Arrow McLaren have confirmed that Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2012 INDYCAR champion, will contest the 110th Indianapolis 500 next May in the No. 31 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
The move also reunites him with Tony Kanaan, Arrow McLaren’s team principal and the 2013 Indy 500 winner, who made the call to bring his old friend on board.
A Reunion Years in the Making
Kanaan said the pairing came together in just three days.
“We were only teammates for a year, but the chemistry that we had that year was awesome,” Kanaan said. The friendship dates back to their days at Andretti. Kanaan joked, “Would you ever imagine that I would have a possibility to actually be your boss?” to which Hunter-Reay laughed.
“This Place Matters So Much to Me”
Hunter-Reay revealed that his decision was partly inspired by a conversation with Kanaan and Dario Franchitti the morning after last year’s race.
“Ryan was packing his own bus … Dario and I approach him at the bus lot. I said, Why are you doing this?“ Tony said. Hunter-Reay answered, “This place matters so much to me”. That seemed to stick with Tony.
Hunter-Reay added that joining Arrow McLaren “happened very fast” but immediately felt right.
He explained, “The atmosphere within this place. The trajectory they’ve been on. Arrow McLaren has been one of the best teams at Indy the past few years. The moment I walked in the door, so many familiar faces that I’ve worked with forever … Now somehow Tony is my boss. He’s been bossing me around this place for two days straight.”
Experience and Purpose
Both men spoke about the unique demands of the Speedway and why veteran drivers often excel there.
“It is the toughest race to win,” said Hunter-Reay. “It requires finesse at the right times, it requires a massive amount of aggression at other times, but you have to know when to apply those.”
Kanaan agreed, “But that’s just being talented, but if you don’t have experienced the environment, the pressure, how it gets to your head, it is not a joke mentally.”
Shared Ambition
The deal is multi-year, with Hunter-Reay contributing to simulator and development work throughout the season.
“He [Hunter-Reay] doesn’t want to be a one-off,” Kanaan said. “He is part of Arrow McLaren. He will be extremely involved.” Hunter-Reay echoed that sentiment, “We’re here because we want to win. That’s it. We’re not here to qualify. We’re not here to participate. Eyes on the prize.”
He also reflected on the near miss of 2024, when fuel strategy denied him a podium. “You can either use it as — it can either manifest itself into negative energy, or you can use it into a positive, redirect it into a positive direction, which I love doing.”
Kanaan answered, “When we feel this way, we turn around and look, there’s a Borg-Warner on the shelf that I guess it doesn’t suck that much.”
Building a Winning Culture
For Kanaan, now a year into his management role, Hunter-Reay’s signing is about more than one race. “My job will be to motivate these people. The only way I’m going to motivate them is being here. To me, pressure is on. Pressure comes to me, and I give to everybody else, too, so we all go for it.”
He believes Hunter-Reay strengthens both the team’s Indy 500 programme and its broader culture. “We can create the same type of history I did with Dan, Dario, Herta at Andretti in a different way. This will be cool to look back and say, ‘Man, this was, like, doing what we did’.”
As for what happens beyond next May? Hunter-Reay was pragmatic. “You re-evaluate after every 500. You can’t go to Indy and be at 99%. You have to be past 100, fully committed. Otherwise, you’re doing yourself and everybody else that you are around a disservice.”
Kanaan stated, “If he wins, he’s going to have to come back. If he doesn’t win, he’ll have to decide.” And with a laugh, he added later, “I hired Ryan with the condition also that he is going to help us with the move to the new shop.” Hunter-Reay replied, “I’ll bring my pickup truck.”
As Arrow McLaren look to build on their growing presence at the Speedway, Hunter-Reay’s experience and determination could prove decisive. His motivation remains undimmed, and with a team equally hungry for success, few would bet against the partnership finding its way back to Victory Lane.