Ryan Hunter-Reay has joined Ed Carpenter Racing to drive the No. 20 in the NTT IndyCar Series, ECR announced June 8.
Hunter-Reay replaces Conor Daly, who it was announced June 7 had parted ways with the team.
“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed [Carpenter, team owner],” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help.
“Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in Bitnile.com.”
Hunter-Reay has made one IndyCar start in 2023, driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the Indianapolis 500 and finishing 11th.
He had competed full time in every season since 2008 prior to 2023, scoring 16 wins and the 2012 championship.
“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader,” Carpenter added. “I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team. We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”
Hunter-Reay’s first race in the No. 20 comes next week at Road America.
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
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