IndyCar: What does Danica Patrick’s Indianapolis 500 deal mean for J.R. Hildebrand?

By Asher Fair | Feb 16, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 26: JR Hildebrand, driver of the #21 Ferred Chevrolet stands on the grid during Carb day for the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 26, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

What does Danica Patrick’s deal to drive in her final IndyCar race in this year’s Indianapolis 500 for Ed Carpenter Racing mean for J.R. Hildebrand?

Danica Patrick, 35, is set to drive in her final IndyCar race and her final professional race this May in the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500. She accidentally leaked the information that she is set to do so for the Chevrolet-powered Ed Carpenter Racing team in their third car on Wednesday.

With 30-year-old J.R. Hildebrand having driven for the team in the Indianapolis 500 in each of the last four years and doing so as a full-time driver just once, are his odds at landing a ride in this year’s edition of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” now in jeopardy since he is not a full-time driver this year and Patrick has been confirmed as Ed Carpenter Racing’s extra driver?

There have never been four Ed Carpenter Racing cars entered in a single race since the team opened in the 2012 season, so Hildebrand’s odds at being the team’s fourth driver for this year’s Indianapolis 500 are naturally not that great given the fact that the odds of the team running four cars are not that great.

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Since he lost his ride with Panther Racing in the 2013 season, Hildebrand, who is most infamously known for his “unconventional” 2nd place finish in his first Indianapolis 500 in 2011, has driven in all four Indianapolis 500 races, and he has done so as a driver for Ed Carpenter Racing in each of those four races, including in the 2015 season when the team was called CFH Racing.

In the 2014 season, Ed Carpenter Racing was a one-car full-time team, and Hildebrand drove the team’s second car in the Indianapolis 500. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the team was a two-car full-time team, and Hildebrand drove the team’s third car in the Indianapolis 500.

In the 2017 season, Hildebrand got a full-time ride with Ed Carpenter Racing, which continued to operate as a two-car full-time team. With Hildebrand having a full-time ride with the team, they did not run a third car in the Indianapolis 500.

With Hildebrand, who has now driven in the Indianapolis 500 in seven straight seasons, no longer being the team’s full-time driver and being completely out of a full-time ride in the 2018 IndyCar season, it makes sense that Ed Carpenter Racing is running a third car in the Indianapolis 500 again given their recent history in regard to this trend.

However, that car is surprisingly not for Hildebrand — it is for Danica Patrick. Is this reason for Hildebrand to worry, or will he end up driving for the team in this year’s Indianapolis 500 after all? If he does not end up driving for the team, which team, if any, will he drive for in the race?

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The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 is set to take place on Sunday, May 27th, and it is set to be broadcast live on ABC starting at 11:00 at ET. Will J.R. Hildebrand have a ride for this race, or will he fail to start in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the eighth consecutive year?