Hunter McElrea

Hunter McElrea
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	(1999-11-21) 21 November 1999 (age 25) Los Angeles, California, United States
IMSA SportsCar Championship career
Debut season	2024
Current team	TDS Racing
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Car number	11
Starts	9 (9 entries)
Wins	2
Podiums	4
Poles	1
Fastest laps	3
Best finish	18th in 2024
IndyCar Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Team(s)	No. 18 (Dale Coyne Racing)
Best finish	41st (2024)
First race	2024 Honda Indy Toronto (Exhibition Place)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
Previous series
2016–18 2019 2020–21 2022–23	Australian Formula Ford U.S. F2000 National Championship Indy Pro 2000 Championship Indy Lights
Championship titles
2024 2018	IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup (LMP2) Australian Formula Ford

Hunter McElrea (born 21 November 1999 in Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American born New Zealand racing driver currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in LMP2 for TDS Racing. ^[1]

Junior career

Karting

McElrea began his career in karting at the age of seven. ^[2]

Formula Ford

In 2015, McElrea stepped up to single-seaters, competing in Formula Ford championships in both Australia and New Zealand, sometimes with the family outfit McElrea Racing. ^{[2] [3]} In 2018, McElrea contested a second full season of Australian Formula Ford with Sonic Motor Racing Services, accumulating thirteen wins and becoming the first non-Australian driver to win the title since 1985. ^[4]

Road to Indy

USF2000 Championship

In December 2018, McElrea won the $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park to compete in the 2019 U.S. F2000 National Championship. ^[5] Joining with Pabst Racing, McElrea claimed four victories, including back-to-back wins at Portland and ultimately finished as championship runner-up after missing out on the title five points to Braden Eves. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Indy Pro 2000

In October 2019, McElrea reunited with Pabst to partake in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test, setting the fastest time in the Indy Pro 2000 category. ^[9] In March the following year, Pabst officially confirmed McElrea as one of its entrants into the 2020 championship. ^[10] His rookie season in Indy Pro 2000 netted him 5th position in championship, with six podiums and a win at the final race of the year at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. McElrea again signed for Pabst Racing, for the 2021 season. McElrea won races at Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and New Jersey Motorsports Park on his way to 3rd in the championship. He also claimed seven podiums and a season leading five pole positions.

Indy Lights

McElrea signed with Andretti Autosport, for the 2022 Indy Lights season. ^[11] He scored pole position on debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. ^[12] In 2022 McElrea achieved three pole positions, two race wins at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Iowa Speedway, and claimed 'Rookie of the Year' honours. ^[13] On 3 September, Andretti Autosport announced that McElrea would join them again for the 2023 season. ^{[14] [15]}

IndyCar Series

2024

Prior to the twelfth round of the 2024 IndyCar Series, Dale Coyne Racing announced that it had signed McElrea to contest the Toronto IndyCar race in their No. 18 Honda. ^[16] McElrea showed good pace throughout the weekend, but ultimately retired during the race, finishing 24th.

Sportscar racing career

McElrea's Oreca 07 at Watkins Glen in 2025

IMSA SportsCar Championship

2024

In 2024, McElrea made the switch to sportscar racing and signed with TDS Racing to compete in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship in LMP2. He would compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds alongside Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jensen. ^[1] McElrea would get his first win in the championship at Indianapolis and would win again at the 2024 Petit Le Mans.

2025

McElrea returned to the championship for the 2025 season, continuing to compete with TDS Racing. He would once again join Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jensen. ^[17]

Personal life

McElrea is the third generation in his motor racing family. His grandfather Rod McElrea won the New Zealand Beach Racing championships, in Nelson, in 1971 and the OSCA championships in 1983. His father Andy McElrea won the 1991 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship, and the 1996 New Zealand Trans-Am Championship. ^[3] Andy is also the Founder & Team Principal of McElrea Racing, which competes in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship & Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia. ^[18]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2015	Queensland Formula Ford	McElrea Racing	3	2	1	0	3	83	NC
2016	Australian Formula Ford Series	Torelli Motorsport	12	0	0	0	0	78	9th
	Queensland Formula Ford 1600 Series	McElrea Racing	8	6	1	3	8	117	NC
2017	Australian Formula Ford Series	Sonic Motor Racing Services	17	2	2	3	9	189	4th
2018	Australian Formula Ford Series	Sonic Motor Racing Services	21	13	3	7	16	321	1st
2019	U.S. F2000 National Championship	Pabst Racing	15	4	5	3	12	356	2nd
2020	Indy Pro 2000 Championship	Pabst Racing	17	1	0	2	6	320	5th
2021	Indy Pro 2000 Championship	Pabst Racing	18	3	5	1	7	378	3rd
2022	Indy Lights	Andretti Autosport	14	2	3	1	7	460	4th
2023	Indy NXT	Andretti Autosport	14	2	2	4	6	474	2nd
2024	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2	TDS Racing	5	2	0	1	3	1563	18th
	IndyCar Series	Dale Coyne Racing	1	0	0	0	0	6	41st
2025	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2	TDS Racing	4	0	1	2	1	1063	6th*

* Season still in progress.

