J. R. Hildebrand

J. R. Hildebrand

J. R. Hildebrand at Fort Meade, 2011.
Nationality United States American
Born John R. Hildebrand, Jr.
(1988-01-03) January 3, 1988
Sausalito, California, U.S.
IndyCar Series career
Debut season 2010
Current team Ed Carpenter Racing
Car no. 6
Former teams Panther Racing
Bryan Herta Autosport
Starts 39
Wins 0
Poles 0
Fastest laps 1
Best finish 11th in 2012
Previous series
2009
2008–09
2007
2005–2006
2005
2004
Firestone Indy Lights
A1 Grand Prix
Champ Car Atlantic Series
U.S. F2000
Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Cup
SCCA Formula Russell
Championship titles
2009
2006
2004
Firestone Indy Lights
U.S. F2000
SCCA Formula Russell
Awards
2005
2011
Team USA Scholarship
Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year

John Randal "J.R." Hildebrand, Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He currently competes in the Formula Drift series for Tyler McQuarrie. He previously competed in the Izod IndyCar Series, driving the #4 National Guard car for Panther Racing. Hildebrand was leading the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with two turns to go, and crashed into the wall coming out of turn four, handing the win to Dan Wheldon. Hildebrand was injured in the October 2011 crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship that killed Wheldon.[1]

Early career

At the age of 14, Hildebrand started racing go karts in the Jim Russell Arrive and Drive Championship at Infineon Raceway in Northern California; winning not only his first race but the championship that year. In 2003, he raced in the Jr. 80cc Shifter class finishing a close second, and at the end of that year made the transition from karts to cars by winning the Jim Russell Graduate Runoffs; racing in Formula Russell in 2004. That year, he went on to win the series championship; also participating in the Red Bull Driver Search. He then moved up to Pacific F2000 in 2005; finishing second overall as rookie of the year, also being chosen for the Team USA Scholarship, earning him a ride in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy, in which he finished third. In 2006, he dominated the U.S. F2000 National Championship; winning the championship and 12 out of 14 races.

In recognition of his impressive 2006 performance, Hildebrand won the Gorsline Scholarship and was elected to the AARWBA All American Auto Racing First Team.

Hildebrand (inside) racing alongside teammate Andrew Prendeville in the 2008 Firestone Freedom 100

Atlantics and Indy Lights

For 2007, he moved to the Champ Car Atlantic series, driving for Newman Wachs Racing. He finished seventh in points and was the top US rookie in the series. After the season's conclusion he made 2 starts for RLR-Andersen Racing in the Indy Pro Series. Hildebrand then went on to contest the entire series schedule, which was renamed the Firestone Indy Lights Series, for RLR-Andersen in 2008.[2] He captured his first series win in the fourth race of the season at Kansas Speedway, his second start on an oval. He finished 5th overall in the 2008 championship.

For the 2009 season he signed with defending championship winning team AGR-AFS Racing,[3] and after winning four races and taking five pole positions, he eventually claimed the title at the penultimate round at Chicagoland. That year he also competed in the final round of the A1 Grand Prix series for A1 Team USA at Brands Hatch, finishing 4th in the Sprint race. He was again elected to the AARWBA All American Auto Racing First Team for 2009.

American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series' Genoa Racing signed Hildebrand to race a LMPC class car for 2010. He contested the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Formula One

Hildebrand spent three days testing for the Force India Formula One team in December 2009, at the Jerez circuit, in a car shared with Paul di Resta.[4][5][6]

IndyCar

Hildebrand made his IndyCar Series debut in 2010, competing in two races for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as a substitute driver for the injured Mike Conway. On Tuesday, December 14, 2010, it was announced that Hildebrand signed a multi–year contract to drive the #4 National Guard entry for Panther Racing, starting in 2011 after impressing the team during a test.[7]

Hildebrand driving for Panther Racing at the 2011 Indy Japan 300.

Later in 2011, Hildebrand qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and was the most successful rookie during his premiere race. Hildebrand was able to lead at the halfway point for Panther Racing, and stayed on the lead lap for the entire race. This allowed him to take a gamble during his last pit stop, stretching out his fuel load to an eventual lead on the final lap. On the very last turn, he slid out of the racing lane and into the retaining wall while passing rapidly slowing Charlie Kimball, allowing Dan Wheldon to take the victory. Despite the damage to his car – including the loss of a wheel – Hildebrand retained enough speed to cross the finish line in second place.

On Sunday, 16 October 2011, Hildebrand was involved in a 15-car chain reaction crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the season-ending IZOD IndyCar World Championships. Hildebrand sustained an injured sternum and was transported by ground ambulance to a Las Vegas area hospital, where he was admitted for treatment. The crash claimed the life of two-time Indy winner Wheldon.[8]

Following a last-place finish in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, Hildebrand was released by Panther Racing.[9] He had announced earlier in the year that he would be running selected Formula DRIFT races as a teammate to Tyler McQuarrie.[10] In 2014, Hildebrand joined Ed Carpenter Racing for the Indianapolis 500, driving the #21.[11]

Personal

In 2006, Hildebrand graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur, California as a National Merit Scholar with a 4.12 GPA. While in high school, he also played varsity baseball. He applied and was accepted by several top universities, including UCLA, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. M.I.T. granted a three-year deferral, but he eventually allowed it to lapse as he continued to pursue his racing career.[12][13]

