Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced on Thursday, May 21 that Ryan Briscoe will fill in for James Hinchcliffe behind the wheel of the No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Honda in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
“First and foremost, I feel absolutely terrible for Hinch. I wish him the best and a speedy recovery,” Brisoe said. “You sort of prepare for this race a year out. You visualize how you’re going to go through practice, all the prep you’re going to do, and something like this comes up and you throw that all out the window,” Briscoe said. “I feel with my experience and the experience the team has, the experience that Hinch has had with (race engineer) Allen McDonald putting this car in really good condition for the race, I feel really confident that even with a few laps I’ll be able to find my groove again.”
Hinchcliffe suffered a pelvic and upper thigh injury when a piece of the car’s suspension pierced through the shell of the body and into his body upon hitting the wall following a mechanical failure in practice. Hinchcliffe underwent surgery on May 18, and is recovering from his injuries at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
“Words can’t describe how thankful I am to the Holmatro Safety Team,” Hinchcliffe said. “Those guys, in addition to the doctors and staff at the hospital, are my heroes. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate the outpouring of support from INDYCAR fans, my family and fellow drivers. We are all one big family and it feels like that today.”
According to the latest statement released by INDYCAR, Hinchcliffe is expected to make a full recovery with no further procedures.
“We’re very pleased with his progress and his condition continues to improve,” Dr. Timothy Pohlman, Senior Staff Trauma Surgeon at IU Health Methodist Hospital, said. “Our expectation, in consultation with the INDYCAR medical staff, is that a normal recovery is to be expected.”
The 2015 Indianapolis 500 will mark the 10th Indianapolis 500 start for Briscoe, and the 130th start of his career. He was the 2012 pole sitter for the big race and has finished a career-best fifth on two different occasions. He finished 18th last year driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. The 33-year-old has driven for CGR and Team Penske in his time in open-wheel. He is currently in his first full-season as a driver for Corvette Racing in the GTLM class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
“We explored quite a few options and felt confident in Briscoe,” Sam Schmidt said. “We were glad he was available and willing to drive for us with such short notice. Obviously, this was not a situation we were expecting to be in for the biggest race of the year but we’re making the best of it. Our thoughts and prayers are with James and his family right now.”
INDYCAR granted Briscoe a one-hour familiarization session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and he will join his fellow drivers as part of the final practice session during Coors Light Carb Day. Briscoe will start 32nd in the big race, in which he says, “Considering everything, we still have high expectations of getting to the front.”
