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26 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012 Hinchcliffe hoping return to Indy has happier ending By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF James Hinchcliffe was running seventh midway through last year's Indy 500 when he got a little high on the track coming into Turn 3. His car, travelling at more than 200 mph, drifted and hit the wall, scraping along into Turn 4 as pieces of rubber and carbon fibre flew off the car. As he rolled to a stop at the top of the front straightaway, Hinchcliffe cued up his radio. "Sorry boys," he said, obviously dejected. He had been warned about getting too high on the track, into the `marbles', the small pieces of rubber that wear off tires during the course of a race. He had already seen it end the day of other drivers and it would end up costing another rookie, J.R. Hildebrand, a chance to win the race on the final lap. So when Hinchcliffe reflects back on his rookie season, it doesn't take him long to pinpoint his biggest regret. "Indy, just not finishing," he said prior to the start of his sophomore campaign. "I've crashed out of the lead of a race, but I've never been so disappointed as when those wheels screeched to a halt," he said of the hitting the wall on lap 101. Hinchcliffe has already gone a long way to rectifying that. He will start on the front row for Sunday's race after qualifying second with an average speed of 226.481 mph over four laps. Hinchcliffe just missed earning the pole position by finishing 0.0023 seconds behind Ryan Briscoe, making it the closest onetwo finish in qualifying in the century-old race. Hinchcliffe had just three IndyCar races -- none on ovals -- under his belt when he tackled the Brickyard for the first time last year. Now with a full season of racing at the highest level, he returns better equipped to learn from his rookie mistakes. "You prepare for so long," said Hinchcliffe. "You have to be so patient. I was drilling that into my own head, then I got caught up on the yellow (and was penalized for passing the pace car exiting the pits) so I was already mad at myself (before the crash). We had a good shot at a top-10 finish." He should have a good shot again this year. His Andretti Autosport team has obviously found a good setup for its cars. Hinchcliffe's teammates, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti will start third and fourth in the 33-car field. Hinchcliffe has posted strong results in the early-season races, placing in the top six in every race, including his first podium with a third at Long Beach and a fourth at the season opener in St. Petersburg. Running consistently at the front of the pack has the 25-year-old sitting in third in the overall driver standings. If the lessons learned at Indy pay off this year, it will go a long way to making his Brickyard debut a little easier to swallow. -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter @Herbgarbutt ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG HIGH HOPES: Oakville Trafalgar grad James Hinchcliffe was second in qualifying for this weekend's Indianapolis 500. Hinchcliffe is hoping for a better result than his Indy debut last year, when he crashed on the 101st lap and did not finish. Red Devils come up big in junior final By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF Reid Blackwell enjoys the big games. And as a member of the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils rugby team, there's plenty of opportunity to play in them. The Grade 10 student was named OT's player of the game as the Red Devils closed a perfect 6-0 regular season with a win over the White Oaks Wildcats. Wednesday, he scored three tries as Oakville Trafalgar won its 11th junior boys title in the past 13 years -- a 39-19 victory over the Wildcats. His two second-half tries helped offset a White Oaks rally that briefly cut the lead to 10. "It helped that we came out hard right off the bat," Blackwell said. "We last year not ever playing rugby slipped a little bit in the second half before." but we were able to turn it around." Everett joined the Oakville If there was a team Crusaders last sumthe undefeated Red "Every time you play OT, mer, gaining addiDevils had to be wary it's going to push you. tional experience of, it was White Oaks. throughout the sumThose are the games that The Wildcats lost a mer. He played close five-point game make you better. We both alongside about half in last year's final and have strong programs and a dozen OT players, providing him with a then lost by a single it's going to be a good little more incentive. try in the first meet- challenge for us the next "Going into the ing of the teams this few years." game, you want to season. put a little more into They've emerged White Oaks junior boys' it, you want to make quickly and hope to rugby coach Mike Moore that tackle," he said. carry that forward While not all into the senior ranks. "It's been a good chance to learn," Wildcats had that same connection, said White Oaks' Ben Everett, who had just the opportunity to dethrone the a try for the Wildcats. "We all came in See Jr, page 30