James Hinchcliffe takes 7th place at Indianapolis 500

Hinchcliffe, who drives for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, started from the pole position and spent the first three-quarters of the race battling for the lead. A fuel issue on the first pit stop shuffled him back several positions, but was followed up by two near-perfect stops that helped him regain the lead.

Ultimately, fuel strategy would be the difference maker, when the Toronto native was forced to splash-and-go with only four laps remaining.

“I have to give everybody on the Arrow crew a ton of credit for the effort the entire month,” said Hinchcliffe after the race. “Coming in third at the GP of Indy, qualifying on the pole and the race here, it was a solid effort.

“We were super strong the first half and definitely had one of the cars to beat. It was really just track temperatures that caught us out there. We started losing grip as the temperatures came up late in the afternoon and the last two stints were a real struggle when we tried to make the tires last. Well, more than a stint because we came in for that splash of fuel at the end.

“A couple guys out there took a punt on fuel – congrats to Alex and great to see Honda back on top. Realistically, I think we had a third- or fourth-place effort today, which is nothing to turn your nose up at.”

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports