INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – Dec. 5, 2013

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:

1. Catching up with… James Hinchcliffe

2.  Rahal plans to cheer Buckeyes to Big Ten title 

3. Team USA Scholarship winner Eidson to compete in USF2000

1. Catching up with… James Hinchcliffe: It’s been an offseason filled with travel for James Hinchcliffe. Fresh from a career-best season that saw him take his first three Indy Car wins, the Mayor of Hinchtown headed to Europe to celebrate his brother’s birthday and will head off on a week-long cruise of the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 7.

In the latest addition of Catching Up With… the Andretti Autosport driver talks of his travels, and the changes his team will have as it approaches the 2014 season and why today may be the last time we wish him a Happy Birthday.

Q. You’ve been the bit of a world traveler since the season ended. Where exactly have you been since we last saw you at Auto Club Speedway?

James Hinchcliffe: “I always try to get one trip out of the way pretty close to the end of the season. It’s always good to unwind after what’s always a hectic, frantic year and end of the year. I went to the UK for my brother’s 30th birthday. He’s in (graduate) school over there, so my sister (Rebecca) and my girlfriend (Kirsten Dee) and I went over to surprise him. 

It was a really good trip. We were there for eight or nine days and Kirsten had never seen the UK before. My dad is from England, so we got to see some family and I got to introduce (Kirsten) to my 98-year-old grandmother, which is always cool. It was a good trip, just too much eating and drinking.”

Q. And you’re headed on a cruise here shortly as well, co-hosting a SeaDream Yacht trip in Costa Rica and Nicaragua with Graham Rahal on Dec. 7-14?

James Hinchcliffe: “It’s like it is a winter of vacations for me, I guess. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never been to Costa Rica and I’ve never done a cruise before. The people at SeaDream have given us this awesome opportunity. As far as appearances go, this one probably tops it. It will be a cool experience getting to see a new country and a new culture. Hopefully we can educate some new INDYCAR fans at the same time.”

Q. You’ll be celebrating your 27th birthday on Dec. 5. What should someone get you?

James Hinchcliffe: “It’s tough to top a cruise, to be honest, so I’ll thank SeaDream for that.

I used to hear older drivers talk about this, and I never quite got it, but now I get it. I’ve decided after this birthday, I’ll turn 27 and I’ll just stop doing the birthday thing. I’ll stop there. Twenty-seven seems like a reasonable place to stop. There’s a good correlation with the car number. I think I’m going to call it quits on birthdays. No more gifts and just be 27 forever.  I think that will work.

Q. Turning to the track, you’ll have a new engineer in 2014 as Nathan O’Rourke has joined the team. Your thoughts on working with a young guy like Nathan, who is new to you, but obviously has a lot of experience?

James Hinchcliffe: “I’m thinking of myself as the engineer killer, now. I chased Tino (Belli) off to Panther and I’ve made Craig (Hampson) retire twice now. There’s clearly something wrong with me, and I’m not sure Nathan knows what he’s gotten himself into. 

It’s something we’re really excited about. He’s a bright, young guy and the team was very keen to try to get him to be part of our program. Once he was here, I was big on getting him on the 27 car. We’ve had a chance to get to know each other a little bit and it seems like our personalities will mesh just fine. He’s having to adjust a little bit from a one-car team to a four-car operation and how everything works, but as he said to me out there, ‘This stuff, pointing at the trailer and everything else, that, I’m struggling with, but pointing at the race car, that, I know.’ And that’s fine. That’s the important part. 

We still have a couple of months for him to figure out all the procedures and bureaucratic stuff that’s involved with being part of a big team. I’m excited about it. He’s had some really good runs the last couple of years and comes with a fresh mindset. I think it will be a good match.”

Q. With all the changes to the team, the addition of Nathan, Craig moving to the R & D side, and a new sponsor for your car, the core of the team remains the same with you, Ryan (Hunter-Reay) and Marco.

James Hinchcliffe: “First off, we’re happy to have Carlos (Munoz) part of the team. He showed a lot of promise in Lights and his IndyCar (Series) races were beyond stellar for such a young kid. I think what we’re more worried about is for him to show up and beat us at all the races, like he almost did this year. 

We’ve talked a lot over the last two years about the chemistry of the team and it’s not just us towing a line. If you were in the trailer and in the debrief room and behind the doors at the shop, you would see how close we are working.  Last year was better than the year before, even though we weren’t able to take home a championship for the team. We won more races than we did the year before and Marco was a team leader on a lot of weekends. I think we’re working closer and working better than we ever have been. To add another year on to that, and hopefully, we can keep building and being even stronger in 2014.”

2. Rahal plans to cheer Buckeyes to Big Ten title: If the Ohio State Buckeyes make it to the BCS Championship Game in Pasadena, Calif., next month, IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal will be along for the ride.

The New Albany, Ohio, native and lifelong Buckeyes fan will be at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 7 when second-ranked Ohio State faces Michigan State for the Big Ten Championship. He’s confident the Buckeyes will win and advance to college football’s biggest game on Jan. 7.

“For me it’s as good as it gets,” said Rahal, who resides in Indianapolis. “Obviously, I’m a huge Buckeyes fans and I do travel home to Columbus often to see games, but the fact they are right here for me is more than ideal. It’s a quiet weekend away from racing, so that allows me to have some buddies over and to hang out and cheer on the Buckeyes. It’s not something I do often, so it will be a fun weekend.”

Rahal admires Ohio State coach Urban Meyer  and the accomplishment of its current 24-game winning streak, adding that he can take what he sees on the football field and relate it to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

“If Ohio State has a weak link or someone is struggling, everyone else has to help him improve,” he said. “That’s the same thing the race team goes through. If someone is struggling, we have to help out to work as team and improve as a team. In many ways, the sports are similar. Like any sport, the same logistics go into everything we do. The athletic director is like the team owner. The head coach is like our team manager. You certainly appreciate what they are doing.”

The 2014 BCS Championship game, a few days after his 25th birthday, is at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

“If they’re there, I will be there,” Rahal said. “I spend a lot time in California these days. For me, it would be pretty cool. I saw them win a championship in my lifetime but I wasn’t there. I didn’t even get to watch on TV because I was in an airport. In case it never happens again, I can’t miss it.”

3. Team USA Scholarship winner Eidson to compete in USF2000: Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing will field 2013 Team USA Scholarship winner Jake Eidson in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. 

“When we signed Jake for the F1600 Series, it was with the understanding he would move to USF2000 in 2014,” said team owners Dominic and Nicholas Cape. “We had confidence in him as a young driver, and he proved us right by claiming the F1600 championship. We are looking forward to helping him grow as a driver as he moves up to USF2000.”

The Colorado native, who competed in selected USF2000 races in 2013, claimed the 2013 F1600 Formula F Championship with seven wins, the most in series history. Eidson had five poles and won the championship by 49 points. Following his championship run, he was selected as one of two Team USA Scholarship drivers.

 “My goals for the USF2000 Series are to use all the tools and knowledge I’ve gained last season from the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing team to be a top contender,” Eidson said. “I know the team is devoted to win, and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with Dominic and Nicholas again after already having a very successful year of racing that I hope to repeat next season.”