James Hinchcliffe
Hinchcliffe at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1986-12-05)December 5, 1986 (age 38) North York,Ontario, Canada[1]
IMSA SportsCar Championship career
Debut season	2014
Current team	Pfaff Motorsports
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Car number	9
Former teams	Mazda Motorsports, SpeedSource,Starworks Motorsport
Starts	8
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	20th in2025
Previous series
2009–10 2006–08 2006–07 2005 2004	Indy Lights Atlantic Championship A1 Grand Prix Star Mazda Series Formula BMW USA
Awards
2010 2011 2024	Greg Moore Legacy Award IndyCar Rookie of the Year Tony Renna Rising Star Award CMHF Inductee
IndyCar Series career
161 races run over 11 years
2020 position	23rd
Best finish	8th (2012,2013)
First race	2011 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Barber)
Last race	2021Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
First win	2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg)
Last win	2018Iowa Corn 300 (Iowa)
Wins Podiums Poles 6 18 1

James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadianracing driver. He is best known for competing in theIndyCar Series from2011 until2021. He is also a commentator for IndyCar broadcasts onFOX Sports and occasionalFormula One broadcasts onF1TV.

Hinchcliffe won the 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year award driving forNewman/Haas Racing, and six race wins forAndretti Autosport andSchmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, his first year driving for Schmidt Peterson, he suffered life-threateningblood loss when he was impaled in a crash when his suspension failed while practicing for theIndianapolis 500. He would recover and win the pole position for the following year's race and finished in seventh position.

Also, in 2016, he appeared onseason 23 of theABC seriesDancing with the Stars, finishing in second place. He is often called by his nicknames "Hinch" and "the Mayor of Hinchtown".

Born inNorth York,Ontario, and raised inOakville, Ontario, Hinchcliffe started his career when he received a go kart for his ninth birthday and began car racing in 2003, when he finished third inBridgestone Racing Academy F2000 series. Next year, he was top rookie inFormula BMW USA, winning three races. In 2005, he raced in the Star Mazda Series, finishing third overall with three wins. In 2006 he moved to theChamp Car Atlantic Series withForsythe Racing. He won one race atPortland and scored two other podiums, but was only able to finish 10th in the overall standings. Hinchcliffe also provided commentary for theEurosport coverage of Champ Car events during the2006 and2007 seasons.

He then joinedA1 Team Canada inA1 Grand Prix. He finished eighth in the sprint race and thirteenth in the feature in his first race at Zandvoort, then had a stunning weekend in Brno. He scored second in the sprint race at the Czech round and led the feature for the majority of the race, but clashed with eventual winnerAlex Yoong which dropped him down to fifth. He raced next at the Beijing round, finishing fourth in the sprint race and tenth in the feature race – which he could have won but for a team pitstop strategy error – and then returned after two races out at the New Zealand round, where he finished sixth in both races.

Hinchcliffe once again raced in the Champ Car Atlantic Series in 2007, this time with the Sierra Sierra team. He finished fourth in points without a win. During the season he was also a guest commentator on the international feed forChamp Car races. He returned to Forsythe Racing for the 2008 Atlantic Championship season, again finishing fourth in points but this time capturing a win in the second race of the season atMazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

For the2009 season, he competed inIndy Lights forSam Schmidt Motorsports in their No. 7 car. Hinchcliffe finished fourth in points without a win or pole position. In the2010 season, he signed on with the less historically successfulTeam Moore Racing in their No. 2 entry. Hinchcliffe captured three wins and five more podium finishes on his way to second in the championship behind French rookieJean-Karl Vernay who was driving the Schmidt No. 7 car.

He also served as the driver analyst for theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network for the2010 Indianapolis 500 as regular driver analystDavey Hamilton was competing in the race.

