He may already be the Mayor, but James Hinchcliffe is stumping for election to a new position: Season 23 champion of “Dancing with the Stars.”
The Verizon IndyCar Series driver and the rest of the Season 23 cast of celebrities and professional dancing partners appeared live this morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in New York, in advance of the Sept. 12 live premiere of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Hinchcliffe was asked about the video “campaign ad” produced and distributed digitally last weekend by INDYCAR. In it, he announces his “candidacy” for the show and, complete with familiar politicians’ hand gestures, promises to “Make INDYCAR dance again.”
Hinchcliffe tags the ad’s conclusion in typical politician’s fashion, saying, “I’m James Hinchcliffe and I approve this message.”
“The ad has a lot of this,” Hinchcliffe told the “GMA” audience while making the recognizable pointing gesture with his thumb tucked behind his index finger, “which, I think, is a key point of any video. A lot of fake laughter – ha, ha, ha, ha! – some corny music and, at the end, ‘I approve this message.’”
Ironically, Hinchcliffe was standing beside former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, another Season 23 cast member, when discussing the spoof ad. In Hinchcliffe’s recognizable tongue-in-cheek fashion, the 29-year-old Canadian talked about his determination to succeed on “Dancing with the Stars.”
“It’s pretty serious business we’re doing,” the Mayor of fictitious Hinchtown said with a smile. “I’m a very competitive person.”
Hinchcliffe and professional partner Sharna Burgess, who will be competing in her eighth season on the show, have been training since last week. Hinchcliffe is also still in the midst of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. He is scheduled to test Thursday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway with most of the rest of the field, ahead of his “DWTS” debut on Monday.
The season-ending GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma is scheduled for Sept. 18, a day ahead of what would be Week 2 of “DWTS” competition. Celebrities and their partners advance through a combination of judges’ and viewers’ votes. IndyCar.com will distribute voting information when it becomes available.
Watch Hinchcliffe’s “campaign ad” here: