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[/media-credit]While some drivers dream of winning the Indianapolis 500, James Hinchcliffe has been dreaming of winning the Honda Indy Toronto. After all, the Oakville, Ontario native grew up 40 minutes from Toronto. It was going to the race in Toronto as a kid that got Hinchcliffe interested in racing.
“I went to that race the first time when I was 18 months old and have been to every one since, so it’s always special to go home,” he says.
Though so far, this weekend hasn’t gone as well as Hinchcliffe would’ve planned.
The hometown hero would miss the second session of practice following problems in the first session as he would have an engine failure. Hinchcliffe would come out in Saturday’s qualifying and qualify ninth. However, as a result of the engine change, he will suffer a 10-grid spot penalty and will start the race 19th.
“Overnight we took a bit of a swing at it and definitely made the car a lot better for this morning,” he says. “It’s a big credit to the Go Daddy guys and everyone at Andretti Autosport, I think we made all our cars a bit better. It’s tough out there – this is IndyCar – it’s a lot of good drivers and it’s only a tenth-of-a-second that sort of makes a difference.”
This isn’t the first time this year Hinchcliffe has suffered a 10-grid spot penalty as he did earlier this year, though came back to finish on the podium. Hinchcliffe is hoping for the same result with the fans and family that will be at the track on Sunday.
“The fan support for me, even in the junior formulas, was incredible and having all our friends and family come out… it’s a very cool thing to be a part of,” he comments.
Obviously that brings forth a lot of pressure for Hinchcliffe, though defending IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti says its all about how Hinchcliffe manges it.
“I think it’s up to him to manage that pressure but not let it kind of interfere, not let it into that bubble, I guess, that we sort of live in on race weekend,” Franchitti says. “I think just don’t let that in and he’ll do fine. He’s done an outstanding job in my opinion. He makes very, very few mistakes on the track, and I’m very, very impressed with him.”
Franchitti adds that he believes that Hinchcliffe will treat it like any other race, and could find victory lane as that’s the next step for Hinchcliffe after some strong runs this year.
“He’s been very consistent and done a hell of a job, and I think as I say as long as he treats this race like any other week, he’ll be just fine,” Franchitti says.
After qualifying, Hinchcliffe said that it will come down to being more flexible with their strategy, working on the car a little, and staying out of trouble.
“I think we’ve seen in any IndyCar race that its about being able to finish, espically here in Toronto,” he says. “There’s a lot of opportunities here for guys to make moves that don’t pull off so keep your nose clean, stay out of trouble and then we can be there at the end.”
Though the opportunity to race in front of the hometown crowd is a special piece so far and the result of a lot of hard work.
“It’s a labour of love – I don’t want to make it sound like it was a hassle to do it,” Hinchcliffe says. “I love this city and I love trying to grow IndyCar here and this is where I’m from. It’s a combination of a lot of things.”
