James Hinchcliffe Dancing: How Does IndyCar Driver Feel About Being 'DWTS' Runner-Up? [VIDEO]
IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe may not have won Dancing With the Stars, but he came pretty close.
Despite having zero dancing experience prior to this season of Dancing With the Stars, Hinchcliffe quickly took to ballroom dancing and emerged as a dark horse contender early on. His easygoing charisma and disciplined skills made him an audience favorite and he continued through the competition even as more famous stars were eliminated.
Hinchcliffe made it all the way to the finals, a number of perfect scores under his belt, and became a real threat to win the coveted Mirrorball trophy. In the end, however, Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy won the prize, while Hinchcliffe and partner Sharna Burgess were named the runners-up.
Now that the experience is over, Hinchcliffe is shocked by his run on the show, especially compared to where he was prior to DWTS.
"If you had told me at the start that we would have ended up in the runner-up position, I wouldn't have believed you," Hinchcliffe said Wednesday, via IndyStar. "I can't thank (Burgess) enough for all that effort and for being so good at her job to make me capable of being part of a team that got up that high in a very tough competition."
Hinchcliffe's incredible journey on the dance competition was made all the more impressive given where he was a year ago. The race car driver suffered serious injuries in May of 2015 when practicing for the Indianapolis 500 and was unable to walk for weeks. Looking at him now, you can barely tell.
"What it's really done for me is reinforce a belief that I had beforehand, which was that you can do anything you put your mind to," Hinchcliffe explained. "I came into this competition obviously with zero experience in the craft, a lot of apprehensions at doing it."
Outlasting stars like Calvin Johnson Jr., Ryan Lochte, Marilu Henner, Terra Jolé and Jana Kramer, Hinchcliffe seems to be incredibly proud of his stint on Dancing With the Stars.
"To finish runner-up to someone that is an Olympic gymnast, I think, is a pretty impressive feat for someone who sits for a living," he admitted.'
