Ryan Hunter-Reay's weekend at Richmond International Raceway has been business as usual.

And that's not necessarily a good thing.

His Rahal Letterman team was giddy after his Ethanol Dallara posted the fastest practice speed (166.664 mph, 16.2003 seconds) during Friday's practices. But it was another dose of reality when, on the grid ready to qualify, electrical problems with his No. 17 car prevented him from making his run.

IndyCar Series rules state that if a driver is unable to take to the track during the assigned qualifying spot (Hunter-Reay was to go out first), a start from the back of the pack is in order.

"We had the quickest lap of the day, and we were liking our chances despite the fact that we had drawn the first spot in the qualifying order," he said. "But the car wouldn't go into gear. I can't believe it. We are having some of the worst luck I have ever seen a team have this year."

This is far from Hunter-Reay's first taste of misfortune. At Texas a few weeks ago, he and Marco Andretti, running two-three, were closing in on leader Scott Dixon just a couple of laps from the end. In typical fashion, as Hunter-Reay used the low-line to attempt a pass, he and Andretti tangled.

The result? A hard meeting with the wall and finish of 20th.

This past week at Iowa, Hunter-Reay was running third behind Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves with 90 laps to go. Three drivers then took a gamble on a quick yellow: Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick stayed out during a caution, and Andretti took fuel only. Through no fault of his own, Hunter-Reay was relegated to eighth.

"It's the ebb and flow of life," he said yesterday. "When I go to sleep at night, I'm pretty proud of myself. Keep doing what we're doing. It's unfortunate when you think about it . . . we could have a pole and a couple of podiums right now."

He entered last night's SunTrust Indy Challenge sitting 12th in points. And even with the hard luck this season, Hunter-Reay has four top-10 finishes in the eight races preceding Richmond.

Hunter-Reay was philosophical about his tough luck.

"It's just like an NFL QB," he said. "You can't dwell on it. You know, you have to have the same mentality. . . . Look forward to the next day and continue to believe in your work."

Hunter-Reay came to Rahal Letterman Racing under difficult circumstances. Jeff Simmons was released from the seat at the midway point last season, and Hunter-Reay was summoned. He says it's been a comfortable fit.

"Those guys [at the team] made me feel comfortable, and I love working with them," he said. "I'm very happy where I am in my life and in racing."

Through it all, he's confident the breaks will soon go his way.

"The results will come with what we're doing," he said.