The slow and steady approach was the winning strategy for James Hinchcliffe. In the first race of his third season as a driver in the IZOD IndyCar series, Hinchcliffe made no mistakes both in the pit and on the track en route to his first ever series win.
Unlike some of his peers, who experienced multiple lead changes and even led many laps, Hinchcliffe stayed securely in third throughout the majority of the race. But on the final restart of the contest, Hinchcliffe passed then-leader Helio Castroneves and held on to win by 1.09 seconds.
It was, according to Hinchcliffe, an emotional win.
The race was emotional from the start. Susie Wheldon, widow of former IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon — who was killed in the 2011 IZOD series finale — wove the green flag to commence the ninth annual running on the streets of St. Petersburg. Describing the moment as “bittersweet,” Wheldon said she was happy to be surrounded by her racing family and plans to keep her two sons immersed in racing culture.
Will Power, the Australian driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet, led the field into turn one after winning the pole for the fourth consecutive year. According to Power, the reason he has been so successful in St. Petersburg is because he feeds off the energy that comes from the first race of the year.
“I definitely like the track and it is fun to drive because of the challenges it gives the drivers,” Power said, “You are really amped to win because it is the first race. The poles haven’t always converted to race wins, but hopefully we can change that this year.”
Power led the pack until lap 32, when Castroneves took over the lead coming into turn one. Castroneves, the Brazilian driver of the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet, is the only multiple race winner on the streets of St. Petersburg with victories in 2006, 2007 and 2012
Noting that the track fits his “style of being technical and tough,” Castroneves had high hopes of stringing together back-to-back wins in St. Petersburg.
“I have the same mentality as last year: go for consistent points,” Castroneves said. “This year we want to improve those finishes into top-fives to put us in line for the championship.”
Castroneves maintained the lead until a full course yellow was issued on lap 45 due to debris in turn 14. Oriol Servia, the Spanish driver of the No. 22 Panther DRR Chevrolet, did not pit and beat Castroneves to the blend line, taking the lead of the race. It was the first time Servia had led laps in the IndyCar series since the 2011 Indianapolis 500.
Servia’s lead lasted for about 20 laps. After trouble leaving a pit stop, Castroneves retook the lead on Lap 62 and kept it firmly under his control until the last restart of the race. It was then that Hinchcliff made a move for the lead position.
Hinchcliff held on to the lead through the 110th lap before cruising to victory lane for the very first time.
Speaking on his second place finish, Castroneves said that he had a much better car in today’s race than he thought he would and felt as though he had a real chance to repeat, so “this second place feels a little bit bitter.”
No. 25 Marco Andretti, who had a spectacular final five laps in his pursuit to finish on the podium for Andretti Autosport, said that he needed to finish in the top three in this race. He called IndyCar racing “a selfish sport” when asked if he felt bad after overtaking Simona De Silvestro for third place in the final laps.
But it was the race winner’s final comments in the victory lane that put the race into perspective for both racers and fans. Hinchcliffe, draped in a Canadian flag as he reveled in his first ever IndyCar race win, said that although he “would never forget his first win,” his victory was dedicated to someone else.
“I’m throwing this one out to Dan. This is his race. This is his town.”
Samantha Ouimette is the sports editor of The Crow’s Nest. She can be reached at sports@crowsneststpete.com.
Photo by Thomas Boyd.
