“The Mayor of Hinchtown” welcomes viewers to his town, Toronto.
James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 27 GoDaddy.com car for Andretti Autosport, will be the focus of this week’s “INDYCAR 36” on NBC Sports Network (noon ET, July 22) preceding its coverage of the Firestone Indy Lights race and the IZOD IndyCar Series Edmonton Indy from City Centre Airport.
The series goes behind the scenes with IZOD IndyCar Series drivers, detailing what transpires on race weekends on and off the track. Hinchcliffe, a native of sububan Toronto, was the face of the Honda Indy Toronto on July 6-8 through widespread Go Daddy advertising, media coverage of the championship contender and other promotions.
“He likes to say that the only time he wasn’t busy is when he was in the race car,” IMS Productions senior producer Dan Huber said. “One my first lines is he’s one of the new breed of IndyCar drivers because he’s as good in front of the camera as he is behind the wheel. Hinch was so good it made it more difficult to edit because we have so much good material.
“One cool thing we were able to do was go to dinner with him the night before the race, which is something we haven’t had the access with anybody else so far. There were 25 people there – family and friends -- that we were able to eavesdrop on and be a part of.”
Hinchcliffe’s race weekend started to go sour in practice when it was determined an engine change was necessary, which translated to a loss of 10 positions on the starting grid after he qualified ninth.
“We knew, because of the penalty, he was being dropped back to 19th and what the strategy would be,” Huber continued. “It was similar to what we did with (Ryan) Hunter-Reay in Long Beach; when you are dropped back you can get more risky because you have nothing to lose.”
Hinchcliffe moved to fourth following a round of pit stops, but another mechanical issue developed and the team decided to call it a day instead of risking an engine failure. Huber said Hinchcliffe was upbeat and gracious throughout the hectic and stressful weekend.
“I said, ‘The good thing about being in Toronto is there are 16 cameras in front of you. The bad thing about being in Toronto when you go out early in the race is there are 16 cameras in front of you,’ ’’ Huber said. “So he had to address the Canadian press, which he did professionally. It was cool to see for us who have known him for three, four years how he’s grown. He’s becoming the face of open-wheel racing in Canada.”
IZOD IndyCar Series team owner/driver Ed Carpenter was the subject of the most recent “INDYCAR 36,” which aired July 7. WATCH IT HERE
Transporters on parade
IZOD IndyCar Series and team transporters will roll through the streets of Edmonton in a convoy starting at 11:15 a.m. (local) July 18. PARADE MAP
Edmonton Indy on-site tickets will be available starting at 10 a.m. July 18 at the Gate C entrance (corner of 109th Street NW and 123rd Avenue NW). Additional tickets offices at Gates A and B along Yellowhead Trail will be open at 6 a.m. July 19-22. Also get tickets online HERE
Pagenaud to instruct young drivers
Simon Pagenaud, driver of the No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports car, will be a guest instructor July 27 during the Key to Safe Teen Driving Program at Dublin (Ohio) Scioto High School.
The Key to Safe Teen Driving program encompasses 24 sessions in 14 cities, spanning five Midwestern states, and is designed to improve teen driving skills and raise awareness about the importance of proper training for young drivers.
Grand Prix of Baltimore adds sponsors
Sunoco was named the Official Fuel of the Aug. 31-Sept. 2 Grand Prix of Baltimore, which comes with naming rights of Sunoco Victory Lane and Sunoco Pit Lane. Sunoco is the Official Fuel Partner of INDYCAR.
Dr Pepper TEN will be the official soft drink partner and Giant Food has been named the official grocery store partner. In recognition of the sponsorships, Sept. 1 will be known as Dr Pepper TEN/Giant Day at the Grand Prix of Baltimore (IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights practice and qualifying). Get tickets online HERE, at Ticketmaster outlets or by phone at 800-745-3000.
Of note
Former IZOD IndyCar Series team principal and 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran (left) will be featured on “Car Crazy” at 11 p.m. (ET) July 22 on SPEED. … INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard will be a keynote speaker during the third National Sports Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition July 31-Aug. 2 in New Orleans. … Syndication distribution of the Honda Indy Toronto on July 8 provided 166 hours, 30 minutes of race coverage, and the event was transmitted to a total reach of more than 351 million homes in 173 countries and territories. ... A.J. Foyt is a great-grandfather again. A.J. Foyt IV and his wife, Casey, welcomed Lockey James into the world July 16 in Indianapolis. He has a big brother, A.J. V. ... Hurco will be the primary sponsor on the No. 22 Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car driven by Oriol Servia in the Edmonton Indy.