Hinchcliffe confirms end to Indy 500 ride search

James Hinchcliffe has confirmed the inevitable: The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver will not participate in the 102nd Indy 500.

As documented by RACER, efforts by the team to secure a car that had been qualified by another driver have been fruitless, leaving the Canadian to concede his what has been expected since Bump Day.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances I will not be racing in the Indy 500 this year,” he said in a message on his social media accounts. “The decision was made to stop pursuing options to get us into the race. There really aren’t words to describe how missing this race feels. At the end of the day we simply didn’t get the job done. No excuses. This is our reality and we will face it head on, we will use it as motivation and we will come back stronger.

“We have a great team, incredible partners, and the best fans, all who have been so supportive through this. I’m sorry we can’t be on track for you on Sunday, but we will be pushing hard for the wins at Detroit. I wish all 33 drivers a fast and safe race. I’ll be watching and cheering on my SPM teammates. See you in Detroit.”