The Mayor is back – just not the one that any of y’all from Ames, Iowa would expect.
James Hinchcliffe will return to full-time IndyCar racing in 2021 driving the No. 29 Honda for Andretti Autosport. He’ll have backing from Genesys – a telecommunications company – through 10 races of the schedule with other sponsors announced later.
Hinchcliffe will join the lineup of Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, and Ryan Hunter-Reay as well as Marco Andretti joining for the Indianapolis 500.
I am in love with this move.
For one, Hinchcliffe is one of the guys in the garage with the biggest following and most passionate fan bases. Obviously, when a team tries to decide what it wants its lineup to be, that’s not really something they look at.
Hinchcliffe brings a new veteran voice into the swing of things, something that Andretti already has. Although, each of those drivers have held steady with Andretti for the past few seasons.
Hinchcliffe will bring some new blood in, as he returns to one of the first teams he drove for.
“This program is something we’ve been working on since the day we signed our three-race deal with Andretti Autosport last March,” Hinchcliffe said in the release. “Being back full time has always been the goal, and it feels so great to know that I will be back on the grid and with such an amazing team, one I’ve had a lot of great memories and success with.”
That will be a big part of bringing in Herta to be a part of the normal team lineup.
The young-gun has already captured three wins in his two full seasons of running in the series, and to get advice all year from a triad of veterans coming together at the right time – it could spark something special.
Whether Hinchcliffe comes in and makes things click or Herta sprouts up from the fountain of information he’ll have access to, this move screams success and I’m pumped that Andretti Autosport could make it happen.
Fans will get their first look at Hinch and the team during the IndyCar season opener on Sunday, April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. The race will be televised live on NBC.