If there was one driver feeling confident about his chances at Sunday's Grand Prix of Baltimore, it might have been Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won last year's race en route to capturing the IZOD IndyCar Series title.
But his bid to become the event's first two-time winner ended shortly after his No. 1 car stopped in the 43rd lap on the course in Turn 10.
"We just had an electronic issue that made the car stall on the start," the 32-year-old Dallas native said. "And then we were ultimately sidelined because of a power outage in the car. The electronics completely failed."
Hunter-Reay said the car hadn't had a severe mechanical problem since the 2011 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 27, which made Sunday's issue just as bewildering.
"It's been a while since that happened," he said. "It may be an alternator problem, but all the volts dropped out at once, so it doesn't look like an alternator. It might be a battery issue. It's very strange what happened."
The shortened outing dropped Hunter-Reay from third to fifth in the points standings, and he now trails points leader Helio Castroneves by 74 points. With Castroneves finishing ninth and Scott Dixon bailing out after colliding with Will Power in the 53rd lap, Hunter-Reay noted the missed opportunity.
"Very [disappointed], especially on a day like this when Dixon and Helio both had trouble," Hunter-Reay said. "We could have potentially won today. But that's racing. It's heartbreaking, but you can't really help it."