Written by Archie O’Reilly
Hunter McElrea is in the process of putting together a programme for the 2025 racing season. IndyCar remains his priority, but with a full-time deal a long shot, he is also keen to continue in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The 24-year-old New Zealander, who finished second in the standings in Indy NXT in 2023, made his IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing in Toronto in July.
He also served as an endurance driver in IMSA with LMP2 team TDS Racing, where he helped the team to secure the Michelin Endurance Cup.
“Am I probably looking at things a little differently than I did a year ago? Yeah,” said McElrea, whose career was left in a state of uncertainty ahead of the 2024 season with no IndyCar opportunities on the table.
“I don’t know which way my career is going to go. Obviously I’ve kind of flourished in sports cars this past year and it’s looking like I’m going to have a good opportunity there again next year. But in the same token, I’ll never not pursue IndyCar and the chance to drive one because I really feel like I belong there and can perform well.”
McElrea is currently in talks with IndyCar teams. He did not finish the race in Toronto but made a good impression through his speed in practice and as he initially made his way through the field on race day after starting at the rear due to a qualifying mishap.
“I am in talks with [IndyCar] teams,” he said. “I don’t know whether I’ll be racing next year or not, but I really feel like I’m going to be in [an Indy car] again - hopefully in the near future - whether it’s a test or whatever that is.
“I’m just going to keep putting myself in the position I can to try and be there when something happens. If you look at the past year and the amount of seat swaps and crazy things going on, you couldn’t even have scripted it. I’ll be lingering around waiting for an opportunity.
“I hope I get another shot. And hopefully when I do, I can make a big splash.”
McElrea moved from racing Down Under to compete in the United States in 2019 after winning the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout. He won multiple races and took multiple poles at USF2000, USF Pro 2000 and Indy NXT level.
McElrea now knows a sports car career is a really viable option. But after coming through the single-seater ranks, IndyCar is “for sure” still his priority.
“I want to win Le Mans. I want to win the Indy 500. Those two things would be incredible,” he said. “I want to be in IndyCar, I can’t lie. I really want the opportunity just to get another race next year and show what I can do.
“But I also want to win the Daytona 24 Hours. If I could paint a perfect scenario for myself, to be able to be in a full-time IndyCar seat and do the big endurance races in North America and Le Mans, for me that would be the absolute ultimate.
“I love the endurance stuff - I always want to do that. But I also really want to be in IndyCar.”
Chances in IndyCar may become more limited from 2025 onwards. The new charter system supposedly comes with a three-driver per team limit, which was exceeded by Coyne in 2024 and allowed drivers such as McElrea the opportunity to make their debuts.
“I don’t love it,” McElrea said of the rule. “It’s just weird, to be honest. I think the charter system is good - because if I take my driver hat off, I’m trying to get myself an opportunity and just look at it as a business point - it gives the teams so much more value.
“But I don’t really get the three driver thing. It’s just… why? Obviously if you’re having three drivers in a year, it’s probably not amazing. It’s probably a crazy scenario. But if I didn’t get to drive because there was a three-driver limit, that would have sucked.
“Unfortunately I can’t make those decisions but I think it’s just unnecessary. I probably never would have driven an Indy car if that didn’t happen.
“So who knows what I go on to do? But maybe that could have been a huge catalyst for something that leads to me getting more opportunities.
“If I never had that one, I probably, I don’t want to say give up, but if I didn’t get that opportunity, I don’t know how I would get one now. The talks I have with teams, they all know that I have, I feel like, a lot of raw speed that’s proven on a race weekend in a tough circumstance.”
In the immediate future, McElrea is setting his sights on the Daytona 24 Hours in January after he failed to get any race experience at the prestigious event in 2024 after an early DNF for his team. Then IndyCar comes into consideration.
“That’d be a huge achievement for me,” he said. “And trying to get back into an Indy car as soon as possible too would be another immediate goal.
“I won’t achieve those big goals if I don’t get back in one, so trying to look a bit more short-term right now, knowing what’s going to help me get to my long-term goals.
“For sure I’m looking more on the sports car side in terms of the awesome things I can do in that side of the sport as well. But the Indy car, man, especially after any taste of it, it’s going to be hard to forget.”
McElrea’s return to IMSA in the same situation as in 2024 - driving alongside factory Peugeot World Endurance Championship Hypercar driver Mikkel Jensen and renowned bronze driver Steven Thomas for TDS Racing - appears likely.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s confirmed yet but things are looking good for next year to obviously do it again with the same people in IMSA, in the same programme,” McElrea said. “So we’re working towards that, getting that confirmed.”
En-route to an endurance championship - achieved despite the Daytona DNF - McElrea tasted class victory in the six-hour race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as well as at Petit Le Mans. The team also finished second in the Sebring 12 Hours.
“I think we can for sure aim for the same success, if not hopefully more next year as well,” McElrea said. “I feel like I made the most of my opportunity and I’m pretty proud of my adaptation to sports cars.
“It’s not too dissimilar, but to succeed how we have, it takes everyone. I for sure can’t take all of the credit because it’s a team effort. But I do really feel that I made a contribution this year. And if you told me maybe how well I would have done this year, I would have been really happy.”
Winning the endurance championship was satisfying for McElrea given his multiple near misses on the Road to Indy. Misfortune in the final race of his USF2000 season snatched a title out of his hands, while he finished third in USF Pro 2000 and second in Indy NXT.
“To show up and win the endurance championship my first year and add a championship to my name for the first time in five years was awesome,” he said. “And it really does mean a lot because it’s such a hard thing to do, winning a championship.
“I don’t care what championship it is. You can be the best driver with the best team, best engineer, and if things don’t go your way, or you’re not delivering everything you have, it can slip away like that.
“So for us to win the endurance championship and obviously Petit Le Mans, which is a race that everyone knows of and everyone wants to win, to add that to my resume was mega.”
Regardless of where his future lies, McElrea’s outlook is positive. After the fear for his career and near turmoil of one year ago, his career is firmly back on track.
“I want to race as much as I can and win as much as I can and have the most fun I can. Purely. That’s my core,” McElrea said. “This year I realised that I drive a lot better when I have fun.
“And maybe if I had more fun and wasn’t so stressed about everything in the junior formula, maybe it would have been a bit different. But this year I have had the most fun ever. And even with the pressure of my IndyCar debut, I really made sure I was enjoying it.
“I know I DNFed and we didn’t finish the race and whatever. On paper, it doesn’t look good. But I really look at my IndyCar weekend as a success. If people know the challenge that was and what we were able to achieve, I really am proud of that.
“And I had a lot of fun. I didn’t get drowned by the pressure or anything. I just enjoyed it.
“Obviously I love to win too. I want to win as many accolades as I can. Next year I have the opportunity to win… any of the races are awesome. You want to win them all - Daytona 24, Sebring 12 Hour and Petit Le Mans.
“If I win the Daytona 24 Hour next year, which honestly is a dream of mine - it’s such a big iconic race - that’s with me forever. So those things are stuff that fires me up and motivates me a lot to get that resume filled.”
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