Bumped from Indy, Hinchcliffe plans to help teammates
NEW YORK James Hinchcliffe once likened Indianapolis Motor Speedway to a cruel mistress.
A few days ago, he found out just how cruel when he was bumped from the race that means the most to him — and really, any IndyCar driver.
One of the circuit’s most popular competitors and a likely contender for the overall championship, Hinchcliffe and his No. 5 car did not make the field for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. But he isn’t expressing any animosity toward the 2½-mile oval, however. Nothing even close.
“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a tricky track, a very temperamental track,” the 31-year-old Canadian star said Tuesday. “It is super sensitive to weather and car setup. You can have a perfectly good car one day and roll it in the garage, and the next morning roll out the same car and the thing is trying to kill you.
“And then the event itself, just the way the month goes, you have these good days, you have these bad days, and qualifying is super unique and super stressful. And then you have the race itself, it’s the biggest deal in racing.
“You get so emotionally tied to that race it can be a bit cruel at times.”
Hinchcliffe was the first driver out Saturday after a two-hour-and20-minute rain delay that changed the conditions. His four-lap average of 224.784 m.p.h. was far slower than anyone anticipated. With a large group of drivers waiting to get through the qualifying line and another 51-minute rain delay, nobody got a second chance until the final hour.
As Hinchcliffe’s car sat in the second qualifying lane — designated for cars attempting to improve their time without withdrawing their speed — Conor Daly bumped him from the race. His team then scrambled to push him to the front of the first lane, those designated for cars withdrawing times or with no time, so he could go first.
When he finally did get on the track, a vibration forced him right back to the pits. He never got another shot.
“It is crazy to think the last three years we have gone from missing the race with an injury to being on the pole to now not even being in the show,” Hinchcliffe said.
“As a driver — I think as an athlete in any sport — you learn how to deal with (highs and lows). Indy is just so special to us that the good days are extra special and the bad days hurt a little bit more.”
Hinchcliffe will be at the track Sunday, helping Indy 500 teammates Robert Wickens, Jay Howard and Jack Harvey in any way possible.
“I expect Sunday to be one of the hardest days in my career, to be honest,” Hinchcliffe said.