The self-proclaimed mayor of Hinchtown is back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he nearly lost his life in a horrific practice crash for the Indy 500 only to return the following year and lord over the 33-car field by winning the pole.
He is back walking the familiar steps under the shadow of the famed pagoda, and taking the well-worn left-hand turn into Gasoline Alley. He is back to sliding into the cockpit of an IndyCar, rather than the plush seat of the broadcast booth. He is back where he belongs, where he feels most normal, even during this most abnormal of years.
“It feels great to get back to my real job,” says James Hinchcliffe, the popular Canadian who lost a full-time ride with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports after last season and is driving an extra car in Sunday’s race for powerhouse Andretti Autosport.
Hinchcliffe’s ease behind the microphone, coupled with his natural charm and good looks, have made him an instant hit on NBC broadcasts of IndyCar this season. It was a side gig that he picked up when his old team decided to field cars for Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward, a pair of promising young rookies, something to the pass the time between his own races.
He signed a three-race deal with the Andretti team, and one of those happens to be the 104th running of the Indy 500.
It is a race at a track that has given some of Hinchcliffe’s highest highs and lowest lows. He nearly won an Indy Lights race at the famed Brickyard more than a decade ago, and he finished a strong sixth in his first run with Andretti Autosport in the 2012 race. Three years later, missed the race entirely when a piece of suspension failed, sending him into the wall at over 200 mph and impaling him on a piece of metal — the quick work of safety crews kept him from bleeding to death.
Hinchcliffe returned the following year to triumphantly win the pole, and his career again seemed to be taking off. He wound up seventh, parlayed his sudden notoriety and unparalleled charisma into an appearance on “Dancing with the Stars,” and he won races each of the next two years to firmly establish himself as one of the series’ top drivers.
But last year was a struggle for Hinchcliffe, who finished in the top five only once. He failed to crack the top 10 in the final points standings, lost his seat for this season and was left wondering what to do with the rest of his life.
The broadcast booth called. So did team owner Michael Andretti, who made him an offer to run at Texas and Indianapolis before the coronavirus pandemic caused the entire IndyCar season to be shuffled around.
“It’s been weird. We showed up at St. Pete fully expecting not to race, and I was accepting to be part of the broadcast team,” Hinchcliffe said. “Then I was in the first race at Texas. I was in the second race at the Grand Prix (in Indianapolis). And it wasn’t until Road America that the role switched, and I think I was less mentally and emotionally prepared for that weekend than going into St. Pete, because I felt like I started the season and I should have been out there.”
Hinchcliffe doesn’t want to discount he opportunity afforded him by NBC. There is a good chance broadcasting is a career that can carry him long after his driving days are done. And besides, he will be right back in the booth a week after the Indy 500, when the series heads to St. Louis for a doubleheader weekend.
It’s just that Hinchcliffe still feels as though he has plenty of laps left in the tank.
“I got really comfortable with everyone at NBC. They did a great job of taking care of a newbie,” he said, “and I’m going to have to put on the other shoe next weekend. But hey, it’s not the weirdest thing that happened in 2020, so I can’t complain.”
It wouldn’t necessarily be weird to see Hinchcliffe in Victory Lane on Sunday, either. The entire six-car stable from Andretti Autosport has been fast all month, headlined by Marco Andretti winning the pole for his famous family.
Hinchcliffe will start on the outside one row back after qualifying sixth.
“James has been very successful here in the past, obviously pole in 2016,” said another teammate, Alexander Rossi, who will start right behind Hinchcliffe in Row 3. “He brings a lot of energy and excitement to the engineering room.”
It’s not his style to be brash or boastful, but Hinchcliffe does exude a quiet confidence about himself. He knows that he has the skill to win the Indy 500, and he knows that he has the car under him to get him to the finish line first.
He also knows what that would mean for his career — and landing another full-time ride — beginning as soon as next year.
“The conversations have been happening in conjunction with the season, going on behind the scenes. But we don’t want to take away any focus of what we’re trying to do here at the speedway, so it hasn’t been totally full-on,” Hinchcliffe said. “Once we get through the 500, I think regardless of the result, we’ll get a little deeper into those conversations.”
After a brief pause, and with his trademark wit, he added: “Getting a ‘W’ on the board wouldn’t hurt things.”
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The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
