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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 27, 2014 | 32 With a rockin' new sponsor, Hinchcliffe ready for IndyCar season By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Let's face it. James Hinchcliffe is not going to become a wallflower. Sure, he might not stand out quite as much this year. His car won't glow in the dark since GoDaddy decided to focus its attention on NASCAR. The neon green on his No. 27 Andretti Autosport car has been replaced by a more subtle turquoise and white colour scheme. But as long as there are microphones and cameras in the world, and a chance to have some fun, the Oakville driver isn't likely to be far from the spotlight. And while GoDaddy seemed like a match made in heaven, his new sponsor is a pretty good fit, too. After all, what could be better than a race car driver sponsored by rock stars? Hinchcliffe's new backer, United Fiber & Data, was founded by three members of the band Live, which had a string of hits through the 90s, including Lightning Crashes and I Alone. The Pennsylvania-based broadband company was an associate sponsor on the car of teammate Marco Andretti last year. With the departure of GoDaddy, it took the opportunity to become the title sponsor of Hinchcliffe's car. "They've really paid attention and they liked what they saw," Hinchcliffe said. "We'll probably go about it in a slightly different way. I don't know if you're going to see a lot of national TV commercials, but they're pretty cool partners. It was really a no brainer. They jumped on full throttle, which is what you like as a driver. We didn't just take their money and put a sticker on the car." And while sponsorship is critical to getting a car on the track, any relationship is going to depend on the success of the driver sitting in that car. Hinchcliffe delivered in that regard last year. He brought GoDaddy, which had previously sponsored Danica Patrick, its first IndyCar victory. He'll be looking to do the same for his new sponsor when the season opens this Sunday with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the site of the 27-year-old's first IndyCar win. And even though he rolled James Hinchcliffe begins his fourth IndyCar season this Sunday at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. No longer in the easily-recognizable neon green GoDaddy car, Hinchcliffe enters the season with a new look -- courtesy of new sponsor United Fiber & Data -- but with the same goal of reaching the winner's circle, something he did three times last season, including in St. Petersburg. | Photos courtesy of IndyCar Series / IMS Photo into Victory Lane two more times -- in Sao Paulo, Brazil with a thrilling last-corner pass and in Iowa with a near wire-to-wire triumph -- the season was not all champagne and confetti. In between his first two wins in St. Petersburg and Brazil, Hinchcliffe finished a grand total of one lap after being the victim of early-race contact. It set an early tone for the year as Hinchcliffe had six top-five finishes and an equal number of finishes in the 20s. So despite joining the ranks of IndyCar winners, Hinchcliffe knows there is still work to be done entering his fourth season. "There were lessons learned, good and bad," he said. "It's nice to know you're in that club, but at the same time, what I did in 2013 doesn't mean anything in 2014." Making that even more true is the fact that Andretti has switched from Chevrolet engines to Honda. Though neither manufacturer had a distinct edge last season -- Chevy cars took the checkered flag 10 times while Honda won nine races -- there is still a learning curve and with limitations of preseason testing, there's not a lot of time to get up to speed. Hinchcliffe said he's been happy with how testing has been going. That's a good sign considering he says the single biggest factor in climbing in the overall driving standings after back-to-back eighth-place finishes is improving the team's performance in qualifying. After consistently starting near the front of the pack in his first season with Andretti, including a narrow miss of the Indy 500 pole, the team slipped back in the field more often last season. "Qualifying is so important," Hinchcliffe said. "It can make for a really long day. Or a really short afternoon." Hinchcliffe will hope to avoid that in St. Petersburg this weekend. Instead, with his new sponsor on board, he'll be looking for an encore performance. Forde tough on lacrosse opponents, now hopes to land spot with Jr.A Excelsiors By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff As a running back for the T.A. Blakelock Tigers football team, Malcolm Forde took on a role much different than the one he's grown accustomed to on the lacrosse floor. With the Tigers, Forde's job is break through defenders, and if possible, avoid contact all together to get into the open. It's a position that garners plenty of attention. In lacrosse, Forde is the one initiating the contact, putting the hurt on the opposition's star players, trying to prevent them from earning any glory at his expense. It's a job that draws little fanfare but is crucial to any successful team. There are similarities between the vastly different roles, though. "It helps you get used to contact," said Forde, known as Mac to his friends, "and to keep going after the hit." Phil Scarfone had never coached Forde before taking over the Oakville Hawks midget lacrosse squad last season, but his first impressions turned out to be right on the mark. "It didn't take long to see that Mac was one of the key players," he said. "He very quickly put my mind at ease with his ability to lead." Others noticed, too. Though just one team had talked to Forde prior to the Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. A draft, it didn't mean others weren't interested. Still, Forde figured he wouldn't be picked any earlier than the end of the first round, when St. Catharines had its first selection. The day of the draft, he was surprised when he checked his phone. "My buddy tweeted at me and said I'd been drafted by Brampton," said Forde, who plays field lacrosse with Edge Lacrosse and hopes to earn a scholarship. The Excelsiors took him with the sixth overall pick in the draft. Forde will go to training camp looking to earn a spot on a team that went 13-7 last season. But Scar- fone, a prolific scorer in his junior days, believes Forde will fit in nicely with Brampton, a team that despite finishing fourth in the league, ranked eighth in goals against. "If you need to lock down a guy, (Forde) is the guy you want," he said "He's a great defensive player. I think he's a perfect fit." Scarfone said Forde simply overpowered opponents at the midget level. Forde, though, says he will still need to further improve his strength and work on his off-hand to have a bigger impact in Jr. A. "He's got that will to want to win," Scarfone said, "and to get to where he wants to be." --Follow regional sports reporter Herb Garbutt on Twitter, @herbgarbutt