This past Friday, Santiago (another great #indyTO intern who is still bitter that I didn't mention him in the Camp Day article) and I, unenthusiastically dragged ourselves out of bed at 4 and 5 a.m.respectively.
We had to be at City TV at 6 a.m. to meet with James Hinchcliffe and his team from Indianapolis (Pat from IndyCar and Veronica from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports). Our early morning wake-up calls were about the only thing that ended up being unenthusiastic that day, as the rest of the day was jam-packed full of excitement and entertainment.
We started with a stop at City TV for Breakfast Television where James was co-hosting with the regular host, Dina Pugliese, and we were joined shortly after our arrival by James' dad Jeremy, who has to be two of not only the nicest, but most easy-going, pleasant people I have ever had the fortune of meeting. Not to mention they are both hilarious. There was also a guest on the show on Friday named Tex Robert Jr. who grilled up Southern BBQ as part of the Father's Day festivities, and we were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy some (my goodness it was some of the best food I've ever eaten, even if it was at 8 a.m.). We were also lucky to have the chance to briefly meet Toronto City Councilor, and Twitter user extraordinaire Norm Kelly, who to finish off the show, drove James off in a Lamborghini.
From City TV we travelled uptown for a quick breakfast, followed by a radio interview with Jeff Blair from the Fan590 at Sportsnet. From there it was a very quick turnaround to get back downtown to CP24. After a brief delay, James went on with Norm Dixon to chat about the upcoming Honda Indy Toronto, among other things. After the delay, we had to rush in a quick media lunch, which is quite an experience as it essentially entails a bunch of phones for recording in front of the interviewee with questions coming from the various interviewers. I have to say it was quite an experience to be a part of. From lunch we walked down the street to the CBC studios for James final stop of the day, where Hinchcliffe had a great chat with Nan aba Duncan of Fresh Air.
Looking back on the day, it's really remarkable how humble and genuine Hinchcliffe is. Whenever you meet an individual who is so well-known, and competing at the highest level in their field, you never expect them to be so relatable, but Hinchcliffe treated Santiago and I like we had known each other for years. I had heard he was a great guy, but that just further cemented that fact for me. I can't thank everyone here at Honda Indy Toronto enough for the opportunity to be a part of this day, and am looking forward to see what Hinchcliffe will bring to the track this year on race weekend!
