James Hinchcliffe Suiting Up for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for 2015 IndyCar Season

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy

 

If you live in the Canadian province of Ontario, October of 2014 revolves around the campaigns by individuals to lead cities and towns. The 27-year-old Oakville, Ontario race car driver known as the mayor of Hinchtown has chosen to this month announce a substantial change to his devoted populus.

After three seasons piloting a #27 machine for Andretti Autosport as part of the IndyCar Series, James Hinchcliffe has declared he will hop over to the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports organization for what will be a multi-year deal starting 2015. A popular driver not only in Canada but on the whole IndyCar scene, Hinchcliffe's move is definitely a major wave to be sent through the series. "To see what they have accomplished in the last few seasons has been incredible. Winning races, being competitive at all tracks and finishing in the top five in the championship against more experienced teams at this level is impressive. Because they are young, there is still room for them to grow and improve, and that's an exciting thought for me." said Hinchcliffe on the incentive for signing with the team co-owned by Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson.





In four seasons of IndyCar competition, James Hinchcliffe has driven for Newman/Haas Racing in 2011 and Andretti Autosport. Crowning achievement for the young Canadian time in IndyCar has consisted of the 2011 Rookie of the Year award and being named IndyCar's most popular driver in 2012. His 2013 season with Andretti Autosport driving the GoDaddy-sponsored Chevrolet-powered car is viewed as his more successful in the series so-far. All three career victories were scored in Hinchcliffe's 2013 IndyCar season. The 2014 season for James Hinchcliffe was a disappointment finishing 12th in the overall drivers standings. His top finish in competition last season was third at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Starting in 2015, Hinchcliffe will be piloting the #77 car recently vacated by Simon Pagenaud (Pagenaud weeks ago signed a deal to drive for Team Penske for the upcoming IndyCar season). In 2014, the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team found victory lane twice and driver Pagenaud to fifth in the overall points. Leaving Andretti Autosport, the career path for Hinchcliffe heading into 2015 is acquainting him with something new as well as something familiar. In 2009, James Hinchcliffe drove for Sam Schmidt's Indy Lights team finishing in the top-five in points that season. Speaking about the acquisition of the driving services of Hinchcliffe, Sam Schmidt recalled attempting to recruit him in 2011. Schmidt responded, "In fact, he would already be with us driving the No. 77 if he would have been available three years ago. We went after him in 2011, but it didn't work out then."

Hinchcliffe, Tagliani and Villeneuve Ready for 2014 Indianapolis 500 Race Day

Photo credit: Chris Jones

Winning on the 105-year old Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit is a honour anyone who can handle a steering wheel would want. Of the select few who have joined the ranks of professional open wheel drivers, just 33 drivers a year compete for the Indianapolis 500. Bestowed with the chance at claiming the BorgWarner Trophy, the triumphant is the one who completes 500 miles around the 2.5-mile oval first.

With a rich national auto racing history, the Indianapolis 500 is understandable desirable to Canadians. Canada's History at the historic track known as "The Brickyard" runs deep. Pete Henderson was the first documented Canadian to run in the Indy 500 back in 1916. Since then, names such as Billy Foster, Ludwig Heimrath, John Jones, Scott Goodyear and Paul Tracy have competed for victory on the Indiana oval.

For the 2014 edition of the Indianapolis 500, three veteran drivers (James Hinchcliffe, Alex Tagliani and Jacques Villeneuve) have a 1 in 33 chance of winning the Memorial Day classic in motor racing.

James Hinchcliffe

Photo Credit: John Cote

Team: Andretti Autosport
Car: #27 United Fiber & Data Dallara-Honda
Sporting Spot: 2nd

The only Canadian driver running full-time on the 2014 Verizon INDYCAR Series tour, James Hinchcliffe is a 27-year old entered in his fourth Indianapolis 500.

Taking part in his first Indy 500 in 2011 with Newman/Haas Racing, Hitchcliffe's initial showing at Indy was strong but resulted with a DNF just ahead of the halfway distance in the race. Signing with Andretti Autosport the following year, his 2012 showing was his career best so far finishing sixth after starting second. The 2013 Indianapolis 500 had James Hinchcliffe arrive as an INDYCAR race winner of two races in the season. Unfortunately, he fell late in the race to finish 21st in his #27 Dallara-Chevrolet.