American open–wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Rank	Points
2019	Pabst Racing	STP 1 3	STP 2 2	IMS 1 2	IMS 2 3	LOR 11	ROA 1 1	ROA 2 3	TOR 1 3	TOR 2 14	MOH 1 2	MOH 2 1	POR 1 1	POR 2 1	LAG 1 2	LAG 2 7	2nd	356

Indy Pro 2000 Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
2020	Pabst Racing	ROA 1 15	ROA 2 15	MOH 1 8	MOH 2 6	MOH 3 2	LOR 2	GMP 11	IMS 1 2	IMS 2 6	IMS 3 2	MOH 4 3	MOH 5 9	NJM 1 6	NJM 2 4	NJM 3 5	STP 1 4	STP 2 1		5th	320
2021	Pabst Racing	ALA 1 6	ALA 2 1	STP 1 3	STP 2 4	IMS 1 10	IMS 2 8	IMS 3 7	LOR 5	ROA 1 7	ROA 2 6	MOH 1 4	MOH 2 1	GMP 3	NJM 1 2	NJM 2 2	NJM 3 1	MOH 4 7	MOH 5 6	3rd	378

Indy Lights/Indy NXT

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with ^L indicate a race lap led) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
2022	Andretti Autosport	STP 14L	ALA 12	IMS 1 2L	IMS 2 6	DET 1 12	DET 2 2	RDA 3	MOH 1L*	IOW 1L*	NSH 3	GTW 5	POR 5	LAG 1 3	LAG 2 8	4th	460
2023	Andretti Autosport	STP 5	BAR 13	IMS 4	DET 7L	DET 4	RDA 3	MOH 4	IOW 5	NSH 2	IMS 1L*	GMP 3L	POR 15	LAG 1L*	LAG 2	2nd	474

IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	No.	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points	Ref
2024	Dale Coyne Racing	18	Dallara DW12	Honda	STP	THE	LBH	ALA	IMS	INDY	DET	ROA	LAG	MOH	IOW	IOW	TOR 24	GTW	POR	MIL	MIL	NSH	41st	6	[19]

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Points
2024	TDS Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 13	SEB 2	WGL 9	MOS	ELK	IMS 1	PET 1	18th	1563
2025	TDS Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 8	SEB 3	WGL 11	MOS 8	ELK	IMS	PET	6th*	1063*

^* Season still in progress.

References

1. Lloyd, Daniel (9 November 2023). "TDS Signs Indy NXT Runner-Up McElrea for Enduros – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
2. "CATCHING UP WITH HUNTER MCELREA". 17 January 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
3. Lindsay, Brayden (13 October 2017). "Three generations team up in three-hour endurance motorsport race". Stuff. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
4. "HUNTER MCELREA WINS WILD AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD TITLE". October 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "Australian FFord champion Hunter McElrea wins MRTI Shootout". 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
6. "MCELREA TO PABST RACING FOR 2019 COOPER TIRES USF2000 CHAMPIONSHIP EFFORT". 12 February 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
7. "Hunter McElrea leads USF2000 after sweeping Portland". 2 September 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
8. "Braden Eves Wears USF2000 Crown". Speed Sport. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
9. "VEEKAY, MCELREA, RASMUSSEN FASTEST AS IMS TEST ENDS". NTT IndyCar Series. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
10. "MCELREA MOVES UP THE ROAD TO INDY LADDER WITH PABST RACING". 7 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
11. Andretti (10 November 2021). "McElrea Signs with Andretti for 2022 Indy Lights Season".
12. "McElrea Steals St. Petersburg Pole in Closing Seconds". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
13. "Hunter McElrea wins Indy Lights Rookie of the Year". www.66magazine.co.nz. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
14. "McElrea Staying with Andretti for 2023 Indy Lights Season". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
15. Herrero, Daniel (1 September 2022). "McElrea signs new Indy Lights contract with Andretti". Speedcafe. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
16. "McElrea to make IndyCar debut with Coyne in Toronto". RACER. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
17. Chapman, Simon (14 November 2024). "McElrea announces 2025 racing plans". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
18. "Andy McElrea". www.mcelrearacing.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
19. "Hunter McElrea – 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 July 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Hunter McElrea career summary at DriverDB.com
• Hunter McElrea driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Sporting positions
Preceded by Ben Hanley George Kurtz	Michelin Endurance Cup LMP2 Champion 2024 With: Mikkel Jensen & Steven Thomas	Succeeded by Incumbent