James Hinchcliffe has closed the open-wheel racing chapter in his life, although he’d welcome a call from Roger Penske asking him to consider driving a fourth entry at next year’s Indianapolis 500.
But until that happens, the six-time IndyCar race winner, polesitter at the 2016 Indy 500 and nine-time participant in the Rolex 24 At Daytona would like to re-establish his name in sports cars where the Canadian made regular starts from 2006 through 2017. From Grand-Am GTs to Daytona Prototypes to IMSA LMP2s and DPis, to extracurricular fun in the Australian Supercars series and Mazda’s MX-5 Cup, Hinchcliffe wants to put his high-level experience to use in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and has been working for quite a while to make it happen.
“I’ve always had aspirations of pursuing sports cars post-IndyCar,” Hinchcliffe told RACER. “When I started searching at the end of ‘21, we were pretty far down the road with an IMSA team and putting a program together. And for various reasons, that didn’t come together,
“When that didn’t work out to go straight from IndyCar to IMSA, it was kind of a bummer, but on the other hand, taking a break for a year probably wasn’t the worst thing. That whole year, we were already gearing back up to take another swing at it for 2022 and then, once again, really late in the game, it all fell apart.
“So I think my position now is that I’ve scratched the itch a little bit by getting in that MX-5 Cup car and racing something again for the first time in a while, and it’s so much fun. So the desire to get involved in sports car racing is still very much there. We’re just looking for the right opportunity.”
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Hinchcliffe (pictured at left, above, with Christian Lundgaard) has been a hot commodity in broadcasting, with NBC Sports making use of his talents in IndyCar, NASCAR and IMSA, while Formula 1 has also kept him busy serving as an analyst for its official channel. Weaving sports car racing into his future is of great importance, and he’ll adjust his schedule as necessary if he can land a home in one of IMSA’s GT or prototype classes.
“I’ve learned a lot about the sports car landscape in the last two years while trying to navigate my way through it, and I think that old saying that beggars can’t be choosers comes into the conversation,” he said of what he’s looking for in the series.
“You know, no driver wants to drive any less. But if it was opportunity for the endurance races, that would at least get me on the grid and get you in the door a little bit. The best thing I can do is find my way onto the grid, prove your worth, and see where it takes you.”