FONTANA, Calif. – Ryan Hunter-Reay’s 90th IZOD IndyCar Series start will be with Andretti Autosport.

The 2013 season opener also will be the 31-year-old Floridian’s 50th start with the Indianapolis-based team. Hunter-Reay, who clinched the series championship with a fourth-place finish in the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR WOrld Championships at Auto Club Speedway, signed a two-year contract extension following qualifications Sept. 14.

"We are happy to have Ryan back with us for the 2013 and 2014 IndyCar seasons,” Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti said. “He is a tough competitor and has become an important part of our team. He is the ultimate team player and I know we can count on him, along with his teammates, to continue to be a foundation for us.

“We believe that he, Marco (Andretti) and James (Hinchcliffe) will continue to work together and take the team to great places with great success."

Andretti earned the pole for the season-ending race and finished eighth. Hinchcliffe, the series’ 2011 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, recorded five top-10 finishes in his first season in the No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com car.

Hunter-Reay is completing his third season with the team, and the continuity was a determining factor in re-signing.

"I have a lot of deep-rooted relationships with the team and the team sponsors and I'm looking forward to continuing and further developing those relationships,” said Hunter-Reay, who earned four victories this season in the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car. “I'm happy to be able to enjoy the off-season knowing what the next two years hold.”

Hunter-Reay joined Andretti Autosport in 2010 after he competed for six teams from 2003-09.