James Hinchcliffe seems to be on the quick path to stardom in the racing world.  This time last year, he was testing with Newman/Haas Racing at Sebring on the outside looking in hoping to land a sponsor for the 2011 campaign.  Fast forward one-year and he’s the reigning IndyCar Rookie of the Year and now drives for not only the well-respected Andretti Autosport team, but the most recognizable sponsors in IndyCar – GoDaddy.com.

Entering his sophomore season, Hinchcliffe has literally some small shoes to fill in taking over for Danica Patrick, but figuratively some large shoes that comes with a lot media attention, commercials, and on-track expectations. 

The new IndyCar season brings about many unknowns for every driver with a new DW12 car for all teams, as well as an engine battle between three manufacturers: Honda, Chevrolet, and Lotus.  We had a chance to sit down and speak with the 25-year-old sophomore at the 1st Hinchtown Go-Karting Media Challenge.  We spoke about the challenges that come with being on a new team, his relationship with Michael Andretti, his off-the-track commitments with Go Daddy, and his expectations for the upcoming season. 

The Driver: Coming off an impressive year that culminated with winning the Rookie of the Year– how are you settling in with the Andretti Autosport group?

James Hinchcliffe: It’s been a match made in heaven, right from the first day the chemistry of the team has been fantastic.  I’ve raced against Marco [Andretti] when we were 12 years old in go-karts and I’ve also raced with him in Star Mazda series some years back.  I’ve also gotten to know Ryan [Hunter-Reay] over the past season, as well as in Indy Lights. 

Michael [Andretti] has provided lots of help and support.  I’m now getting to know the engineering staff – they are a super experienced group of guys and are very successful at what they do.  Andretti Autosport is a big organization and I’ve been taking my time in getting to know the entire crew. 

TD: I wanted to talk to you about Michael Andretti, a living legend in IndyCar.   What advice has he provided you so far and what do you expect to learn from him throughout the year and the foreseeable future?

JH: The big thing for us as a team with having Michael around is the accomplishments and achievements that come with him.  Not many teams have that nor do they have recent racing experience.  His last race was only in 2007.  His knowledge and data base of experience is very recent and relevant.  For us it’s that extra mind, that extra successful driver on the team that allows us to pull all of those extra resources together and I feel it’s an advantage.

TD: There’s been lots of talk about the new DW12 car, what are your thoughts on the look and the safety aspects of it?  How has testing gone so far?

JH: The looks are growing on me.  To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan at first, but once you start testing and seeing the different teams’ cars – you see it as an IndyCar again. 

In terms of the testing, when you have a new car and especially a new engine there are so many things to get through.  It’s the first time in my life I have had to develop a new car.  In the past, testing was immediately focused on set-ups and the next track.  Now we are on the basics, such as checking reliability on certain components, and properly testing new development pieces which is a big task.  It’s been a lot of fun taking part in something new like that and it’s pretty cool that my feedback is having a direct effect on which direction this car will be developed.


TD: It’s a brand new year with new manufacturing battles.  Will this help improve the sport? And what are your thoughts on your partnership with Chevy thus far?

JH: Absolutely this will help IndyCar!  I love how competitive it was when we were all with the same engine, but now it brings us back to an era where different technology and engines makes for a race within a race.  As a driver, you now have another tool to play with.  We are going to see races potentially being determined by reliability and that’s exciting to me.  That’s what racing is all about!

The relationship with Chevy is a new one and we’ve enjoyed working with them and building that partnership up.  I’m excited to see what we can achieve.  However, it’s too close to call whether Chevy has the upper hand as of now. 

The open-test at Sebring will paint a closer picture, but it won’t be until qualifying at St. Petersburg when you will notice the differences between the engines.  You might not see who is better until the first oval, as St. Petes is not a huge motor track.  It will be a battle all year long, as different tracks will favour different manufacturers. 

TD: Coming off your rookie year, you’ve already landed yourself with Andretti Autosport and a big sponsor in Go Daddy, which is a massive jump.  Are you ready for the racing and marketing challenge with these two giants?  Is this the best role for you?

JH: First of all, joining the Andretti Autosport team is just a natural progression, so I feel that it’s the right spot for me.  As for Go Daddy, it’s a tech company and I’m a bit of a nerd, so that works for me.  They are also edgy, which go hand-in-hand with the off-the-wall things I’ve done with Hinchtown.  So I think my personality and the company ethos fit very well together and the more time spent working the more prevalent that becomes.  We’re really excited about some of the opportunities we’ve had and for them it’s the first time they have worked with a guy.  We won’t be seeing any bikinis, but it brings about a whole new list of opportunities for what they can do with a guy. 

We’ve done some photo shoots so far and we’re doing the creative for the TV commercials, so we’ll be shooting those towards the end of March.

TD: You are coming into the always-tricky sophomore year.  What are your expectations coming into this year?

JH: There are just so many question marks coming into this season.  Nobody knows which team will get a handle on this new car the quickest; nobody knows which driver style will suit the new car the best; nobody knows which engine is the fastest and most reliable.  It’s just too tough to make predictions at this point in time.  It’s totally up in the air what can happen.  The big goal however is not to have that sophomore slump that seems to happen often especially in motorsports. 

We just need to work harder than everybody else.  In a year with so many unknowns, so many new factors, it will end up being the team and the drivers that put in the most work who will get rewarded in the end. 

I could be competing with the Wills [Power], Darios [Franchitti], and Scotts [Dixon], but on the other hand I could be in the 15-20 position range – you just don’t know as it’s so open and that’s what makes this upcoming season so exciting.