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Hunter-Reay finishes eighth at Pocono after brutal qualifying crash

LONG POND, Pa. - Ryan Hunter-Reay woke up this morning not 100 percent sure he would be driving today at Pocono Raceway after suffering a brutal crash in qualifying, registered at 138Gs.

Although he was treated and released from Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest on Saturday night, he remained very sore ahead of Sunday’s race and was not officially cleared to drive until Sunday morning.

He then made the race for fans and onlookers worth the price of admission nearly entire on his own.

Starting from 21st, Hunter-Reay was immediately on the move and a lightning fast pit stop from the No. 28 DHL Honda team put him in sixth, following a lap 21 caution for debris off of Esteban Gutierrez’s car.

Hunter-Reay remained a staple at the front of the field for much of the race, taking part in what was a thrilling battle for the lead throughout, leading 12 laps in the process.

However, jumbled pit strategy late in the race saw him fall back from the front of the field and deeper into the top ten. Hunter-Reay eventually salvaged eighth.

Though exhausted, Hunter-Reay told NBCSN’s Katie Hargitt afterward that it was a good result given everything that happened.

“It was a great run. We started with a lot of downforce. Took a while to get (the) balance, no warmup. Getting the right downforce level, we thought ‘Hey, we have something’ leading at halfway. Didn’t get enough downforce out of it,” he said of the effort on race day.

Hunter-Reay added that he was also just happy to be racing after sustaining such a heavy accident. “Really happy to get back in the car, get a good showing in. It was a test. A mental test no doubt… physical as well. Glad to roll it back in pit lane and move forward. All told a good showing to end the weekend.”

Though some may have been surprised to see Hunter-Reay excel the way he did, teammate Alexander Rossi was not one of them.

“It’s vintage Ryan Hunter-Reay,” Rossi said of his teammate’s effort. “We’ve seen him do it time and time again. In my opinion he’s one of the best drivers on the grid. It was no surprise to me. 40 laps in, to see him behind me, I was like ‘Damn, here we go again.’ But it’s to be expected. It really shouldn’t be a shock for anyone.”

Hunter-Reay now sits 11th in the championship, five points behind James Hinchcliffe for tenth.