INDIANAPOLIS -- After getting bumped out of the Indianapolis 500, James Hinchcliffe said he is no longer pursuing options to get into the race.
In a tweet sent Wednesday afternoon, Hinchcliffe said, "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."
Hinchcliffe was the first driver out on Bump Day after a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay that changed the conditions. His four-lap average of 224.784 mph was far slower than anyone anticipated. With a large group of drivers waiting to get through the qualifying line and another 51-minute rain delay, nobody got a second chance until the final hour.
As Hinchcliffe’s car sat in the second qualifying lane — designated for cars attempting to improve their time without withdrawing their speed — Conor Daly bumped him from the race. His team then scrambled to push him to the front of the first lane, those designated for cars withdrawing times or with no time, so he could go first.
When he finally did get on the track, a vibration forced him right back to the pits. He never got another shot.
There was an outside chance Schmidt Peterson Motorsports could try to move its sponsorship to another car to get Hinchcliffe in the race. But, Hinchcliffe said, "barring unforeseen circumstances," that won't happen and he'll miss the race.
— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) May 23, 2018
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