Hinchcliffe, Aleshin thrilled with fortune turnaround

Hinchcliffe started fifth but spun to the back of the field at Turn 2 on the opening lap, while Aleshin started only 20^th after having his fastest lap from qualifying deleted for causing a yellow flag.

However, Hinchcliffe’s spin and stall and the subsequent full-course caution gave the chance for both drivers to pit, switching from the less-durable red “alternate” tires and soaring through the field to where they ran 1-2 briefly.

Hinchcliffe went on to finish third behind dominant winner Graham Rahal and Chip Ganassi Racing’s ace Scott Dixon, while Aleshin claimed sixth.

Said Hinchcliffe: “Tires are the name of the game here. To be able to get off the reds after the spin played to our advantage.

“Then we got a yellow at the right time right after our stop. It put us up where we belonged, and I think we showed that the #5 Arrow car had a lot of pace. To come back from that, the SPM boys were great in the pits and I’m really happy to grab a podium here today.”

Aleshin added, “I think we were pretty competitive and we had a great strategy. The Lucas Oil car was very good, so that allowed me to overtake a couple people at the beginning and be competitive throughout the race.

“I'm proud of our boys, and from where we started I think it's a great day."