By Andrew Cutler
March 28 2009

Here is one peice of news that fans who worry about the depth of American driving talent in the IndyCar Series have been anxiously waiting to hear: Ryan Hunter-Reay WILL be back full time this year after all! The 2007 Rookie of the Year says that a deal with Vision Racing is being written up, & should be ready to sign by Sunday or Monday.

Ryan's employment status in the series was a special concern to the IRL officials because he is the public face of clothing design company Phillips-Van Heusen's soon-to-be-released IZOD/INDY line of merchandise. Not having him in the fold would have been an embarrassment, to say the least. That is undoubtedly a large part of why Vision Racing, which is owned by IRL founder & president Tony George, signed Ryan up.

"I really can't tell you how thankful I am that Tony stepped in because it was getting late and I know Terry Angstadt (IRL's president of its commercial division) has been working real hard to help me and I appreciate his efforts," Ryan told Speed TV's Robin Miller. "The entire IRL marketing and commercial department has been working relentlessly on several B to B deals as well as sponsorships and I can't thank them enough. I'm just very grateful right now. This will be a huge opportunity for me to race for Tony George at Vision."

Whatever the final reason, Ryan is a proven winner (Watkins Glen last year) & is generally held to be a potential rising star in IndyCar. Furthermore, his road course skills will put him in a position to help coach his new teammate, Ed Carpenter, who abilities in that discipline are somewhat lacking.