With motorsport in his blood, Hunter McElrea may have been born in the US, but he races under the New Zealand flag and is making a name for himself Stateside.

ABOUT

Growing up around motorsport, Hunter McElrea started Karting at just seven years of age and at the age of 16, progressed to single seaters, competing in Formula Ford championships in both Australia and New Zealand. In 2018, McElrea contested a second full season of Australian Formula Ford and became the first non-Australian driver to win the title since 1985.

That same year saw McElrea awarded the coveted Road to Indy scholarship. A USD$200,000 pathway sanctioned by IndyCar that helps drivers reach the IndyCar series. The road consists of the U.S. F2000 National Championship, the USF Pro 2000 Championship and the Indy NXT championship as feeder series into the IndyCar main game.

McElrea was second in the F2000 championship his first year before graduating to USF Pro 2000 where he placed fifth (2020) and third (2021).

In 2022, the young-Kiwi made the jump to Indy NXT, placing third in his first year (2022) and becoming Vice-Champion in 2023.

A jump to sportscar endurance racing was on the plan for 2024, contesting the IMSA Endurance Cup with TDS Racing in the LMP2 category.

The year kicked off with strong IMSA outings with TDS Racing, including P2 at the 12 Hours of Sebring, but the real highlight came in July when McElrea's dream of an IndyCar debut came true. After a strong test with Dayle Coyne Racing, the Kiwi secured a drive in the Toronto Street race, one of IndyCar's trickiest tracks.

A DNF after minor contact with the barriers doesn't do justice to the strength of McElrea's debut. He was the fastest rookie in practice, and was only a tenth off the leaders lap-times in the race. 

While it's not clear when he'll next get to pilot an IndyCar, Hunter McElrea has proved he deserves to be a regular in the United States' top open-wheel championship.