IndyCar Nation, IndyCar's official fan club, has spoken and James Hinchcliffe, Sebastian Saavedra and Zach Veach have all been voted "Favorite Driver of the Year." It was nearly a clean sweep for Andretti Autosport, with Shelby Blackstock coming in second to Shannon McIntosh in the USF2000 category. (To see the full results,
click here.)
It became clear early in the season that "The Mayor of Hinchtown" would be a fan favorite when the grassroots "Hinch for Homepage" campaign hit social media and landed Hinchcliffe on the homepage of GoDaddy.com. "It's really an honor to be selected by the fans as their favorite driver," said Hinchclife. "First, I get elected Mayor, then I got on the Go Daddy homepage and now I'm the fan's favorite. It's been a great year and I can't wait to get back on the track in 2013 and keep it up. But the fans are what it's really all about. I was a fan once, and still am, so to be picked by them is really special."
Bogota, Colombia's Saavedra was voted the favorite driver in the Firestone Indy Lights category.
"It is great feeling the support we get from fans during the off season," said Saavedra. "They've been amazing all year and this gives me a great boost of motivation to keep giving them amazing moments to remember. I want to thank everyone that voted and for keeping in touch with everything that's going on around the IndyCar world. Big things are coming and I'm sure you are all going to love it. Thank you again!"
Veach (LEFT) won 'Favorite Driver of the Year' for the Star Mazda Series. This is his second year earning the title, after winning in the USF2000 category last season, where McIntosh (RIGHT) reigns this year.
"Being named most popular driver for a second year in a row is just incredible," said Veach. "I turn 18 pretty soon and I feel as though this is just the best birthday present. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive fan base and I'm so thankful for all of the votes. It's also really cool to share this honor with two of my Andretti Autosport teammates, Hinch and Sebastian. I'm sure Hinch will come up with something for us to do together to celebrate – maybe even a GoDaddy.com commercial."