Sam Schmidt is Thinkin'

Sam Schmidt might be one of the surprises of May. If you haven't heard, Indycar.com is reporting they will run Alex Lloyd in association with Chip Ganassi in the 93th Indianapolis 500.

Lloyd is the 2007 FIL champion and signed a contract with TCGR over the following winter. He ran a bunch of Grand-Am in '08 and did the I500 with RLR in association with TCGR, but has been out of an ICS car since May 2008. None the less, Lloyd is a very talented driver with experience at the Brickyard in a top flight organization like RLR.

Sam Schmidt Motorsports will most likely run Alex Lloyd in a car supplied by Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Odds are that car will have all the bits and pieces on it that the average TCGR car would have. So, Sam Schmidt will turn up to the 500 with probably it's best chance of competing near the front of the event due to the partnership only a mad man could dream up. Sam Schmidt has to be considered a dark horse to actually win the main event when in years past he would be a dark horse to qualify for the show.

Obviously, the odds are very long for him to win, but if you ask Sam Schmidt, I would bet he would say this is the best opportunity they've had in years. He has just been handed a good young driver, a top notch car, and has a crew that has experience at the 500 (they have either run a car under the Sam Schmidt banner or in association with another team the last few years).

Sam Schmidt just entered the realm of Big 3, atleast for one race. Bet you didn't think that would happen did you?

A Little Canadian Content

After countless emails and complaints, I must have finally gotten through to someone in the IRL. I've been hounding them constantly telling them "less Americans, more Canadians". Finally they have answered my pleas.

Turns out James Hinchcliffe of Hinchtown, Canada will be running the lucky number 7 (better then Viso's idea of luck) for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the Firestone Indy Lights series.

Some of you might have heard of James, he has quite the Open-Wheel resumé.

• Rookie of the Year, Formula BMW USA - 2004


• Star Mazda, Series 3rd, 3 Wins - 2005


• Atlantics, Best Series Finish of 4th, multiple wins and pole positions - 2006 to 2008


• A1GP, Multiple Podiums - 2007-2008

James is one of the most personable characters you'll meet and quite possibly one of the funniest as well. In 2006 and 2007 he did work on the International CCWS race feeds doing commentary and I'd say he was better then the American CCWS commentary on most weeks.

Hopefully James will be kicking ass in the FIL series as he definately has the experience on road courses, and he seemed to enjoy his first experience on ovals.

"Ovals are obviously a new thing for me, but I have enjoyed them more than I
thought I would. It is a completely different skill set, and I know I have
a ton to learn, but with the experience of guys like (team owner) Sam Schmidt,
(engineer) Tim Neff, and (team manager) Chris Griffis behind me, I know that my
oval education is in great hands." - Firestone Indy
Lights Site

I'm sure Hinch will have some good times this season and will be a joy for the media to follow around now and then. Also, make sure you check out Hinchtown.com throughout the year as I'm sure he'll have some video blogs on there and some funny stuff as well. I know I will do my best to bump into him at the Honda Indy Toronto.