JR Hildebrand Replaces Josef Newgarden At Ed Carpenter Racing

JR Hildebrand is a full-time IndyCar driver again, as Ed Carpenter Racing has promoted their Indy-only driver to replace Josef Newgarden in the No. 21.

Ed Carpenter Racing didn’t go far to find their next IndyCar driver. JR Hildebrand, who has been with ECR for the Indianapolis races over the last three years, will now get another full-time shot as he was hired Friday to succeed Josef Newgarden following Newgarden’s exit for Team Penske last month.

ECR formally announced Hildebrand’s hiring on Friday but the 28-year-old had been campaigning for the role publicly for some time.

“I’ve been close to, but still outside of, this role for long enough to really understand and embrace the opportunity to be back in the Verizon IndyCar Series full-time,” he said in the announcement.

“The relationship I’ve had with Ed Carpenter and ECR has honed my determination to get back in the seat because of how confident I feel in what we could do together. Now, I’m here to make it happen. I feel like I’ve got something to prove and can’t think of a better place to do it.”

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2017 will be JR Hildebrand’s third full-time season. He ran two and a half campaigns with the now-defunct Panther Racing from 2011 to 2013, until the team released him from his contract after he crashed early in the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

Prior to that his best finish as a full-time driver was second in the 2011 Indianapolis 500, which he was in position to win prior to another incident. That was his only podium with Panther, but he did finish with four other results in the Top 5.

With Ed Carpenter Racing, Hildebrand has been in the Top 10 at all three Indianapolis 500’s he’s contested. He posted his best finish with the team – sixth place – this May.

“We first started talking about this in 2013 and the timing has just now worked to give JR an opportunity to show what he can do with a full-time ride,” team owner Ed Carpenter said Friday. “The job that he has done for the team each time we have put him in a car the past three years has proven to us that he is the right man for the job.”

JR Hildebrand may not have been the splashiest hire for ECR but sometimes the best person for the job is the one who wants to be there. Hildebrand showed that he didn’t just want a full-time drive; he wanted this full-time drive, and that passion for and commitment to the team is just what they need. They need someone in the No. 21 who’s going to stick around for awhile and be someone that they can build around.

Aside from being a known quantity Hildebrand also reflects the limited options left on the free agent market. Conor Daly is the top name currently without a deal, but Juan Pablo Montoya didn’t get a full-time offer, while Tony Kanaan, Carlos Munoz, Takuma Sato and Sebastian Bourdais are all locked up for 2017.

There weren’t a ton of choices left for ECR – so why not go with the one that you already have a relationship with and know what he brings to your race team?

Although to us, Hildebrand will always be the guy commonly mistaken for Charlie Kimball and/or James Hinchcliffe:

Next: Could Conor Daly Possibly Be Without An IndyCar Ride Again?

The question now is who Ed Carpenter Racing will sign to drive the road and street courses for Carpenter’s No. 20. 2015 Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot had that assignment in 2016 and did well, but the team has yet to retain him.

What do you think about JR Hildebrand returning to IndyCar full-time with Ed Carpenter Racing?