Photo Credit: IndyCar
IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 5 Arrow Honda, will be trading in his firesuit for another type of wardrobe.
On Tuesday, it was announced the Canadian will be joining the 23rd season of ABC show Dancing with the Stars, a show that pairs celebrities with pro dance stars in a dancing competition. His partner for the show will be Sharna Burgess.
“I consider myself dancing challenged to be honest, so this is definitely going to be a unique sort of experience for me, definitely outside my comfort zone, and Sharna definitely has her work cut out for her,” he said. “But I’ve got the competitive spirit, and IndyCar drivers have a pretty good record on this show, so hopefully that counts for something.”
Hinchcliffe won’t be the first IndyCar driver to appear on the show as Helio Casteroneves was on it back in 2007 and 2012, picking up the win in 2007.
“Yeah, no, I spoke to Helio at length before I committed to doing the show,” he said. “There were a lot of questions I had, and lucky having a friend and colleague who had been through it was a huge benefit to me.
“He definitely explained a really fun opportunity. He thoroughly enjoyed it, so much he went back a second time. It was great to get to chat to him, and he warned me about the amount of work that it is, but said that it’s going to be an awful lot of fun. He kind of helped me warm up to the idea.”
With the show starting on September 12, the next few weeks will definitely be challenging as IndyCar still has two races left on the schedule with one this weekend at Watkins Glen International and then the final race of the season at Somona Raceway. In between, Hinchcliffe will have practices and rehearsals for Dancing with the Stars.
“So, you know, for me, obviously I’ve got a day job, and that’s first and foremost priority at the moment,” he said. “The first two episodes are going to be the biggest challenge scheduling-wise, but once we clear Sonoma and clear episode 2, if I’ve made it that far and stay on the show, then we’ll have a much freer schedule and be able to dedicate 100 percent of myself to learning and improving and being competitive.”
Being on a national television show airing during the off-season with Hinchcliffe could be a big deal for IndyCar and give them more exposure.
“But certainly getting one of our drivers out into some prime-time mainstream media and especially during the off-season, kind of keep IndyCar’s name out there a little bit. Again, we’re all assuming this is me making it past week one, so it’s already a bit of a bold statement. But for sure, it’s definitely got two sides to it.”
