Motorsport: Hunter McElrea hunting glory in Scott Dixon's tyre tracks

Hunter McElrea shows off the New Zealand flag in Mid-Ohio. Photo / Road to Indy

New Zealand racer Hunter McElrea is making the most of his US$200,000 scholarship to contest the USF2000 championship, gaining his second win in the series to move within nine points of the leader.

The Australian-based Kiwi, who won the 2018 Australian Formula Ford championship, has been on the podium in nine of the 11 races in 2019, including two wins.

Instead of heading to Europe, or even Asia, like many former winners of the Formula Ford championship, McElrea decided to follow in the footsteps of fellow Kiwi IndyCar racer Scott Dixon.

"He [Dixon] is a big part of the reason why I wanted to come and race in America. I remember when I was eight watching him win the Indianapolis 500, which was amazing," McElrea told the Weekend Herald from Milwaukee.

"To be over here now and racing on the same weekends at the same tracks, obviously not at the same level as him yet, is something really cool.

"I always wanted to race IndyCar so watching Scott was a big influence on my decision to head over here, and I've always wanted to race open wheel cars."

Dixon, the five-time IndyCar series champion, has kept an eye on the 19-year-old and has been generous in passing on information and advice to help him come to grips with the many and varied tracks he has to race on.

Last weekend, at Mid-Ohio, it was a double bonus with two New Zealanders standing on the top spot. McElrea won the USF2000 race and Dixon hung on in his IndyCar race.

"It was amazing to win on the same weekend as Scott [Dixon] and for me to show off the New Zealand flag. He has been really good reaching out to me at times with advice and stuff and congratulating me when I win a race. It's pretty surreal.

"A couple of months ago, he invited me into his truck. We had a good chat and I bounced a few thoughts off him. Any advice he can give is going to be really helpful, especially when it comes to the tracks as I've not raced on any of them before," he said.

Talking of tracks, America is really the only place that has tarmac ovals as race venues. It takes quite a while for someone who has never raced on an oval to get to grips with them, as they are so different to a race track, or a road course, as Americans call them.

"They [ovals] are completely different and it takes quite a different style to race on them. On an oval, you're flat out all the time, with very little braking.

"The car has to be spot on because there's nowhere to make up any ground," said McElrea.

The USF2000 is part of the recognised Road to Indy pathway for young drivers to make their way into the top tier IndyCar championship.

Nineteen drivers were chosen from a variety of official feeder series from around the world.

They were put through their paces during a two-day shootout, including an off-track assessment and on-track sessions.

McElrea made it into the last six. They were pitted against each other in a 30-minute simulated race which McElrea won.

If he can knock off the USF2000 championship, it'll open the door to the next step, the Indy Pro 2000, or even Indy Lights, one tier down from IndyCar.

"I want to do another season in the development series learning the tracks and developing as a driver before moving into IndyCar. But if an opportunity came along, I'm sure a discussion could take place," he said.