In April 2011, Hinchcliffe signed withNewman/Haas Racing to compete in the remainder of2011 IndyCar Series, excluding theTwin Ring Motegi race, after missing the first race of the season atSt. Petersburg. He made his debut atBarber Motorsports Park and failed to finish after making contact with a spinningE. J. Viso.^[2] He then picked up his first career top-five finish in just his second start in the series on theStreets of Long Beach with a fourth place finish. Hinchcliffe then collected a top-ten on theStreets of São Paulo inBrazil. He finished ninth. Hinchcliffe started 13th in his first Indianapolis 500, and ran up front for an early portion of the race before crashing on lap 101 and finishing 29th.

Following the Indy 500 was theFirestone Twin 275s inTexas. Hinchcliffe, however, struggled in both races and had finishes of twentieth and nineteenth, respectively. Hinchcliffe then rebounded to collect his second Top 10 of the season with a sixth at theMilwaukee Mile. During the2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship on lap twelve, he went veered down, making wheel-to-wheel contact withWade Cunningham, which caused the latter to spin and collect various drivers, that would lead to various chain reactions, causing the death ofDan Wheldon. After the race was cancelled due to Wheldon's death, points were reset to how it was as of Kentucky, so Hinchcliffe collected Rookie of the Year Honors, just beating out Panther Racing'sJ. R. Hildebrand. However, after the 2011 IndyCar season it was announced that Newman/Haas Racing would not be returning to IndyCar making Hinchcliffe a free agent.

On January 10, 2012, it was announced that Hinchcliffe would succeedDanica Patrick as the driver of theGoDaddy car forAndretti Autosport.^[3] The car was renumbered to No. 27, the same number used by Canadian driversGilles Villeneuve andJacques Villeneuve.^[3] At the2012 Indianapolis 500, Hinchcliffe qualified second overall while carrying a pair of gloves inside his driving suit, that belonged to the lateGreg Moore, whom Hinchcliffe considers the main reason why he got into racing. On race day, Hinchcliffe overtook pole-sitterRyan Briscoe on the first lap, and ended up leading five of the 200 laps on his way to a creditable sixth place finish.

Hinchcliffe returned to Andretti for 2013, and started the season by winning the season opener inSt. Petersburg, Florida, for his first series victory.^[4] Later, in Brazil for theSão Paulo Indy 300, Hinchcliffe won the race, with a last turn overtake underTakuma Sato, breaking the winning sequence ofWill Power.

In the2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Hinchcliffe was hit by debris, and aCT scan revealed he had suffered a concussion, and needed medical clearance before racing again.^[5] Hinchcliffe was cleared to return to racing on May 15, five days after the incident.^[6]

On October 7, 2014, it was announced that Hinchcliffe would joinSchmidt Peterson Motorsports for the 2015 season and drive the No. 5 car, filling the open seat left bySimon Pagenaud.^[7] He won his first race with the team inthe second race of the year in New Orleans. Hinchcliffe qualified for the2015 Indianapolis 500 on May 17, then sustained serious injuries in a crash caused by a suspension failure during practice on May 18.^[8] The right side of the car was disintegrated, and he was pinned in the cockpit; one of the suspension pieces had penetrated the cockpit tub, and punctured Hinchcliffe's thigh, causing profuse bleeding.^[8] He was taken toMethodist Hospital for surgery to remove the debris from his thigh, and the quick response work by IndyCar safety crews was credited in likely saving his life.^[8] He remained hospitalized during the race andRyan Briscoe took Hinchcliffe's position for the race.^[9] Briscoe andConor Daly replaced Hinchcliffe in the car for the remainder of the 2015 season.

On May 22, 2016, Hinchcliffe won the pole position for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, a year after his near-fatal crash at the track.^[10] He finished seventh in the race. Hinchcliffe led much of theFirestone 600 later that year, only to finish second in a photo finish toGraham Rahal. He went on to finish thirteenth in the season standings.

On April 9, 2017, two years after his last win, Hinchcliffe won his first race of the season at theLong Beach Grand Prix.

