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Hinchcliffe At Risk Of Elimination After ‘DWTS’ Showstoppers Night

By Brittany Frederick

DANCING WITH THE STARS - "Episode 2309" - The six remaining celebrities will dance two show-stopping dances - one from some of the hottest Broadway musicals, and a second where they are paired up for a "Team-Up Challenge" - as "Showstoppers" night comes to "Dancing with the Stars," live, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Eric McCandless)TOM BERGERON, JENNA JOHNSON, JAMES HINCHCLIFFE
DANCING WITH THE STARS - "Episode 2309" - The six remaining celebrities will dance two show-stopping dances - one from some of the hottest Broadway musicals, and a second where they are paired up for a "Team-Up Challenge" - as "Showstoppers" night comes to "Dancing with the Stars," live, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Eric McCandless)TOM BERGERON, JENNA JOHNSON, JAMES HINCHCLIFFE /
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James Hinchcliffe could be sent home from ‘Dancing with the Stars’ after the IndyCar driver got one of the lowest scores on ‘DWTS’ Showstoppers Night.

James Hinchcliffe has been earning some buzz as a potential winner on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, but his momentum hit a snag on Monday night as the IndyCar driver had his lowest scoring dance of the DWTS season.

Still performing with substitute partner Jenna Johnson while Sharna Burgess continues to recover from injury, Hinchcliffe tackled a jazz number to the song “A Brand New Day” from the musical “The Wiz” for the dance competition’s “Showstoppers Night.”

The routine earned the pair four 9/10 scores from regular panelists Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli as well as guest judge Idina Menzel, but it was still Hinchcliffe’s lowest score of the season.

More concerning for the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver is that it was also the lowest score of the entire evening. The 36/40 total tied him with Marilu Henner for the bottom spot, and she was eliminated Monday.

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Meanwhile, two celebrities – Olympian Laurie Hernandez and actress Jana Kramer – not only earned perfect scores for their individual routines but also perfect results for their contemporary team-up number.

So while Hinchcliffe’s result is not terrible on its own merits, it was a very bad night for him to be handed his lowest score.

The combination of that relative stumble and the stiff competition put up by Hernandez and Kramer means that he’ll have his work cut out for him this week. DWTS elimination results are a combination of the judges’ scores and votes from America, so IndyCar fans who want to keep Hinch in the competition need to get voting online and on the show’s site at ABC.com.

Watch Hinchcliffe and Johnson’s jazz dance routine below and see what you think:

Elsewhere in the show, Hinchcliffe and Arnold teamed up with NFL wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr. and his partner Lindsay Arnold for a paso doble routine. The couples likewise earned 36 points out of a possible 40 for this performance:

ABC also posted a behind-the-scenes diary with Hinchcliffe as he prepared for this week’s routine, which you can find here:

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It would be a shame to see Hinchcliffe sent packing from DWTS now, especially since he just earned the best score of the evening and immunity last week. Still with other contestants getting 10’s, every little point counts and this week Hinch was on the wrong side of that math. Fans will have to tune in next Monday to see if he dances again.

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.