IndyCar Driver Review: James Hinchcliffe - MotorSportsTalk

MotorSportsTalk’s 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series driver-by-driver review comes next to James Hinchcliffe, who seemingly had a cartoon anvil chase him around throughout the year.

2014 SEASON PREVIEW

James Hinchcliffe

Team: Andretti Autosport
2013: 8th Place, 3 Wins, Best Start 2nd, 4 Podiums, 6 Top-5, 11 Top-10, 264 Laps Led, 9.1 Avg. Start, 12.3 Avg. Finish
2014: 12th Place, Best Finish 3rd, Best Start 2nd, 1 Podium, 4 Top-5, 8 Top-10, 75 Laps Led, 8.2 Avg. Start, 12.3 Avg. Finish

James Hinchcliffe’s comedic streak was probably the only thing that kept his sanity in check during an utterly frustrating 2014 campaign, that produced only one podium finish and a drop from eighth each of the last two years to 12th in points.

From getting speared by his teammate in Long Beach, to the debris striking his helmet and giving him a concussion at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, to his contact with Ed Carpenter and Townsend Bell while running top-five in the ‘500, and then to a wildly inconsistent final 13 races where he never posted more than two consecutive top-10 finishes, Hinchcliffe was about as predictable as the month of May weather in Indianapolis. Which is to say completely unpredictable.

At Toronto he had one of the lines of the year when he downplayed his weekend chances and said, “I just assume it will go poorly.” While his results were down, there was relatively decent chemistry between he and new engineer Nathan O’Rourke, his qualifying remained solid (five second place starts and a year-on-year growth from 9.1 to 8.2 average grid spot) and his temperament stayed calm even as the breaks didn’t go his way, at all. Hinch remains one of IndyCar’s most popular and talented drivers, who will try to put it all together once more in 2015.

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With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event