James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship driving the No.

In 2015, his first year driving for Schmidt Peterson, he suffered life-threatening blood loss when he was impaled in a crash when his suspension failed while practicing for the Indianapolis 500.

Hinchcliffe captured three wins and five more podium finishes on his way to second in the championship behind French rookie Jean-Karl Vernay who was driving the Schmidt No.

He made his debut at Barber Motorsports Park and failed to finish after making contact with a spinning E. J.

Hinchcliffe started 13th in his first Indianapolis 500, and ran up front for an early portion of the race before crashing on lap 101 and finishing 29th.

On January 10, 2012, it was announced that Hinchcliffe would succeed Danica Patrick as the driver of the GoDaddy car for Andretti Autosport.

[5] Later, in Brazil for the São Paulo Indy 300, Hinchcliffe won the race, with a last turn overtake under Takuma Sato, breaking the winning sequence of Will Power.

In the 2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Hinchcliffe was hit by debris, and a CT scan revealed he had suffered a concussion, and needed medical clearance before racing again.

[9] He was taken to Methodist Hospital for surgery to remove the debris from his thigh, and the quick response work by IndyCar safety crews was credited in likely saving his life.

On May 22, 2016, Hinchcliffe won the pole position for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, a year after his near-fatal crash at the track.

On April 9, 2017, two years after his last win, Hinchcliffe won his first race of the season at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

[15] On October 28, 2019, after a season which resulted in a best finish of 3rd at Iowa, the recently renamed Arrow McLaren SP relieved Hinchcliffe of his driving duties and signed 2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew and former Carlin driver and 2018 Indy Lights champion Patricio O'Ward to fill their two seats.

Hinchcliffe remained under contract, under which he was required to be with the team on race weekends and make sponsor appearances,[16] but was free to pursue other opportunities.

On February 19, 2020, Andretti Autosport announced they have signed Hinchcliffe to a three-race deal for the 2020 season which will be his second stint with the team.

On December 12, 2021, Hinchcliffe announced he would step down from racing full-time,[18] and joined NBC Sports as a commentator for the IndyCar Series broadcast from the 2022 season onwards.

[19] Hinchcliffe became engaged to his high school sweetheart, Canadian actress Rebecca "Becky" Dalton, in July 2018; the couple wed in Ontario on August 3, 2019.

[21] On February 17, 2024, Hinchcliffe was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, making him the youngest inductee ever at 37 years old.

On August 30, 2016, he appeared on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud featuring IndyCar drivers competing against swimsuit models.

[35] He maintained his podcast The Mayor on Air with James Hinchcliffe from 2015 through 2017, typically interviewing drivers from the IndyCar Series.