James Hinchcliffe Named To ABC's 'Dancing With The Stars'

Verizon IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe has joined Season 23 of ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and will make his debut on the show Sept. 12.

James Hinchcliffe is about to become a reality TV star.

ABC announced Tuesday that Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, is one of the celebrities participating in the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars. Season 23 premieres Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m.

Hinchcliffe will be partnered with professional dancer Sharna Burgess, whose best finish in the dancing competition was runner-up in Season 21.

“I can honestly say this will rank just above the Indy 500 as one of the most nerve-wracking things that I’ve ever agreed to do,” Hinchcliffe quipped in a league statement Tuesday morning.

“Normally I’m used to working under pressure in front of a live audience, but I can’t see them, so this should be a totally new experience for me and especially as someone with no ability to dance whatsoever.”

He’ll make his Dancing debut just before the 2016 IndyCar season ends; the final race of the season is Sept. 18 at Sonoma. On track, Hinchcliffe is coming off a second-place finish at the 2016 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway, after being passed on the final lap by Graham Rahal.

Hinchcliffe appeared on another ABC show, Celebrity Family Feud, with several IndyCar drivers earlier this month. One of those was Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, who was named the winner of Dancing with the Stars in Season 11 nine years ago.

He returned for the show’s “All-Stars” season in Season 14, this time partnered with Chelsie Hightower, and finished fourth.

On Tuesday Castroneves offered some encouragement to Hinchcliffe.

“It’s great to hear that another Verizon IndyCar Series driver will be on Dancing with the Stars,” he said. Good luck, Hinch. It’s a lot of work, but a tremendous experience.

“The pressure is intense in the race car,” Castroneves continued, “and it’s every bit as real on the show. My advice is to be ready to work, but have fun with it at the same time.”

For his part Hinchcliffe knows that there will be comparisons to Castroneves’ performance once he steps on the ballroom floor.

“My goal has to be to match that or else I’m going to get a ton of crap from everybody back in the paddock,” he admitted. “But my desire to win is matched only by my inability to dance, which makes for a pretty interesting combination.”

“It should be fun and we’re going to try and have some fun. I’m looking forward to getting going.”

Dancing with the Stars premieres Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. on ABC.