit at Mid-Ohio without ever turning a single lap of practice in an Indy Car. Unaffected, Hunter-Reay carried the car to a seventh-place finish on the tricky road course, one of three top-seven finishes that he would earn over his six-race stint with the team.

His strong finish to the season earned him the Bombardier Rookie-of-the-Year award, setting an IndyCar Series record for fewest races run by a ROY winner. He qualified fifth on the temporary road course at Detroit's Belle Isle Park, marking the team's best road-course starting spot in three seasons.

Karting provided the first step toward open-wheel stardom for Hunter-Reay as his successes there earned him the Skip Barber Big Scholarship, which included an entry to the Barber Dodge Pro Series as one of its rewards. Two years of BDPS competition groomed him for Toyota Atlantic action, where he scored three wins in his only season in the developmental series.

In 2003 he moved up to Champ Cars, where he became the first American-born rookie in 20 years to win a series event when he took the checkers at Surfers Paradise. He moved to Team Herdez in 2004 for his most successful Champ Car season, winning from pole at the Milwaukee Mile where he set a series record by leading all 250 laps of the race.

He has proven to be one of the more versatile racers in the country in the last few seasons, running not only in Champ Car and IndyCar, but also in sportscars and off-road vehicles. He held the lead in this year's 24 Hours of Daytona at the midway point of the race and has also competed in the grueling Baja 1000.

He is also a leading spokesman for the Ethanol movement, carrying the vital message of Ethanol and its environmental and performance benefits to the world through the #17 Ethanol-sponsored Rahal Letterman Racing Indy Car program.

• IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year - 2007

• First American Rookie in over a decade to earn a Podium (Mid-Ohio 2003)

• First American Rookie in over 20 years to Win a Champ Car Race (Surfers Paradise, Australia 2003)

• Holds the record for the most laps lead (250) in a single race (Milwaukee 2004)

• Second youngest driver to ever Win a Street Race, youngest American to ever Win an Oval Race

• Recipient of the Greg Moore Legacy Award (2004)

Source - Rahal Letterman Racing