James Hinchcliffe Exits Fulltime IndyCar Competition

James Hinchcliffe, also known as the Mayor of Hinchtown, has been racing in the NTT IndyCar Series since 2011. He came to the series from Indy Lights and the Atlantic Championship and has had both great successes and calamitous failures. He’s won the 2016 pole position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, just one year after crashing at the Brickyard and nearly losing his life.

In the 11 years he’s been immersed in the sport, “I’ve lived out my dream in a way that a nine-year-old kid, sitting in a kart for the first time, could never have imagined. With a decade-plus of incredible memories in the bank, I am happy to announce I am stepping away from full-time INDYCAR competition.”

Now that the Canadian, who just turned 35, has decided to stand down on a full-time ride in the NTT IndyCar Series. “This is by no means a retirement from racing!” Hinchcliffe said. “If anything, this decision has freed me up to dip my toes into other forms of motorsports and explore other interests and opportunities. More on that coming soon.”

In his official Twitter statement, six-time INDYCAR race winner Hinchcliffe thanked his teams, including INDYCAR squads Andretti Autosport, Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport, for whom he wheeled the No. 29 Genesys Dallara-Honda this season, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Schmidt Peterson Motorsport and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Hinchcliffe was also a member of Team Canada in A1 Grand Prix, where he took 11th and 9th place results in the standings.

In his 10 Indianapolis 500 starts – his car was withdrawn after his post-qualifying practice crash in 2015 – Hinchcliffe has results of 6th (Andretti Autosport 2012), seventh in 2016 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and seventh in the 2020 edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, also with Andretti Autosport. HIs best season-long results in INDYCAR competition were in consecutive seasons, 2012 and 2013, when he took eighth place in the season-long standings. Hinchcliffe secured a podium result of third this year, racing for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport in the inaugural Nashville round.

HIs was not a decision taken lightly. “It was one made with the full support of my family and closest supporters. There were many factors,” Hinchcliffe said, “both personal and professional, that led me to this decision, but it truly felt like the time was right.”

Dario Franchitti, the four-time INDYCAR champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, was quick to laud the Canadian driver. “You’ve always been a class act, Hinch: having Greg’s (the late Canadian superstar Greg Moore) gloves in your suit at Indy, your bad-ass recovery from the horrendous injuries you suffered at the Speedway, to just the way you handle everyday life and situations. A top man!! All the best for what comes next.”