Leena Gade became Hinchcliffe's lead race engineer for the 2018 season, becoming the first female lead race engineer in Indycar.^[11][12] On Bump Day for the2018 Indianapolis 500, Hinchcliffe ended up failing to qualify for the first time in his career. Afterward, Gade and SPM parted ways.^[13] In July, Hinchcliffe rebounded to win at Iowa.^[14]

On October 28, 2019, after a season which resulted in a best finish of 3rd at Iowa, the recently renamed Arrow McLaren SP relieved Hinchcliffe of his driving duties and signed2019Indy Lights championOliver Askew and formerCarlin driver and2018 Indy Lights championPatricio O'Ward to fill their two seats. Hinchcliffe remained under contract, under which he was required to be with the team on race weekends and make sponsor appearances,^[15] but was free to pursue other opportunities.

On February 19, 2020,Andretti Autosport announced they have signed Hinchcliffe to a three-race deal for the2020 season which will be his second stint with the team. Hinchcliffe was scheduled to compete in theGMR Grand Prix, theIndianapolis 500 and theGenesys 600.^[16]Hinchcliffe finished eighteenth at the first race of the season atTexas Motor Speedway. He finished eleventh in the Indy GP and seventh in the Indy 500. He would then replaceZach Veach for the final three races of the season in the No 26 car after the latter was fired by Andretti.

On January 26, 2021, Andretti Autosport announced that Hinchcliffe would drive the No. 29 car co-entered bySteinbrenner Racing full time for the 2021 season. He finished twentieth in the points standings, with a best result of third at theinaugural Music City Grand Prix.

On December 12, 2021, Hinchcliffe announced he would step down from racing full-time,^[17] and joined NBC Sports as a commentator for the IndyCar Series broadcast from the 2022 season onwards. He was replaced in the No. 29 entry byDevlin DeFrancesco.^[18]

Hinchcliffe became engaged to his high school sweetheart, Canadian actressRebecca "Becky" Dalton, in July 2018; the couple wed in Ontario on August 3, 2019.^[19]

If he did not succeed as a professional racing driver, Hinchcliffe wanted to be a motorsports journalist.^[20]

On February 17, 2024, Hinchcliffe was inducted into theCanadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, making him the youngest inductee ever at 37 years old.^[21]

(key) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key)

• ¹ TheLas Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned afterDan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.

† Not eligible for points

Year	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps	Ref
2019	Walkinshaw Andretti United	Holden Commodore ZB	Alexander Rossi	18th	159	[42]

On August 30, 2016, he appeared on an episode ofCelebrity Family Feud featuring IndyCar drivers competing against swimsuit models. Hinchcliffe is a partner with production company Frost Marks Films out of Toronto.^[43] He maintained his podcastThe Mayor on Air with James Hinchcliffe from 2015 through 2017, typically interviewing drivers from the IndyCar Series. He and fellow IndyCar driverAlexander Rossi host a podcast together calledOff Track with Hinch and Rossi.^[44]

In 2020, Hinchcliffe joinedNBC Sports as analyst for IndyCar races and select IMSA races when he did not enter as a driver.^[45] In 2022, he rejoined NBC Sports as a full-time analyst joining play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey and analystTownsend Bell, replacing fellow CanadianPaul Tracy, and will serve as an analyst for some IMSA races.^[46] In October 2022, Hinchcliffe joined the crew of F1'sWeekend Warmup for its Grand Prix week editions for theUnited States Grand Prix and theMexico City Grand Prix, and in the Post Race Show at theSao Paulo Grand Prix andAbu Dhabi Grand Prix.In 2023 he became an occasional co-commentator on Channel 4's F1 coverage in the United Kingdom as well as the official F1TV feed.As of 2025, Hinchcliffe is one of the main commentators for the NTT IndyCar series for Fox, alongside Will Buxton and Townsend Bell. Hinchcliffe also commentates on select Formula 1 races for F1TV.

On August 30, 2016, Hinchcliffe was announced as one of the celebrity contestants forseason 23 ofDancing with the Stars. He was partnered with professional dancerSharna Burgess.^[47] On November 22, 2016, Hinchcliffe finished in second place to Olympic gymnastLaurie Hernandez.

• Official website
• IndyCar Driver Page
• Off Track with Hinch and Rossi

• 1986 births
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• Sportspeople from North York
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• A1 Team Canada drivers
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