When IndyCar Series star James Hinchcliffe debuted his new helmet this year in the season-opener earlier this month at Barber Motorsports Park, there was something different about it: A touching and quirky tribute to his late father, Jeremy.
On the helmet Hinchcliffe said he designed himself is the image of a thick, brown mustache — a look which was so synonymous with his father that Jeremy was also nicknamed “the Stache.”
“[The new helmet is] my normal design that Troy Lee paints, but this year with the added tribute to Dad,” the Andretti Autosport driver said via email.
“My Dad, Jeremy Hinchcliffe, had been battling an illness for the last two years. He was the reason I fell in love with racing, the reason I got into Karting as a kid, he was my first sponsor, my manager, my biggest cheerleader.”
Love my lid this year with a little something extra on it. Been weird not having Dad at the races, but his famous Stache rides with me now every time I strap in. Texas is up next for the Gensys 300! pic.twitter.com/lge1w0SqJX
— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) April 27, 2021
About two months before the start of the IndyCar season, Jeremy Hinchcliffe died on February 10 after fighting an undisclosed illness, and James wanted to celebrate his father while, in a way, still having him at the race track every week.
So he tweaked the design of his helmet.
Whether you knew him as Jeremy, The Stache, Papa Hinch, or as I did, Dad, to know him was to love him. His guidance, his laugh and his love are three things I have, and will always, cherish. There are no words for how much we already miss you. I love you, Dad. pic.twitter.com/ZxizkBt9vk
— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) February 11, 2021
“I knew it was going to be weird not having him at the track, so I wanted to do something to make sure he was with me every race,” Hinchcliffe said. “My Dad was such a big personality and was such a fixture at the track. He loved bonding with the crew guys, meeting fans, entertaining friends. He loved the track.
“He had this trademark mustache his whole life and his nickname to many was ‘the Stache’, so I thought that was a pretty fitting way to honor him, by putting a likeness of his mustache on my lid.”
The IndyCar Series returns to the track this weekend for a doubleheader at Texas Motor Speedway, starting with the Genesys 300 on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and followed by the XPEL 375 on Sunday (5 p.m. ET, NBCSN).
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