James Hinchcliffe

James Hinchcliffe Joins Andretti Autosport for Three Races

James Hinchcliffe has found his home for a key stretch of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

The six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner will drive for Andretti Autosport in three races, highlighted by the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Hinchcliffe will drive the team’s No. 29 Genesys Honda not only in the 500 but also the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Saturday, May 9) and in the Texas 600 at Texas Motor Speedway (Saturday, June 6). The 500 is Sunday, May 24 beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Hinchcliffe becomes the sixth entry for Michael Andretti’s Indianapolis-based organization, joining the cars of Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 DHL Honda), Alexander Rossi (No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda), Marco Andretti (No. 26 U.S. Concrete/Curb Honda, Andretti Herta Autosport with Marco Andretti and Curb-Agajanian), Zach Veach (No. 25 Gainbridge Honda) and Colton Herta (No. 88 Honda, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport). Hunter-Reay and Rossi have won the 500 for the team.

“Honestly, it’s so nice being able to announce some more good news,” Hinchcliffe said. “It’s no secret that the 2020 season isn’t going to be exactly what we were expecting, but being able to start the new year with the announcement that Genesys was stepping in to save our season and partner with us was awesome, and now adding the next big piece in my reunion with Andretti Autosport just really makes it feel like the momentum is going our way.

“I can’t wait to work with this group again and to get back behind the wheel of an IndyCar!”

The 33-year-old Canadian has started 139 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races over the past nine seasons. He spent three seasons with Andretti Autosport (2012-14), winning three races.

This year’s Indianapolis 500 will be Hinchcliffe’s eighth. He has delivered a pair of top-10 finishes – sixth in 2012, seventh in 2016 – and qualified on the pole in 2016 and started on the front row three times.

Hinchcliffe’s car will carry the orange, white and charcoal colors of Genesys, a company with a major employee presence in Indianapolis and nearly 60 offices worldwide. Genesys technology helps organizations around the globe connect more than 70 billion customer moments each year across voice, text, messaging apps, web chat and social media.

“We’re really pleased to be able to welcome James back into the Andretti team,” Andretti said. “He has, for sure, been knocked down a few times by this sport and to be able to help him meet the challenge is really special. We had a lot of fun, and some great successes with James when he was part of the team before, and we’re really looking forward to picking up where we left off.

“I’d also like to welcome Genesys to the Andretti family for their first experience in INDYCAR racing. We now have three, major Indiana-based companies in our portfolio, along with several other brands that call Indianapolis home. It’s special to see these companies supporting Indiana’s home sport of INDYCAR racing, and we’re proud to carry them each with us. We are looking forward to working with James and the Genesys team to deliver both on and off-track success.”