With the Andretti Autosport team switching from Chevrolet to Honda in 2014, Hinchcliffe enters this year's Indy 500 with a seventh place at Barber Motorsports Park being his best result of the season. Making problems worse, James Hinchcliffe suffered an concussion during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis race early this month resulting with him having to sit out the first four days of practice on the oval. EJ Viso subbed for Hinchcliffe until the Canadian received the go-ahead to step back in the #27 car. Fortunes might be turning around for James Hinchcliffe following a stellar performance last weekend in qualifying. Fourth fastest on Saturday, Hinchcliffe and the #27 Dallara-Honda was locked into the top nine positions of the 2014 Indy 500. After a Fast 9 Shootout on Sunday, James Hinchcliffe posted the second-fastest time behind pole winner Ed Carpenter. Hinchcliffe's four-lap average of 230.839 miles per hour was roughly 0.15 seconds off the pole-winning time.

Alex Tagliani

Photo Credit: Walter Kuhn

Team: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
Car: #68 Dallara-Honda
Starting Spot: 24th

Despite running professionally in open wheel racing since the 1990s, French-Canadian driver Alex Tagliani was unable to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until 2009 due to the IRL/CART split. Arriving with Conquest Racing, Tagliani finished 11th and became the second Canadian to be recognized as an Indy 500 Rookie of the Year. Alex Tagliani returned to the 2.5-mile track in 2010 with FAZZT Race Team. The 2010 effort consisted of a fifth place qualifying spot and a tenth final result. The following year, the FAZZT Race Team was sold to Sam Schmidt Racing and retained Tagliani for the 2011 Indianapolis 500. In a Fast 9 qualifying shootout for the race, Alex Tagliani and the #77 car won the pole with a 227.472-mile per hour average four-lap time.  Leading 20 laps on race day, Tagliani's race turned south and was ultimately cut short when the #77 crashed. For 2012 and 2013, Alex Tagliani participated with a Bryan Herta Autosport-owned race car. In both years, the team qualified 11th and finished 12th in 2012 and 24th in 2013.

For 2014, Alex Tagliani has been picked up by Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for the Indianapolis 500 event. A one-off appearance in the 2014 Verizon INDYCAR Series, Alex Tagliani will be starting in the 24th starting spot on Sunday. In final practice, Alex Tagliani posted an eighth fastest time with the #68 car in race trim.

Jacques Villeneuve

Photo Credit: Walter Kuhn

Team: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
CarL #5 Dollar General Dallara-Honda
Starting Spot: 27th

Every Canadian race fan is familiar with Jacques Villeneuve's success at Indy. Prior to being the 1997 Formula 1 World Driving Champion, the son of Gilles Villeneuve drove a Players sponsored race car at the Indianapolis 500 twice. In his rookie year, Villeneuve started fourth in a Ford-powered Reynard chassis and finished second. Jacques Villeneuve and winner Al Unser Jr were the only drivers to complete all 200 laps in the 1994 race. His performance earned him the 1994 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honours becoming the first Canadian to do so. The 1995 Indy 500 was another fine moment for Canadian racing. Nine laps remaining in the event, a restart had Jacques Villeneuve behind fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear. Goodyear mistimed his acceleration overshooting the pace car that was entering pit road. With Scott Goodyear being penalized, Jacques Villeneuve (who had overcame a two-lap penalty himself for what the sanctioning body ruled as passing the pace car) won the 1995 Indianapolis 500. The second race would be has last Indy 500 ahead of his move to Formula 1 the following year. In 2014, Villeneuve returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a 19-year absence.

Driving the #5 car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, he qualified his Dollar General sponsored in 27th starting spot for Sunday's race. Timing into the race with a four-lap average speed of 228.949 miles per hour, Villeneuve mentioned he had trouble accelerating in his Honda-powered Dallara during qualifying. During Friday's Carb Day practice, the #5 car was still struggling to find speed posting a 30th fastest time. However, Jacques Villeneuve has expressed confidence in his car and team in quote on his website saying, "I saw some guys out there taking big risks. We didn't do that, and the car is handling better than it has been all week. We're happy right now, which is a good place to be heading into the race on Sunday."

Back in 2009, I was fortunate enough to get some words from Jacques Villeneuve ahead of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Montreal. Among questions I asked was the potential of returning to INDYCAR racing. Villeneuve response went as follows: "IndyCar is still damaged and not what it used to be. The healing process hopefully has started as it was a great series that opened doors to F1 to a few drivers." A lot has changed in five years and we're happy to see Villeneuve back at Indy as he risks his average finish of 1.5 in his third race on the 2.5-mile track.

