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" Taking home trophies and empty champagne bottle is nothing new for America&amp;#039;s newest IndyCar champion, but receiving the big check\u2014one that&amp;#039;s good for a cool millions dollars\u2014capped what has been a dream season for Ryan Hunter-Reay. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s definitely a special feeling,&amp;quot; said RHR, who became the first American since 2006 to claim the IndyCar crown. &amp;quot;We accomplished so much this year and it was a first for a lot of people here. To win three straight races and win four total in the season. It&amp;#039;s the first championship for me, the first championship for my lead engineer Ray Gosselin and the first championship for our crew chief Josh Freund. It was a year offirsts in many ways and now we have the No. 1 on the car.&amp;quot; After winning almost half of IndyCar&amp;#039;s oval races in 2012, the Floridian was also awarded the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship trophy which added an extra $50,000 to his season totals.  Related posts:  IndyCar Champ Hunter-Reay Is Now Officially No. 1 Ryan Hunter-Reay on Top \u2013 2012 IndyCar Season Video Exclusive: Ryan Hunter-Reay on the $25,000 IndyCar Steering Wheel Ryan Hunter-Reay Finds Speed \u2013 Trackside at Indy 2012 Kanaan Released; Hunter-Reay Signed  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/news/a3728/indycar-champ-hunter-reay-pockets-1-million-at-banquet/>