Jack Hawksworth, BHA/BBM with Curb-Agajanian
The cast: Race engineer – Todd Malloy. Race strategist – Bryan Herta. Chief mechanic – Mark Shambarger.
Twitter: @jackhawk98, @BHA
The car: No. 98 Honda
The driver: Turned 23 on Feb. 28. From Bradford, England… Was second-youngest full-time driver this season (Carlos Munoz was born Jan. 2, 1992). … Began karting in 2004 and quickly rose through open-wheel racing ranks. … The 2012 Star Mazda champion (eight wins, five pole starts in 16 starts) won three races and finished fourth in the 2013 Indy Lights championship.
Season finish: Placed 17th in Verizon IndyCar Series standings, six points behind fellow rookie Mikhail Aleshin, in starting 17 of the 18 races. He was not medically cleared to start the July 6 race at Pocono Raceway following crash in the second practice session on the tri-oval and received half points (eight) for the Triple Crown event. … Voted Tony Renna Rising Star Award winner. ... Advanced 37 positions total relative to his qualifying spot (chart below).
The gist: Hawksworth was prepared to temporarily give up on his racing career and become a personal trainer before securing a test in February with the Bryan Herta-led team at Sebring International Raceway. The strength of his pace and feedback, combined with proven success in junior categories, played into his selection for the seat in the No. 98 car. … Following the season, Hawksworth amicably parted ways with BHA/BBM.
Season stats: Hawksworth started strong by qualifying in the top 10 in three of the four races to start the season, including fifth at Long Beach and a season-high second for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He led 31 laps on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and slipped to a seventh-place finish. … He qualified 13th for initial Indianapolis 500, finishing 20th in his first Verizon IndyCar Series oval race, and followed six days later by qualifying third for the first race of the Belle Isle doubleheader. … Results-wise, best drives of the season were on the Houston street circuit, where he finished sixth and a season-high third – picking up 35 total spots in the doubleheader relative to his qualifying positions. … Advanced 12 positions in Toronto2 to place sixth and added his fifth top 10 of the season at Milwaukee (moving up seven positions). … Led two races for total of 32 laps. … Was running at the finish in 16 of his 17 starts (contact in the opener at St. Petersburg – after qualifying eighth – relegated him to 21st place). … Ranked 12th among drivers, completing 2,150 of 2,395 total laps, despite not competing in the 200-lap Pocono race.
Year over year: N/A, rookie. 2014 best qualifying second (15.2 average), best finish third (13.6 average)
Video: Hawksworth reviews his season
He said it: “I look back on (the season) and think I did a very good job. I made mistakes but also got the most out of the car and look back on the year pretty happy without sounding arrogant. It’s given me solid ground to go out next year and win races, which is what I want to do.”
The chart (below): Looking at how Hawksworth finished relative to his qualifying position:
Click to download the hi-res infographic