Hinchcliffe Joins 2011 IZOD INDYCAR for Barber, North American Races



Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel


A moment for Canadian auto racing fans to rejoice, an announcement Tuesday affirms as of the second IZOD INDYCAR round at Barber Motorsports Park a third Canadian driver (in addition to full-time Alex Tagiani and part-time entrant Paul Tracy) will compete in the 2011 North America's top open wheel series. 2010 Firestone Indy Lights title contender and open wheel standout James Hinchcliffe will wheel Newman/Haas Racing's second race car.

Since the December and January tests, the young Toronto driver impressed Newman/Haas Racing. So promising of a 2011 season together, Newman/Haas Racing and James Hinchcliffe were present at the IZOD INDYCAR open test at Barber Motorsports Park. Clocking the whirling 2.3 mile road course within the top-10 fastest cars throughout the two-day preparation session, the potential INDYCAR rookie and veteran team meshed.

Speed was definitely in the Newman/Haas Racing machine wheeled by Hinchcliffe. However, as is the case in professional auto racing, what or who is in a race car is as important as what is on the side pods. As the opening St Petersburg round for the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series approached, Newman/Haas Racing arrived with only one race entry for veteran Brazilian driver Oriol Servia. As Servia's sponsorship came together just in time for the streets of St Petersburg race, James Hinchcliffe was unable to obtain the financial backing to be involved in the open wheel racing series' season premiere.

Sponsoring James Hinchcliffe for all the North American races on the IZOD INDYCAR Series tour is Sprott Inc., an asset management company based in Toronto. “As a Canadian-based company it’s naturally exciting to support one of Canada’s next generation motorsport talents,” company Chairman Eric Sprott declared in the Newman/Haas Racing release on the sponsorship announcement. A publicly traded advising over 2,000 clients and 1.2 billion dollars, Sprott Inc. pairs them with a hometown 24-year old professional racer known for representing his sponsors on as well as off track with enthusiasm.

Prepared to make his first career IZOD INDYCAR start at Barber Motorsports Park, Hinchcliffe's move up through the auto racing ranks from go-karts into 2 years of the Firestone Indy Lights has reached an ultimate goal. “Finally making my IndyCar debut really is a dream come true and the end of a 15-year journey getting me to this point,”. Hinchcliffe 2011 plans includes the 2011 Indianapolis 500 and the Canadian IZOD INDYCAR races in Edmonton as well as his prized Honda Indy of Toronto.

James Hinchcliffe's IZOD INDYCAR career will officially start this weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama when the Canadian takes the green flag Sunday.

James Hinchcliffe Suits Up for Second INDYCAR Test

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel

The ongoing renaissance of the INDYCAR Series is making North American open wheel racing a worthwhile spectacle attracting fans as well as drivers. With over 20 teams already committed to the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series, it is still a hard fought battle by drivers claiming through the ranks to be the elite ones with the right racing stuff (and to some degree the right sponsorship). Canadian native James Hinchcliffe is one of the spotlight drivers within the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights ladder series concluding the season with 3 race wins and a runner-up final spot in the overall points standings. His second full year of racing the Firestone Indy Lights Series cars, Hinchcliffe's on-track performance and off-track charisma and character has made him a popular auto racing star.

Attracting considerable attention, the well-established Newman/Haas Racing INDYCAR team invited James Hinchcliffe to suit up almost a month ago for a two-day test at Sebring International Raceway. Impressed with the initial test performance and team chemistry, Hinchcliffe is again going to test with the team January 20th and 21st at Sebring. Used to the bite of cold winters in Canada, Hinchcliffe's two days with the Newman/Haas Racing team in December was marred with unseasonable coolness complicating the search for vehicle grip. "The weather was brutally cold and we actually needed tire warmers to get any kind of performance out of the Firestones." Hinchcliffe said.
Getting his first taste of driving an Indy car mid-December on the Sebring International Raceway (a renowned open wheel warm up track), the 26-year old Hinchcliffe was well-aware of the team's linage creating 8 championship seasons with 5 different drivers in the CART-derived open wheel racing series. As Hinchcliffe started the Honda racing engine for the first time, the Canadian led out on a cold Florida road course circuit. "Being my first time in the car, the team did a great job in helping me get up to speed, but made sure to not put too much pressure on me to go fast right away. It is a decent jump up from an Indy Lights car to an IndyCar and we all knew it would take a little time." Hinchcliffe detailed.

