Ed Carpenter Racing announced on Thursday that 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay will replace Conor Daly full-time in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES driving the No.20 BitNile Chevrolet starting with next weekend’s Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America.
Hunter-Reay competed in last month’s 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing after a year away from full-time competition.
Speaking about the announcent, Ed Carpenter said:
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. 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, who won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with Andretti Autosport in 2012 commented saying:
“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed. 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.
“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.
Milton “Todd” Ault, III, Executive Chairman of BitNile.com, Inc., stated,
“It is great for BITNILE.COM to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America