A household name in Canadian motorsports, James Hinchcliffe started racing karts in 1995 before making the jump to cars in 2003. He climbed the ladder through the Bridgestone Racing Academy F2000 Series, Formula BMW USA and Champ Car Atlantic Series, before competing in the Indy Lights Series in 2009 and 2010.

Hinchcliffe made his IndyCar Series debut with Newman-Haas Racing in 2011, recording his first Top-5 finish in his second start and winning Rookie of the Year, despite missing the season opener. He raced for Andretti Autosport from 2012 to 2014, picking up his first win in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in 2013, and adding victories at Sao Paulo and Iowa. He moved to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2015, winning at NOLA. In a practice session for that season’s Indianapolis 500, a suspension failure caused a crash that nearly claimed his life.

After months of recovery, Hinchcliffe returned to IndyCar in 2016; he won the pole position for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, where he finished seventh in the race. He remained with Schmidt Peterson through 2019, adding wins at Long Beach, in 2017, and Iowa, in 2018. He then returned to Andretti Autosport for 2020 and 2021.

Outside of the race car, ‘The Mayor of Hinchtown’ endeared fans through his social media presence, podcasts and second-place finish on Dancing with the Stars. He transitioned from the driver’s seat to the broadcast booth in 2022, joining NBC Sports as an analyst for their full slate of IndyCar broadcasts, a role that he continues to hold.