EXCLUSIVE
March 8, 2002 - The CART ladder system - starting from 'Stars of Tomorrow' kart racing series to Barber Dodge Pro Series, then Toyota Atlantic Championship on to CART FedEx Championship, provides many up-and-coming stars for the future in auto racing. While the program primarily focuses on developing open-wheel road racers, many former graduates have gone on to race in other series - including oval racing. After a successful season in Barber Dodge Pro Series where he took two victories in 2001, the former BARBER-CART Scholarship winner moved up in the rank to the Toyota Atlantic Championship. With the elimination of Dayton Indy Lights series, Ryan Hunter-Reay is one step away from a possible CART drive. In 2002, he will pilot the #1 entry from Hylton Motorsports, the same team that provided last year's Atlantic Champion Hoover Orsi.
Calling from Monterrey, Mexico, the 21-year-old Hunter-Reay spoke to NYAutoRacing about his future in auto racing as well as the current state of young American drivers in open-wheel racing before his first qualifying session. The Toyota Atlantic rookie qualified well (5th) but on race day, the rain soaked track brought Hunter-Reay problem as he got into Joey Hand's DSTP machine. While Hand was able to get away and finished third, Hunter-Reay had to retire from the race after the front impact. Below is the conversation with Hunter-Reay on Friday afternoon.
KM: How's Mexico?
RHR: Pretty good.
KM: What's your first taste in an Atlantic car finally on the race weekend?
RHR: Everything has been great. I am a rookie driver coming in one of the most competitive seasons in Formula Atlantic, just because the talent in the series is so deep, the top twelve cars can win a race on any given Sunday. My first outing we were first until the last minute of practice, so everything has been going really well. The team is working very well together, and it's just all positive straight ahead.
KM: You had a fine season at Barber Dodge last season. Tell us what are the major differences between Formula Atlantic and Barber Dodge? How do you adapt the more powerful formula in the Toyota Atlantic Championship?
RHR: Well the Barber Dodge is a spec series, that's the biggest difference, and there are no separate teams - Barber Dodge brings the cars to the circuit and all the drivers arrive. They're all placed under the same tent - those are the biggest changes. With the team atmosphere in Formula Atlantic, this is true racing here - the team is very professional and I think the Barber Dodge cars are harder to drive than these cars, not because of speed but they don't handle as well. The Atlantic cars handle much better and they train you very well for the series.
KM: Perhaps the most exciting series last year [with only 12 cars all so], the Indy Lights does not exist anymore. Can you tell us how did the Atlantic series beef up the cars to close the gap between CART and Formula Atlantic? What are we going to expect this year in this series?
RHR: We have so many great drivers here. Now the CART series and the Champ Car teams are really looking at the series for drivers, and we already have one Champ Car team participating in this series, which is Sigma, and just a lot more focus on this series this year. Both CART series and Champ Car teams are taking the Formula Atlantic seriously.
KM: You are stepping into last year's series champion car from Hylton Motorsports, how did the team help you to make a smooth transaction from Barber Dodge to this series? What are your expectations this year?
RHR: Ever since the first day I met with the team it has been great. People around me are helping me so much, that's why I have the thank them - the crew, my engineer, team manager and the team owner Keith Hylton. Everybody involved within the team has been 100% behind me, which is what a driver needs. A driver wants to go into the best seat possible, so this is it. Hoover did a very good job for the team last year - he won the championship, and they dominated last year. I don't really feel like I have to fill big shoes because I know I will do well with this team, and everything is going to be good.
KM: Which teams would be your major opponents this year? Would it be the likes of Dorricott or Sigma as you mentioned since they have more resources? Dorricott dominated the Indy Lights series in the past years and they look like a really strong team to beat.
RHR: Quite a few teams will come on a bit stronger probably after the first few races, but right now the main competition will be among Lynx, Dorricott, DSTP and Sigma. P1 Racing and Michael Shank Racing are also very strong, but the main competition will be within Lynx, Dorricott, DSTP and of course Hylton.
KM: Looking forward, how do you see yourself in open-wheel racing? In the past year or two there were major concerns about sponsorships for American open-wheel drivers, such as Buddy Rice, the Atlantic champion from two years ago, still couldn't find a drive in neither CART or the IRL.
RHR: Obviously money and sponsorships are concerns now because of the economy and everything, and it ripples within the CART community. We all have to see how that will go. I think with new management now with Chris Pook, that will be much better.
KM: Finally, with the cancellation of the Indy Lights series, how does it impact the CART ladder system? Do you think it's a good thing to speed up the process and perhaps push more American drivers into Champ Car sooner?
RHR: Yes exactly. It is definitely a good thing. At one level you had Barber Dodge and Formula 2000, and the next level you had Formula Atlantic and Indy Lights, and those choices between two different series on the same level were hurting open-wheel racing in America. Now we have one series and it goes to one series, which is Champ Car, so it is a good thing to consolidate and to concentrate on one ladder system.
