John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He last competed in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

driving part-time in the No. 11 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Enterprises. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship and came close to winning the

2011 Indianapolis 500 The 95th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the 2011 IndyCar Series season, 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The track opened for practice on May 14 and ...

, hitting the wall on the final corner of the race and crossing the line in second place.

Early career

At the age of 14, Hildebrand started racing go karts in the Jim Russell Arrive and Drive Championship at Infineon Raceway in Northern California; winning not only his first race but the championship that year. In 2003, he raced in the Jr. 80cc Shifter class finishing a close second, and at the end of that year made the transition from karts to cars by winning the Jim Russell Graduate Runoffs; racing in Formula Russell in 2004. That year, he went on to win the series championship; also participating in the Red Bull Driver Search. He then moved up to Pacific F2000 in 2005; finishing second overall as rookie of the year, also being chosen for the Team USA Scholarship, earning him a ride in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy, in which he finished third. In 2006, he dominated the U.S. F2000 National Championship; winning the championship and 12 out of 14 races. In recognition of his impressive 2006 performance, Hildebrand won the Gorsline Scholarship and was elected to the AARWBA All American Auto Racing First Team.

Atlantics and Indy Lights

For 2007, he moved to the Champ Car Atlantic series, driving for

Newman Wachs Racing Newman Wachs Racing (also referred to as NWR) is an auto racing team owned by Eddie Wachs and, until his death, Paul Newman. NWR was based outside of Chicago in Mundelein, Illinois. Newman and Wachs met when they both competed in Can-Am series in t ...

. He finished seventh in points and was the top US rookie in the series. After the season's conclusion he made 2 starts for RLR-

Andersen Racing Andersen Racing was a professional auto racing team that competed in Firestone Indy Lights and Star Mazda competition. It was owned by Dan Andersen, who founded the U.S. F2000 National Championship in 1991 and his brother John Andersen. The team w ...

in the Indy Pro Series. Hildebrand then went on to contest the entire series schedule, which was renamed the Firestone Indy Lights Series, for RLR-Andersen in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. He captured his first series win in the fourth race of the season at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway (formerly known as Kansas International Speedway in initial planning and construction stages) is a tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The track, since its inaugural season of ...

, his second start on an oval. He finished 5th overall in the 2008 championship. For the 2009 season he signed with defending championship-winning team AGR- AFS Racing, and after winning four races and taking five pole positions, he eventually claimed the title at the penultimate round at

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

. That year he also competed in the final round of the

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themse ...

series for

A1 Team USA A1 Team USA was the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. Management Owner Rick Weidinger became interested in A1 Team USA and the A1 Grand Prix series when national franchises were being bid for the new series. Along w ...

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

, finishing 4th in the Sprint race. He was again elected to the AARWBA All American Auto Racing First Team for 2009.

American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

' Genoa Racing signed Hildebrand to race an LMPC class car for

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. He contested the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Formula One

Hildebrand spent three days testing for the

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 200 ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team in December 2009, at the Jerez circuit, in a car shared with Paul di Resta.

IndyCar

Hildebrand made his

debut in

, competing in two races for

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitrocross. The team is owned by Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini (marque), MINI, and Subaru dealer D ...

as a substitute driver for the injured

Mike Conway Michael Robert Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Motorsport GmbH, Toyota Gazoo Racing. Early caree ...

. On Tuesday, December 14, 2010, it was announced that Hildebrand signed a multi–year contract to drive the No. 4

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

entry for

Panther Racing Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series. Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500. Formation The team was ...

, starting in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

after impressing the team during a test.

