This past weekend’s IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway marked just the latest instance of Ryan Hunter-Reay charging through the field in the closing laps, and in doing so he claimed his third victory of the season. The question I’m asking is why didn’t Canadian James Hinchcliffe do the same?
Tony Kanaan led for nearly 250 laps at Iowa but didn’t win because of a brilliant pit strategy call from Hunter-Reay’s Andretti Autosport crew. A late caution due to contact involving Ed Carpenter and Juan Pablo Montoya allowed RHR to pit for fresh tires. When the race restarted with fewer than 10 laps remaining the Indy 500 winner blew past the competition and took the win.
Hunter-Reay and other Honda-powered runners were never really in contention prior to the late yellow and I’m puzzled why some others didn’t take the same chance to improve their position.
Prior to each race, the Andretti team takes input from many sources in looking to map out how to best succeed. Team owner Michael Andretti said this kind of scenario was discussed in strategy meetings, so how come only RHR made the move when teammate Hinchcliffe didn’t?
Hinchcliffe was running in the top 10 for much of the evening and said afterwards he was struggling with the car throughout the race. Although he was a couple of positions ahead of Hunter-Reay, why wouldn’t they slap on fresh tires for him as well and try to make something happen late in the race?
The Oakville, Ont., driver has had a difficult season with plenty of well-documented struggles and bad luck. Wouldn’t this have been the perfect time to do something bold to try to change his fortunes moving forward?
Sure, Hinch was in the 14th spot on the grid to start, but managed to capture a sixth-place result. But when you’ve been languishing behind the frontrunners for nearly 300 laps and you know that your best hope is a top 10, why not do something courageous to try and make something happen? Even if the move doesn’t work out, the worst that could happen is you maybe finish 10th instead of sixth. And the boost your team gets from trying to be proactive may help you in the future.
The call for new tires and the inspired drive by Hunter-Reay in the closing laps not only made him the first three-time winner this season, it shook off the struggles the team has experienced since winning the Indianapolis 500, pushed him up into third place in the overall standings and back into the championship fight.
Sarah Fisher Hartman driver Josef Newgarden was one of two other drivers who also made the late-race call to change tires, and he finished second to Hunter-Reay. Ed Carpenter made the switch but a lap later, hurting his track position, and also finished ahead of Hinchcliffe.
Yes, hindsight makes the decision an easy one, but when the team had already discussed this very situation prior to the race, they should have been able to react and take advantage of the situation.