2016 IndyCar Preseason Power Rankings

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Jul 12, 2015; West Allis, WI, USA; Verizon IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe during qualifying for the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee Mile Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

5. James Hinchcliffe

In general, IndyCar will be better in 2016 with James Hinchcliffe back in the fold. “The Mayor” is one of the sport’s brightest personalities and was sorely missed in 2015 after a pre-Indianapolis 500 accident forced him to sit out the remainder of the season. But before that, he still won the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana with a gutsy single pit stop strategy, proving that Hinchcliffe remains on his way up in the league.

It was a bold move for Hinch to leave the big name of Andretti Autosport and take over for Simon Pagenaud at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, but he seems very comfortable there and didn’t necessarily lose as much from his injury time-out as other drivers, since he was popping up at racetracks and working with his team as soon as he was physically able. There’s not going to be an adjustment period for him in 2016; he’s already part of the organization and clocking plenty of practice laps in the car.

Plus, there’s some truth to the idea that an injured athlete performs better in their first season back. One only needs to look at what Kyle Busch accomplished in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series after his difficult accident to see proof of that. Hinchcliffe is certainly capable of mounting an equally impressive campaign; he knows what he’s doing and who he’s doing it with. Never having gotten higher than eighth in the championship standings, it feels like he’s just building toward a breakout year, and all signs point to 2016 being that year.

Next: 4. Graham Rahal