Red Bull GRC: Post-summer break stretch kicks off in Atlantic City

By Aug 10, 2017, 1:39 PM EDT
Photo: Larry Chen/Red Bull Content Pool
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After a little more than a month break since its last race in Indianapolis, Red Bull Global Rallycross is back in action this weekend with a doubleheader at Bader Field in Atlantic City, N.J.

There’s just five races remaining this season, with Atlantic City and Seattle hosting doubleheader weekends before the season finale in Los Angeles in October. The two Atlantic City Supercars finals air Saturday at 5 p.m. ET and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET, both on NBC, while GRC Lites coverage airs Wednesday, August 23, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

In Supercars, the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross pair of Tanner Foust and Scott Speed continue their duel for the title in the pair of Volkswagen Beetle GRCs. Foust leads Speed, 488-462, heading into the doubleheader weekend. Foust last won race two in Ottawa while Speed took the series’ most recent win in Indianapolis, at the Andretti team’s home base. Speed also won in Atlantic City last year.

Steve Arpin in his Loenbro Motorsports Ford Fiesta ST remains the only other driver in really close title contention, in third place with 455 points. Arpin was on the podium in Atlantic City last year, ending third, and has won twice this weekend.

The Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE contingent fell back in Indianapolis; Mitchell DeJong’s impressive recent string ended with a 10th place classification there and he’s now fourth in points, some 103 points back of Foust.

Similarly, the pair of Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Chris Atkinson and Patrik Sandell look for any sort of result, while RLL Racing’s Austin Dyne has been fifth or sixth in five of the last six races, and will seek to continue his decent run. Bryan Herta Rallysport rookie Cabot Bigham remains in search of his maiden top-five finish in Supercars.

In GRC Lites, Olsbergs MSE X Forces rookie Cyril Raymond enters with a sizable points lead, 475-399, over DirtFish’s Conner Martell with two of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s trio of drivers, Christian Brooks and Travis PeCoy, third and fourth.

Of note here, Jon Bennett and Colin Braun resume for CORE autosport with IMSA off this weekend – they missed Indianapolis as they were on IMSA duty – and 2016 CORE driver Scott Anderson makes his series return in another OMSE X Forces entry.

The 0.902 circuit is one of Red Bull GRC’s longer circuits. You can see a course layout below.

Ryan Hunter-Reay hired as replacement for Conor Daly at Ed Carpenter Racing

By Jun 8, 2023, 9:05 AM EDT
Ryan Hunter-Reay Carpenter
Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“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,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “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 has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “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.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “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.”