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

USF2000 National Championship

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points
2006 Cape Motorsports United States
ATL1
1
United States
ATL2
1
United States
MDO1
1
United States
MDO2
1
United States
PIR1
1
United States
PIR2
1
United States
CLE1
1
United States
CLE2
2
Canada
TOR1
1
Canada
TOR2
1
United States
MDO3
1
United States
MDO4
1
United States
ROA1
13
United States
ROA2
1
1st 361

Atlantic Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2006 Newman Wachs Racing LBH HOU MTY POR CLE1 CLE2 TOR EDM SJO DEN MTL ROA
Ret
43rd 2
2007 LVG
Ret
LBH
Ret
HOU
7
POR1
6
POR2
9
CLE
2
MTT
9
TOR
Ret
EDM1
Ret
EDM2
5
SJO
15
ROA
9
7th 140
2008 Genoa Racing LBH LS MTT EDM1 EDM2 ROA1 ROA2 TRR NJ UTA ATL
Ret
26th 7

Indy Lights

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2007 RLR/Andersen Racing HMS STP1 STP2 INDY MIL IMS1 IMS2 IOW WGL1 WGL2 NSH MDO KTY SNM1
Ret
SNM2
Ret
CHI 37th 18
2008 HMS
10
STP1
5
STP2
2
KAN
1
INDY
24
MIL
5
IOW
8
WGL1
Ret
WGL2
9
NSH
4
MDO1
5
MDO2
6
KTY
18
SNM1
4
SNM2
4
CHI
Ret
5th 409
2009 AGR-AFS Racing STP1
3
STP2
Ret
LBH
1
KAN
14
INDY
2
MIL
2
IOW
6
WGL
1
TOR
2
EDM
1
KTY
Ret
MDO
3
SNM
1
CHI
5
HMS
2
1st 545

IndyCar Series

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points
2010 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda SAO STP ALA LBH KAN INDY TXS IOW WGL TOR EDM MDO
16
SNM
24
CHI KTY MOT HMS 35th 26
2011 Panther Racing Dallara Honda STP
11
ALA
13
LBH
17
SAO
10
INDY
2
TXS1
23
TXS2
18
MIL
21
IOW
4
TOR
8
EDM
11
MDO
25
NHM
21
SNM
23
BAL
19
MOT
7
KTY
20
LVS1
C
14th 296
2012 Dallara DW12 Chevrolet STP
19
ALA
15
LBH
5
SAO
7
INDY
14
DET
14
TXS
5
MIL
22
IOW
22
TOR
7
EDM
21
MDO
9
SNM
8
BAL
12
FON
11
11th 294
2013 STP
19
ALA
17
LBH
5
SAO
15
INDY
33
DET DET TXS MIL IOW POC TOR TOR MDO 25th 112
Barracuda Racing Dallara DW12 Honda SNM
16
BAL HOU HOU FON
11
2014 Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet STP LBH ALA IMS INDY
10
DET DET TXS HOU HOU POC IOW TOR TOR MDO MIL SNM FON 26th 66
2015 CFH Racing STP NLA LBH ALA IMS
21
INDY
8
DET
DET
TXS
TOR
FON
MIL
IOW
MDO
POC
SNM
31st 57
2016 Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet STP
PHX
LBH
ALA
IMS
INDY
DET
DET
TXS
RDA
IOW
TOR
MDO
POC
SNM
* *

* Season still in progress.

1 Race cancelled to death of Dan Wheldon
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums
(Non-win)
Top 10s
(Non-podium)
Indianapolis 500
Wins
Championships
6 5 44 0 0 1 14 0 0
** Podium (Non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes.
*** Top 10s (Non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
2011 Dallara Honda 12 2 Panther Racing
2012 Dallara Chevrolet 18 14 Panther Racing
2013 Dallara Chevrolet 10 33 Panther Racing
2014 Dallara Chevrolet 9 10 Ed Carpenter Racing
2015 Dallara Chevrolet 10 8 CFH Racing

Complete American Le Mans Series results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2010 Genoa Racing LMPC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet 6.2L V8 M SEB
ovr:25
cls:2
LNB
ovr:7
cls:3
MON UTA LIM MID AME MOS PET 17th 36

References

  1. "Dan Wheldon dies following IndyCar crash at Vegas". ESPN (ESPN Internet Ventures). October 17, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  2. Hildebrand Joins RLR/Andersen Racing, SpeedTV.com, March 5, 2008
  3. DiZinno, Tony. Hildebrand joins AGR/AFS juggernaut, Motorsport.com, November 13, 2008
  4. "Rookietest Jerez: Analyse dag 1". MotorRacingBlog.nl
  5. http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/jr-hillebrand-and-paul-di-resta-test-for-force-india/
  6. http://www.jrhildebrandracing.com/article.cfm?id=130
  7. http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=40736
  8. "Dan Wheldon dies in huge crash at IndyCar finale". USA Today. October 16, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  9. DiZinno, Tony (May 30, 2013). "Panther Racing terminates JR Hildebrand’s contract". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  10. DiZinno, Tony (April 10, 2013). "JR Hildebrand will go drift racing later this year". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  11. IndyCar (March 20, 2014). "Hildebrand To Compete In '500'". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  12. "Famous people who didn't go to MIT" M.I.T. Admissions Office. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  13. Redwood High grad picks IRL over MIT Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. August 20, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2011.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Raphael Matos
Firestone Indy Lights
Champion

2009
Succeeded by
Jean-Karl Vernay
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Simona de Silvestro
Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year

2011
Succeeded by
Rubens Barrichello
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