Hinchcliffe speeds into home turn
If everything falls into place at his home track, James Hinchcliffe could take the checkered flag twice in a row.
The Oakville native heads into the Honda Indy in Toronto this weekend fresh off a come-from-behind victory over Josef Newgarden at the Iowa Corn 300 on Sunday.
Newgarden — the defending champion at the upcoming 2.84-kilometre race at Exhibition Place — led for 229 of the 300 laps before Hinchcliffe seized on the American getting stuck in lapped traffic at the Iowa Speedway. Newgarden finished fourth.
With that said, Hinchcliffe is cautious about his chances in Toronto.
The Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports driver has had two straight years of third-place finishes. But Hinchcliffe believes he and his team have what it takes to seize on an opportunity, much like his result in Iowa.
“It takes a thousand factors going just right to win one of these races, so every weekend we go into the race thinking, ‘we’ve got a shot,’ ” the 31-yearold Hinchliffe said in a phone interview Sunday, adding that IndyCar’s new aero kits have added another unknown as they’ve behaved differently on each course.
Hinchcliffe admitted he didn’t even consider the possibility of overtaking Newgarden on Sunday.
“Honestly, we were just kind of racing for second. We didn’t think we had anything for Josef, he just had such a hooked-up car. But in the last stop the guys made a change and our car re- ally just came alive,” he said.
It was a much-needed win for Hinchcliffe, who failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and sputtered to three finishes of 10th or worse in four starts since.
“It’s a huge morale boost and it justifies all the hard work we’ve put in since the Indy,” he said.
He sits eighth in the points standings, 24 behind fellow Canadian and teammate Robert Wickens and 131 back of leader Scott Dixon.
“It’s definitely going to be tough to catch the leaders, but to claw back into a solid top five, top six, from where we were in Detroit (the race following the Indy 500), that would be huge. The team’s really capable. I think we can get it done,” Hinchcliffe said.
And he is looking forward to his first shot at doing so on the course where he feels most comfortable.
“Confidence can breed more confidence, and that can breed success,” he said.
“So it’s nice coming in off a streak of good weekends for us and, obviously, topping that off with the win. And, just in general, it’s so great to come home.
“I love racing in Toronto.”