2016 Firestone 600 Preview: Can Hunter-Reay Finally Win?

The 2016 Firestone 600 will finally crown a winner on Saturday night, and will it also end the long wait of Ryan Hunter-Reay to see Victory Lane?

The 2016 Firestone 600 is all about waiting. IndyCar fans have waited about two and a half months to see the conclusion of this race, after rain over Texas Motor Speedway washed it out in June.

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Someone else who’s been waiting a long time is Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay. He hasn’t seen a win this season, and recently he’s been driving like a man possessed.

RHR has come so close and seen victories taken away by factors out of his control – Townsend Bell at the Indy 500 and engine failure last week at Pocono – and you can tell that he’s mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore.

Which brings us to Texas. Hunter-Reay resumes the 2016 Firestone 600 in second position, between Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin. He’s had good cars underneath him recently and is driving even better. If RHR is going to make it to the top this season, the remaining 177 laps tonight are his best opportunity.

Things could get downright thorny at the front, as RHR has a pair of speedsters on either side of him. Aleshin impressed everyone with his front-running performances in the last two races, and Pocono proved that the young Russian has a particular affinity for oval racing.

Then in the fourth position there’s Will Power. Power has never been known as a relaxed driver and he definitely won’t be Saturday night knowing that just 20 points are keeping him from taking the IndyCar championship lead. Especially with Simon Pagenaud restarting back in 15th, Texas is prime time for Power to finally catch the Frenchman.

If you’re looking for a sleeper pick, consider Carlos Munoz. Hunter-Reay’s teammate captured the pole for this race back in June (see above) and has shown flashes of strong driving throughout the season, most recently finishing third at Mid-Ohio. Munoz will restart at Texas in ninth position and that’s certainly good enough to make some noise.

The 2016 Firestone 600 will also see the return of Gabby Chaves to the grid. The 2015 IndyCar Rookie of the Year was still driving the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing entry in June and thus will be back in it tonight. Chaves lines up sixth, between Ed Carpenter and Helio Castroneves.

After the championship effects at Pocono there’s even more on the line at Texas. Not only can Power surpass Pagenaud, but Carpenter’s teammate Josef Newgarden could see his third-place position threatened as he can’t participate due to his earlier crash.

That means everyone else behind him will be racking up points while he isn’t, and Scott Dixon is just 11 points back from Newgarden going into tonight’s race. Dixon will have ground to make up – he begins tonight 14th – but he is also the defending race winner.

All in all, it’s going to be a wild night in Texas and these 177 laps should provide plenty of excitement for IndyCar fans as the 2016 season speeds to its conclusion.

The 2016 Firestone 600 resumes tonight at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET with the race broadcast on NBCSN.