VIDEO: Hinchcliffe's DWTS grand finale

IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe finished a close second to Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez in the final night of competition on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

"It was an incredible season,” Hinchcliffe told IndyCar.com after the show. “Obviously, nobody expected us to make it this far in the competition, ourselves included, and so it speaks volumes for the coach and the teacher and the creative mastermind that Sharna is and I can't thank her enough for all the effort this year."

"If you had told me (on) Week 1 (that) we would have ended up second, I wouldn't have believed you and I would have been thrilled with that. To come behind an Olympic gymnast, gold medalist like Laurie, congrats to them."

The three finalist dance pairs performed a “24-Hour Fusion Challenge” on Tuesday’s broadcast, combining two contrasting styles into a dance with only 24 hours to create the performance. All three couples earned perfect 40 scores from the four judges, including Hinchcliffe and Burgess for their fused foxtrot and Viennese waltz.