Later in 2011, Hildebrand qualified for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

and was the most successful rookie during his premiere race. Hildebrand was able to lead at the halfway point for Panther Racing and stayed on the lead lap for the entire race. This allowed him to take a gamble during his last pit stop, stretching out his fuel load to an eventual lead on the final lap. On the very last turn, he slid out of the racing lane and into the retaining wall while passing rapidly slowing Charlie Kimball, allowing

Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 Indianapol ...

to take the victory. Despite the damage to his car – including the loss of a wheel – Hildebrand retained enough speed to cross the finish line in second place. On October 16, 2011, Hildebrand was involved in a 15-car chain-reaction crash at

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...

in the season-ending IZOD IndyCar World Championships. He sustained an injured sternum and was transported by ground ambulance to a Las Vegas area hospital, where he was admitted for treatment. The crash claimed the life of two-time Indy 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon. Following a last-place finish in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, Hildebrand was released by Panther Racing. He had announced earlier in the year that he would be running selected

Formula DRIFT Formula DRIFT (also known as Formula D or FD) is an American drifting series, and was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that introduced D1 Grand Prix to the ...

races as a teammate to Tyler McQuarrie. In 2014, Hildebrand joined

Ed Carpenter Racing Ed Carpenter Racing, competing as "ECR", is an American racing team based in Speedway, Indiana that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team is owned by driver Ed Carpenter (racing driver), Ed Carpenter. The team is based in Indianapol ...

for the

, driving the No. 21. On November 4, 2016, it was confirmed that Hildebrand would take over the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 21 car for the 2017 season, replacing

Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American racing driver who races the No. 2 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series. He was the 2011 Indy Lights champion, and 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion. He won the 2 ...

. He finished 15th in the points standing for the season, achieving a second-place finish in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and a third in Phoenix. Following the season Hildebrand was not retained by the team. For 2018 Hildebrand was signed for by

to pilot their car in the Indy 500 (their only entry of the season) and finished 11th. He returned in the same role in 2019, finishing 20th. He again returned in 2020 for the same one-race role, despite the team's increased commitment to a part-time schedule. He finished in 16th. In 2021 Hildebrand drove a specially liveried car for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, commemorating the 60th anniversary of team owner A.J. Foyt's first of four

wins. He finished in 15th place.

Pikes Peak Hillclimb

In 2018, Hildebrand competed in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, driving a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, finishing 2nd in Porsche Trophy category behind

Travis Pastrana Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional athlete known for his success across multiple disciplines, including freestyle motocross, rally racing, NASCAR, and stunt performance. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s ...

. In 2021 it was quietly announced Hildebrand would compete in the Open Wheel Class, driving a IndyCar. That effort fell through due to numerous technicalities which could not be overcome in time to compete. On February 1, 2022, it was announced Hildebrand had entered the 2022 running of the event, competing in the Open Wheel Class, driving a 2022 Dallara IR18 Evo IndyCar. While not an IndyCar sanctioned event, all of the IndyCar suppliers are involved in it, as well as chassis manufacturer

Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' M ...

Personal life

In 2006, Hildebrand graduated from Redwood High School in

Larkspur, California Larkspur is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located directly south of Kentfield, California, Kentfield and south of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at an elevation of . As of the 2 ...

as a

National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships. The program is managed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded not-for-profit ...

. While in high school, he also played varsity baseball. He applied and was accepted by several top universities, including the

University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Cal ...

(UCLA),

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

, and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). MIT granted a three-year deferral, but he eventually allowed it to lapse as he continued to pursue his racing career.Redwood High grad picks IRL over MIT
Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. August 20, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2011.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

( key)

USF2000 National Championship

Atlantic Championship

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series

^* Season still in progress. : ''¹ Race cancelled due to death of

'' : ** Podium (non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes. : *** Top 10s (non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.

Indianapolis 500

Complete American Le Mans Series results

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

American rallycross racing results

Complete Americas Rallycross results

( key)

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Official WebsiteIndyCar Driver PageIndyCar 36: JR Hildebrand
– IndyCar documentary {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrand, J.R 1988 births A1 Team USA drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Drifting drivers Formula D drivers Formula Palmer Audi drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Indy Lights champions Indy Lights drivers IndyCar Series drivers Living people People from Sausalito, California Sportspeople from Marin County, California Racing drivers from California U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Newman Wachs Racing drivers AFS Racing drivers Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers Panther Racing drivers Ed Carpenter Racing drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Bryan Herta Autosport drivers Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers Andretti Autosport drivers