Indy 500: James Hinchcliffe drops another IndyCar return hint

James Hinchcliffe indicated that an IndyCar announcement was coming on February 7. While nothing was made official, he dropped another hint about returning to the series and competing in the Indy 500.

James Hinchcliffe was once slated to return to Arrow McLaren SP for the 2020 IndyCar season. But after a chaotic sequence of events, he was ultimately left without a ride for the upcoming year, as the team confirmed 2018 and 2019 Indy Lights champions Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew as their two full-time drivers.

Hinchcliffe had become a Honda spokesman and regularly appeared in commercials for the manufacturer, so when Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports ended their contract with Honda a year early to form a partnership with McLaren and become Arrow McLaren SP, it came as somewhat of a surprise.

Nevertheless, Hinchcliffe still stated that he was looking forward to working with General Motors again, which he hadn’t done since the first two years of his three-year stint at Andretti Autosport in 2012 and 2013. But that obviously won’t be happening now, at least not with the organization for which he had driven since 2015.

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After officially losing his ride behind the wheel of the #5 Honda-turned-Chevrolet, there have been questions about whether or not the fan-favorite would find himself back behind the wheel at any point in the 2020 season.

It was recently confirmed that the 33-year-old Canadian had secured sponsorship from Genesys, a cloud customer-experience tech company headquartered in Daly City, California, to compete in the two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the month of May: the GMR Grand Prix at the road course and the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the oval.

It was not, however, revealed with which team or even which engine manufacturer he would return, although it has been speculated that it will be with a Honda-powered team because of the additional funding he could potentially secure through Honda and counterpart Honda Canada.

Ever since losing his ride, Hinchcliffe has been using the hashtag #CHALLENGEACCEPTED on social media, even going as far as making clothing and other products with that catchphrase on it, in regard to his future in IndyCar.

So when he posted “02.07.20 // #CHALLENGEACCEPTED” and an accompanying video on Twitter earlier this week, it was believed that a big announcement was in the cards for Friday, February 7.

That day rolled around, and Hinchcliffe did not confirm anything, but he did drop another clue, this time posting a video about his “next chapter” in which the word “Indianapolis” and several clips from his IndyCar career can be seen.

Additionally, this video, unlike the first, actually featured Hinchcliffe talking about getting back in the race car.

The Genesys logo was also featured in the video, and they further promoted Hinchcliffe’s hint.

https://twitter.com/Genesys/status/1225816870248501248

It may be worth noting that Friday, February 7 was also when Arrow McLaren SP unveiled the liveries for their two cars for the upcoming season, and Hinchcliffe’s teaser was published right around the time when that unveiling was taking place.

Fans took notice of that “distraction”.

When the month of May rolls around, for which IndyCar team will James Hinchcliffe be competing? Will his deal end up being for more than just the two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? That all remains to be seen.