HILLIARD, Ohio - A successful IndyCar Series season in the books, Rahal Letterman Racing and Ryan Hunter-Reay will find themselves this weekend in a strange position. The #17 Ethanol-sponsored machine will attack a challenging 2.795-mile street course in Surfers Paradise, Australia with the rest of their IndyCar brethren, in a race that will have no effect on the season point standings.

It will be the first time since 1992 that a RLR car has participated in a non-points race and will be the first time in Hunter-Reay’s six-year Indy Car career that he races without championship points on the line.

But if one were to choose a track to race on just for a trophy dash, Surfers Paradise would likely be Hunter-Reay’s choice. It was on those same Gold Coast streets six years ago where Hunter-Reay scored his first-ever win in the Indy Cars (then Champ Car) when he came from 12th on the starting grid to take the victory.

“There are a couple places on this track where you can not make a mistake or you are done for the day,” Hunter-Reay said. “There are some very fast places and some tricky chicanes and you have to be on your game. It’s a great place to have a race and the fans are really into it. I am looking forward to it.”

The event kicks off Thursday night in the United States, which is Friday afternoon in Australia. Qualifying takes place Friday evening with the 60-lap race getting underway at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday night. The race can be seen live on ESPN Classic.