Hinchcliffe seeks hometown breakout
I NDIANAPOLIS This weekend, the Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Toronto to race in the 12th of 17 events (Honda Indy Toronto, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, CNBC). Five story lines to watch as the North American open-wheel series prepares for its final street-course race of the season. Home-track advantage: Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe has not enjoyed a ton of success on the streets of Toronto — his third-place finish there last year is his only top-five in seven attempts — but there’s reason to believe he’ll contend for the win.
The strongest evidence has been his success on street circuits. Hinchcliffe probably had a podium taken away from him when a much-debated questionable caution came out in the season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla. He managed a top-10 and followed it up with a victory on the streets of Long Beach, then yet another podium in Detroit, when he finished third in the first dual. His engine quit on him in the second. With any luck, it’s possible the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports star would have three or even four podiums on street circuits rather than two.
Of course, there might be outside factors that hinder Hinchcliffe from starring in his home country. NBC Sports Network analyst and former driver Paul Tracy, a fellow Canadian, says there’s a lot of pressure driving in front of friends and family members.
“It just always seems to be one of those weekends where it starts out promising for him, then kind of all falls apart,” Tracy said. “Some of that has to do with the amount of pressure that’s on you. You get pulled in a million different directions. You don’t think you’re getting stretched out by it, but you do.”
Hinchcliffe is aware of the dangers of being overwhelmed by obligations off the track. But over the years, he says, he has become better at dealing with them.
“I hit that point a few years ago, where it was a little bit too much,” Hinchcliffe said. “The last few years, we’ve taken a different approach and said no to a few things and not tried to do it all.
“I’m fortunate to have a good team of people around me who kind of have to play the bad guy sometimes,” he added, with a laugh. “I got my security details that helps take care of that side of it.”
Expect Dixon rebound:
If you think back to last weekend and wonder, “Where was Scott Dixon?” you’re not alone. The Iceman was uncharacteristically absent from the front half of the starting grid and was never a threat to win at Iowa Speedway.
The weekend was unusually tough for the championship leader, who was forced to sit out the final 20 minutes of the first practice session while serving a penalty for infractions at Road America.
He dealt with a loose car all weekend. He finished eighth, his worst performance of the season in races in which he wasn’t taken out in a crash.
But Dixon wasn’t too upset. He noted at the end of the race that his car was so hard to handle that he was simply happy his day didn’t end in a wreck.
It’s a good bet Iowa will be the last time we see Dixon struggle like that this year. The Chip Ganassi Racing star has been in a class of his own, with his five podiums leading the circuit — and his most since 2013 (six). He also has enjoyed a long history of success at most of the tracks left on the calendar, including Toronto.
“It’s a track that Scott Dixon excels at,” Tracy said. “He won the doubleheader there (in 2013). Last year, he had the race completely in hand before he stayed out an extra lap and it went yellow, and he went to the back of the field. And that screwed him. So I think after a bit of a tough go this past weekend, I think he’s going to be looking to come back with a vengeance.”
Eyes on Hildebrand:
Ed Carpenter Racing ’s JR Hildebrand’s runner-up finish at Iowa was overshadowed by Helio Castroneves’ drought-busting win, but the performance was nearly as critical for Hildebrand, who is trying to build confidence and momentum after a tough first half of the season. Iowa was a great start, but as an oval specialist with one of the best cars in the paddock, Hildebrand was expected to perform well.
This weekend is a different story. Hildebrand has struggled at road and street courses this season, never finishing higher than 11th. But there’s reason to think he could deliver a top-10 — or better.
Then-Carpenter drivers Josef Newgarden and Mike Conway won two of the last three Toronto races, while Luca Filippi was runner-up to Newgarden in 2015. Hildebrand looks primed to produce back-to-back top-10s for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, Hildebrand teammate Spencer Pigot returns to the cockpit of the No. 20 car after sitting out the oval at Iowa. The young American has been solid in four starts on street circuits, recording two top-10s.
While neither Hildebrand nor Pigot is a likely contender to win, each is capable of delivering promising results for a team that is looking to make progress at non-oval tracks.
Title dreams:
Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato are tied for sixth in the championship, and — with Team Penske’s power four between them and points leader Dixon — they have their work cut out for them. But both can make significant dents in their deficits this weekend. They trail Dixon by 66 points.
Rahal is arguably the favorite, considering he dominated the last two street circuit races — the doubleheader in Detroit.
“I think Graham is going to be very good there,” Tracy said. “A lot of varying concrete, asphalt. It’s bumpy and slippery, so it’s very similar to Detroit.”
Sato made headlines this season when he won the Indianapolis 500, but he also has been quietly excellent on street tracks. He finished fifth at the season opener in St. Petersburg, and he was robbed of a good finish at Long Beach when his car lost power. He followed up his Indianapolis 500 victory with an eighth-place run in the first dual in Detroit before winning the pole for the second race and finishing fourth.
“Iowa was tough,” Sato said after his 16th-place finish there. “I wanted to finish in top five for the championship, but it didn’t happen. … But I think Toronto is a race where I have a chance to (get some points) back. It’s a street course I usually enjoy, and (Andretti Autosport) should be competitive.”
Who will win?
Let’s start with Team Penske. Will Power is a three-time Toronto winner and is the reigning champion. Newgarden won this race two years ago. Castroneves is coming off his best drive of the season, and counting out Simon Pagenaud on a street course is just plain foolish.
Meanwhile, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay is coming off a third-place performance at Iowa and heading to a track where he won in 2012, so the contenders are numerous.
It’s a struggle to pick the winning manufacturer, too. While Honda has won all four street circuits this season (Sebastien Bourdais’ win at St. Petersburg; Hinchcliffe’s victory at Long Beach; and Rahal’s sweep of the Detroit doubleheader), Penske put two of its Chevrolet-powered cars on the podium and all four of its cars in the top 10 at the most recent street circuit race, the second dual in Detroit.