Yahoo Autos McElrea hoping for a chance to build on solid IndyCar debut
Hunter McElrea’s first weekend as an NTT IndyCar Series driver confirmed two things: He is fast, and he is brave.
The Road To Indy veteran came close to winning last year’s Indy NXT title after taking a pair of wins and a runner-up position behind Christian Rasmussen, and with his sights set on reaching IndyCar, McElrea tried throughout the offseason but was unable to secure a seat on the grid.
An opportunity to race in IMSA’s LMP2 class instead appeared, and that’s where the 24-year-old Kiwi placed his focus while continuing to search for ways to break into IndyCar. Nearly 10 months removed from his last outing in an open-wheel car, McElrea tested for Dale Coyne Racing at Mid-Ohio ahead of making his debut last weekend in Toronto, and from the outset, he was quick in the No. 18 Honda.
McElrea made a statement in the first practice session on Friday by running 18th, seven spots ahead of teammate Toby Sowery, and on Saturday morning, he improved to 16th to Sowery’s 24th, which was among the best placements for the team in any road or street course practice session this year.
“It really felt like it was impossible for me to get a shot, and then there was one lifeline being thrown to me, and it was with Dale at the toughest track to make your debut in IndyCar,” McElrea told RACER. “I had friends telling me not to do it because it was Toronto, but I couldn’t pass it up and I was so happy with what the group at Coyne gave me.
“They said it was one of the most competitive turns they’ve had so far this year, and I feel like we could have truly challenged to make it into the [Firestone] Fast 12 if I hadn’t made a mistake to start qualifying. I raised my hand and apologized to the team; it wasn’t, obviously, how I’d wanted it to go.”
McElrea slid into the tires and stalled at Turn 8, the same location where Alexander Rossi crashed and injured himself on Friday. The crash ended McElrea’s first qualifying session and left the No. 18 Honda starting 25th.
He rose at high at 10th in the race and spent time battling with fellow rookies Linus Lundqvist and Nolan Siegel, and chased Graham Rahal past the halfway point of the 85-lap contest. McElrea tapped the wall on his out lap after making his final pit stop, which led to a suspension failure and a finish of 24th. He left Canada filled with plenty of newfound experience to use.
“I was really enjoying myself in the race and we got into some good scraps with some fast guys,” he said. “We got good pit stops done and were making a lot of progress, I felt. Truly, I treated every lap like it was my last, from first practice to the race, because I wanted to enjoy everything about this as much as I possibly could in case it was my last. I gave it everything I had the entire time.
“Unfortunately, I got into the wall a little bit, and didn’t think it was bad enough to stop things, but it was worse than I thought and we had to retire the car. It wasn’t how we wanted to end the race, but I think I showed by capabilities as well as I could, given the circumstances.”
Now McElrea returns to searching for another shot to race in IndyCar.
“I honestly want to say thank you to Dale, because if he hadn’t made this possible for me, I doubt I’d ever get the chance to show what I can do,” he said. “And I know if I can get another chance, I can do even better. We were fast all weekend, so I just hope people noticed.”
