IndyCar: JR Hildebrand Is the Driver that No One Should Root Against

Apr 29, 2017; Avondale, AZ, USA; IndyCar Series driver JR Hildebrand during the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Six years after his heartbreaking wreck at the 2011 Indy 500, JR Hildebrand is back racing full-time in the Verizon IndyCar Series for the first time since 2012. But he has not yet redeemed himself at Indianapolis.

Nobody who watched the finish to the 2011 Indianapolis 500 will ever forget what went down in those few short seconds.

With three laps remaining in the race, 23-year-old rookie JR Hildebrand inherited the lead from Bertrand Baguette when Baguette came to the pits for fuel. Hildebrand had a sizable lead over Dan Wheldon when he took the white flag.

With just one corner to go, Hildebrand came up on the car of Charlie Kimball, which was running out of fuel on the inside of the track. Hildebrand tried to go around Kimball on the outside, but got too high and slammed the wall.

Sliding down the wall down the front straightaway with the checkered flag in his sight, JR Hildebrand was passed by Dan Wheldon, who went on to win the race by leading the final lap of his career. Hildebrand finished in 2nd place, which is his best statistical finish in IndyCar to date.

Since his heartbreaking crash six years ago, Hildebrand has not finished higher than 6th place in the five Indy 500 races since. For the sixth consecutive season, he will attempt to do what he did for 799 turns in 2011 around the 4-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for 800 turns.

Looking back on that accident, it is impossible to root against JR Hildebrand no matter which driver you are a fan of. Millions of fans were in shock and sickened by the fact that a young rookie blew the Indy 500 lead with just one turn to go.

What is even more sickening is the fact that even though that race was his rookie Indy 500, there was a discouraging reality that hung over the entire situation. That reality was that he may never come that close again to winning the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

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In the five Indy 500 races since the accident, that reality has been consistent and he has not come close to winning the race at all. While there was initially hope that since he was a rookie at the time of the accident and would likely have plenty of opportunities to win the event, especially after coming so close in his rookie season, this is now his seventh season racing in the event and he has still not gone to Victory Lane.

Honestly, how can he sleep at night even to this day? The accident was nearly six years ago now, but the historical implications for his own career and the sport will last for centuries. This is a situation where 2nd place will never be forgotten. Never.

As the fan base of the sport that contains the most attended single-day sporting event in the world, there is not one reason for us to root against the driver who turned down acceptance into MIT with a 4.0 GPA so he could drive an IndyCar. There is no reason for us to root against the same driver who came so close to winning the Indy 500 in his rookie season but has never come near it in the five races since.

Make no mistake about it. If JR Hildebrand wins the Indianapolis 500 this year or next, no one will, or at least should be, disappointed. The filling of that square would at least somewhat ease the pain of what could have been on that Sunday afternoon nearly six years ago. But if the square does not get filled and Hildebrand never wins, that pain will last for many generations, not just for Hildebrand, but for the entire following of the sport.

Will JR Hildebrand finally get redemption for his 2011 crash this season? Be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions, and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.