IndyCar: James Hinchcliffe’s Incredible Journey To Recovery
By Asher Fair
In May of 2015, James Hinchcliffe’s life was in doubt. He had just suffered life-threatening injuries in a terrible crash in Indy 500 practice.
On Monday, May 18th, 2015, all seemed to be right with the world. IndyCar practice was in full swing for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 the following Sunday.
However, in one split-second, everything changed. The right front suspension on the #5 Schmidt Peterson Honda driven by James Hinchcliffe broke, and Hinchcliffe plowed straight into the turn 3 wall at roughly 230 miles per hour.
The Crash
The car turned up on its side before coming to a rest in the turn 4 area. Hinchcliffe was stuck inside the car in a pool of blood, as the suspension piece that broke went through his right leg before stopping in his pelvic area. He was rushed to the hospital and immediately underwent surgery, but there was serious doubt that he would survive his gruesome injuries.
The Recovery
But he pulled through, and he later claimed that he thankfully had no recollection of the accident. The fact that Hinchcliffe survived this accident was a miracle in itself, just as the video reiterated. The fact that he could get back into an IndyCar after going through this near-death experience is perhaps even more amazing.
The injuries Hinchcliffe sustained, however, did keep him sidelined for the rest of the 2015 IndyCar season. Ryan Briscoe and Conor Daly split time driving in his #5 machine throughout the remainder of the season, with Briscoe having his own savage crash at Fontana. He was alright following the wreck.
The Return
In the 2016 season, Hinchcliffe bounced back from the crash. Despite a slow start, including finishes of 19th and 18th place in the first two races of the season, Hinchcliffe was able to put together a rather strong season.
At Indianapolis, Hinchcliffe didn’t simply return to the site of his awful accident and roll with it. He returned and got some serious redemption, doing so by taking the pole position for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Hinchcliffe went on to lead much of the race at Texas later than season before a 2nd place finish, his highest finish since his latest win (at the time) at New Orleans in 2015, which was before his terrifying wreck.
He would have finished in 8th place in the final championship standings, but he ended up in 13th place thanks to a 25-point penalty following the Texas race.
The Redemption
Now this season, Hinchcliffe is ready for a lot more, and he has shown it already. Following an offseason during which he finished in 2nd place in “Dancing with the Stars”, Hinchcliffe is off to a strong start in IndyCar. He sits in 2nd place in the championship standings, just 19 points behind four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais.
After leading laps at St. Petersburg but getting caught out by a caution flag, Hinchcliffe finished in 9th place despite having a car that could have easily won the race. He responded with a statement victory at Long Beach, his first win since New Orleans in 2015. More notably, the victory was his first since his near-fatal wreck at Indy.
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No one can deny that Hinchcliffe is a man on a mission. He is out on the track making statement after statement, race after race, and his fast start to this season shows it.
Despite all of the odds, Hinchcliffe has made his miraculous return, and he has now picked up a victory since the accident. What’s next? He took pole for the Indy 500 last year, so could a victory in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” be in the near future for him?
The sky is the limit for the new and improved James Hinchcliffe. He is currently in the thick of the 2017 IndyCar championship hunt, and he may very well stay there until the end of the season. If there are odds to overcome, Hinchcliffe will do anything that he can to overcome them. His recent history gives us no reason to doubt that.