Ryan Hunter-Reay focused on another championship

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay talked about various topics on today's teleconference. Here are some of the things he had to say.

Q. Ryan, I know yesterday (a Jan. 14 test at Sebring) was your first day back in the car for the year. Does it seem like the season's just around the corner now? Absolutely. I mean, it's always just around the corner. That's how we've been thinking since our last race at Fontana. We've really been focused on 2013. There's really never any sense of sitting still at Andretti Autosport. We're always really planning for the future and making sure that we're moving forward at all costs. So we knew that we had that one night after Fontana where we had some fun with the team and everything, and we were on to 2013, focused on the future. So looking forward to getting back in the car again even though this is the first time we did it in 2013. I feel like the testing is a little bit too thin this year really for anybody. I think we're going to have a total of like three chances in the car before St. Pete, which is a bit drastic, but everybody's in the same boat.

Q. Obviously this year your car will be the No. 1 to honor your championship. I know race drivers can be superstitious and some have tended to shy away carrying No. 1 after a championship season. Do you feel any pressure carrying that as a target kind of this year? We have a target either way. I mean, and the biggest target comes from within our own organization. We put the most pressure on ourselves. Really don't care what anybody else thinks. We want to go out there and win and deliver for our team and our partners and sponsors. That's what really matters most.

And I certainly put a lot of pressure on myself as well. So we've got a lot to do. We've got to redouble our efforts to even have a shot at defending our championship. But when it comes to the number one, it's all about the history of that number and it's been an IndyCar tradition for years. I remember as a kid as an IndyCar fan, watching the championship take the No. 1. So it brought it full circle.

Certainly our team and sponsors deserve that. DHL, Sun Drop, Circle K and certainly Chevrolet deserve to run that No. 1 in 2013.

Q. Ryan, were you able to totally get away from the racing thing in the off season, forget the cell phone, forget the tweeting, just try and enjoy the family in the off season? Some drivers aren't actually able to do that, were you able to do that? Certainly very busy. And I feel very fortunate that I've been as busy as I am. But I was never able to really unplug completely. But I had my time at home enjoying living in South Florida a couple of weeks here and there. And that's really all I need. I love racing, and anytime I'm sitting there at home with a remote control in my hands all I'm thinking about is getting back in the car, going out and taking my go-karts out or whatever it is. I've always got to be doing something.

Q. Ryan, this question is for you. As you enter the 2013 season now you're a father; you've got a new number on the car, of course you're now the champion of the IZOD IndyCar Series. As you make your first start coming up shortly in St. Petersburg as you attack Turn 1, any different strategies this year to keep you on track at St. Pete? Not really, no. I think we go about it like we did last year, which is to race smart but with a lot of aggression. I'm not going to change that about my driving style. That's for sure.

And I think it's just a big picture racing, when you think about it about the whole season, banking points, really driving to the capabilities of your car and not over it. But taking the necessary risks you need to to move yourself up in the points. Much of the same approach as last year, but things will be different in that we're going to have to work quite a bit harder to make sure we're extracting our full potential every weekend, to repeat or to defend our championship.

And we've got a lot to do in the series. We still haven't won at a lot of racetracks. We haven't won the biggest one yet. I should say I haven't, the Indy 500. I know Michael has won it as a team owner.

But we've got a lot to do. So we've got a lot on our plate as we do every year, and we're proud to be running the No. 1. But every time we looked at that No. 1 we realized we've got a lot to live up to and that we better be working around the clock to make it happen.

IZOD IndyCar Series