The Five Greatest IndyCar Finishes Since 2012
By Asher Fair
No. 5: Iowa, 2014
Ryan Hunter-Reay was not competitive at all the entire race. While he was in the top 10 for much of the race, he never showed any signs of being able to contend for the win.
That changes after a late caution flag flew, and he along with some of the other drivers decided to pit for fresh tires. The leaders of the race, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon, decided to stay out on old tires since they (mostly Kanaan with 247 laps led) had dominated the entire race thus far.
On new tires, Hunter-Reay stormed through the field in the closing laps, passing both Dixon and Kanaan with easy. Even Josef Newgarden, who also pit for new tires, passed Dixon and Kanaan for 2nd place.
Hunter-Reay led only the final two of 300 laps around the 7/8-mile oval, but he led the one that mattered most, and he did it in a thrilling fashion, which is why this finish is good enough for 5th on this list.