Gentilozzi/RSR settles Hunter-Reay lawsuit

Above: Paul Gentilozzi and Ryan Hunter-Reay at Surfers Paradise, 2005.

Ryan Hunter-Reay's relentless pursuit of the millions he was awarded in a lawsuit against Rocketsports Racing has finally come to a positive end. Ryan Racing LLC, the company owned by the 2012 IndyCar champion, agreed to a settlement with Paul Gentilozzi's Michigan-based racing business, which currently operates under the 3GT Racing banner.

Although terms of the settlement were undisclosed, it's believed the $3.3 million Hunter-Reay was awarded in January – if not more – was secured for the wrongful termination lawsuit he and his lawyers originally filed in 2007.

"It feels great to have this in my rear-view mirror," the former RSR Racing Champ Car driver told RACER on Friday. "I would have preferred to have resolved this without lengthy lawsuits, but sometimes that's not possible. It took a long time, but we finally got it done."

Reached by RACER Saturday morning, a representative from RSR expressed a similar sentiment: "We are glad to put this behind us and move forward."

RACER has been assured the sum agreed to in the settlement has been paid.

The settlement appeared to be almost finished in March as the 2014 Indy 500 winner and the Varnum law firm continued to apply considerable pressure to resolve the matter. It's believed the repeated efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service to collect on the $3.3 million debt by taking personal property and business assets belonging to Gentilozzi played a vital part in accelerating the completion of a settlement.

Rather than face the forfeiture of race team items and real estate selected by the Marshals, it's believed Gentilozzi elected to settle by paying Ryan Racing.