The first American driver to win the IndyCar championship since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006, Ryan Hunter-Reay's 2012 season and strong performance this year has landed him an ESPY award (ESPN's version of the Grammy's) as Driver of the Year.
Hunter-Reay started the 2013 season with a second-place finish overall at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona driving the Wayne Taylor Daytona Prototype and added two IndyCar wins (Alabama and Milwaukee) with Andretti Autosport. Just passed the halfway point in the season, he sits third behind Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon.
The 2007 Rookie of the Year is the first open-wheel driver to win the award since Jimmy Vasser in 1997. The fan vote saw him take the title over drivers that included three-time defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, and Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan.