Not the only driver at the two-day test with Newman/Haas Racing, veteran open wheel driver Oriol Servia. The pairing during the Sebring test allowed both the seasoned Servia and the young Hinchcliffe to zero in on their baselines during the day one of this test. "We did constant data comparisons with Oriol so I could see where I was losing time." Two days participating in the Newman/Haas Racing team, James Hinchcliffe noted that most of the track time was spent getting both drivers comfortable with the organization's Indy car. "We ran through multiple setup changes and when the team was comfortable with my speed I started helping Oriol on the team's test plan by assessing big setup changes on the car." Getting well acquainted with the open wheel race car, Hinchcliffe was authorized to run mock qualifying laps and make practice pit stops through the afternoon of the second day. During this late stage of the test time with Newman/Haas Racing, the young Canadian racer felt he was given "...a taste of the full INDYCAR experience".

Preparing for a second test outing with the Newman/Haas Racing team at Sebring, James Hinchcliffe will have a chance to build on the lessons he learned following the first two-day orientation for a potential 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series ride. "The biggest thing I got out of it was the confidence in knowing I am ready for that next step. I felt very comfortable very quickly. I have spent a number years in the junior formulae, and I am glad that I have taken my time before getting a chance in the IndyCar, because I really believe that it was all my experience that helped me get a good handle on the car and the whole different environment very quickly."

Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe Scores First Career Indy Lights Victory

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

An entree to the Sunday serving of IRL (indy Racing League) racing action at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Firestone Indy Lights Series warmed up the California street course. Capturing the first two races of the 2010 ladder series, Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver Jean-Karl Vernay, the third round has yet to provide a challenge to the Frenchman. Sunday's Long Beach race for the Firestone Indy Lights Series would see the emergence as a potential season-long competitor.

Grabbing his second pole of the young season, 23-year old Oakville, Ontario, Canada driver James Hinchcliffe piloted his Team Moore Racing #2 car to a 1 minute, 14.6261 second lap time to claim the preferential position for the start. Previously scoring pole position at the opening Firestone Indy Lights round on the streets of St Petersburg ended with Hinchcliffe getting wrecked by Phillip Major through the race's first lap. In the Long Beach event, James Hinchcliffe avoided early race misfortune to lead flag-to-flag for his first victory in the Firestone Indy Lights in his second year of series competition.

With the race yellow flagged four times, the Hinchcliffe launched away from 2nd place finisher fellow Indy Lights tour sophomore Charlie Kimball driving for AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport. Jean-Karl Vernay missed his third-straight win of the season but retained a strong hold on the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Series point standings. After three rounds, France's Vernay stands 28 markers over top of American driver Kimball in points.

With his previous best finish coming last year in the Mid-Ohio round, James Hinchcliffe completed his climb up the Firestone Indy Lights finishing roster. This top finish at Long Beach allows Hinchcliffe to be crowned the first Canadian driver to win in the IRL version of the open wheel support series since its formation in 2002.

Canadian James Hinchcliffe Signs with Indy Lights' Team Moore Racing

Photo Credit: Shawn Payne/IndyCar

A shining Canadian open-wheel prospect, James Hinchcliffe has been signed to Team Moore Racing for the 2010 IRL Firestone Indy Lights Championship. With Team Moore Racing co-owned by Canadian Tom Wood, the two-car race team is glad to add the sophomore Hinchcliffe alongside Spanish driver Adrian Campos, Jr. Holding high hopes for what could be accomplished with the team, Hinchcliffe comments "I am incredibly excited to be joining Team Moore. I had a strong season last year in my rookie attempt. I learned a lot and now I want to put what I learned to good use for an attack on the title."

A talented 23-year old from Oakville, Ontario, James Hinchcliffe career has involved successful stints in Formula BMW USA, Star Mazda Series, Champ Car Atlantic Championship and some brief tours in A1 Grand Prix racing before joining the Firestone Indy Lights in 2009. In his rookie outing driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports last season, Hinchcliffe best finish was 2nd at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. That finish, couple by four 3rd place finishes assisted in a 5th place overall position in 2009 Firestone Indy Lights championship points.

While the IZOD IndyCar Series will be starting three weeks this Sunday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Indy Lights tour will not be joining the big league tour into Central America. The 2010 Firestone Indy Lights series launches on March 28th, during the IRL race weekend at St Petersburg, Florida street course.



Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter