NowVIZ: You do an incredible job marketing yourself! Does this come naturally to you? Yes and no. The branding side of our sport is massively time consuming and very challenging. That side doesn’t come naturally. It takes a lot of work. A lot. But where I make it easier on myself is the guy I’m marketing is really who I am. It’s not a character, it’s not an act. What you see is what you get. If I was doing all this stuff, but had to pretend to be someone I’m not while doing it, I would’ve burned out years ago.
NowVIZ: We noticed “Stop” written on the top toe of your left driving boot and “Go” written on the top of the right boot. Can you give us the scoop and tell us why that is?! Well an Indy car only has two pedals; one for the gas and one for the brake! So we use one foot for each pedal. When I was younger, I used to write “Stop” and “Go” on my boots in sharpie as a joke, because when you went to the go kart track, in the go kart, one pedal is green and the other is red. So, when I got to Indy car, I had been doing this for so long that even on my brand new boots I would write “Stop” and “Go!” Then one day Sparco, the company who’s equipment I use, came to the track with a custom pair of boots and had stitched the words “Stop” and “Go” already on there for me! It was a very cool gesture and has been what I’ve had on my boots ever since.
NowVIZ: We recently met your girlfriend actress, Rebecca Dalton. You two definitely seem to have the same energy level! Is it tough balancing both your schedules? For sure there are times when it’s really challenging. She will sometimes need to be in a different city on set for three straight weeks or longer during the season. Those times are hard. But what makes us such great partners is we both know what it takes to have a career that you must fully dedicate yourself. The down side is it seperates us occasionally, but to be successful we understand it takes sacrifice. So we’re really able to support one another, especially on those long days when it all starts to feel like too much. She really is my partner in crime.
-THANKs Hinch, you’re the be