J. R. Hildebrand

John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American former race car driver. He last competed in the IndyCar Series 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, hitting the wall on the final corner of the race and crossing the line in second place.

Early career At the age of fourteen, 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 twelve out of fourteen 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, Hildebrand moved to the Champ Car Atlantic series, driving for Newman Wachs Racing. He finished seventh in points and was the top US rookie in the series. After the season's conclusion he made two starts for RLR-Andersen Racing 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. He captured his first series win in the fourth race of the season at Kansas Speedway, his second start on an oval. He finished fifth overall in the 2008 championship.

For the 2009 season, Hildebrand 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. That year he also competed in the final round of the A1 Grand Prix series for A1 Team USA at Brands Hatch, finishing fourth 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' Genoa Racing signed Hildebrand to race an LMPC class car for 2010. He contested the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Formula One Hildebrand spent three days testing for the Force India Formula One team in December 2009, at the Jerez circuit, in a car shared with Paul di Resta.

IndyCar Hildebrand crashed on the final lap of the 2011 Indianapolis 500. Hildebrand made his IndyCar Series debut in 2010, competing in two races for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as a substitute driver for the injured Mike Conway. On Tuesday, December 14, 2010, it was announced that Hildebrand signed a multi–year contract to drive the No. 4 National Guard entry for Panther Racing, starting in 2011 after impressing the team during a test.

Hildebrand driving for Panther Racing at the 2011 Indy Japan 300. Later in 2011, Hildebrand qualified for the Indianapolis 500 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 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 fifteen-car chain-reaction crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 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 races as a teammate to Tyler McQuarrie.

In 2014, Hildebrand joined Ed Carpenter Racing for the Indianapolis 500, 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. He finished 15th in the points standing for the season, achieving a second-place finish in Iowa and a third in Phoenix. Following the season Hildebrand was not retained by the team.

For 2018, Hildebrand was signed for by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to pilot their car in the Indy 500 (their only entry of the season) and finished eleventh. He returned in the same role in 2019, finishing twentieth. 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 sixtieth anniversary of team owner A.J. Foyt's first of four Indianapolis 500 wins. He finished in fifteenth place. Hildebrand drove for the team for two races in 2022, finishing fourteenth at Texas and twelfth in the Indianapolis 500. After competing in every Indianapolis 500 since 2011, Hildebrand would not compete in the 2023 running of the race but would express interest in competing in 2024. However, 2022 remains his most recent Indianapolis 500 start.

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.

In 2021 it was quietly announced Hildebrand would compete in the Open Wheel Class, driving an 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.

Hildebrand ran the 2025 Hill Climb in his own 1998 Kyle Petty Hot Wheels NASCAR Pontiac Grand Prix. The car was a crowd favorite.

Personal life In 2006, Hildebrand graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur, California as a National Merit Scholar. 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 (UCLA), Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). MIT granted a three-year deferral, but he eventually allowed it to lapse as he continued to pursue his racing career.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results (key)

USF2000 National Championship Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 2006 Cape Motorsports ATL1 ATL2 MOH1 MOH2 PIR1 PIR2 CLE1 CLE2 TOR1 TOR2 MOH3 MOH4 ROA1 ROA2 1st 361

Atlantic Championship

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Rank Points Ref 2010 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 24 Dallara IR-05 Honda SAO STP ALA LBH KAN INDY TXS IOW WGL TOR EDMMOHSNM CHI KTY MOT HMS 35th 26 2011 Panther Racing 4 STPALALBHSAOINDYTXSTXSMILIOWTOREDMMOHNHMSNMBALMOTKTYLVS1 14th 296 2012 Dallara DW12 ChevroletSTPALALBHSAOINDYDETTXSMILIOWTOREDMMOHSNMBALFON 11th 294 2013 STP ALA LBH SAO INDY DET DET TXS MIL IOW POC TOR TOR MOH 25th 112 Barracuda Racing 98 Honda SNM BAL HOU HOU FON 2014 Ed Carpenter Racing 21 Chevrolet STP LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET TXS HOU HOU POC IOW TOR TOR MOH MIL SNM FON 26th 66 2015 CFH Racing 6 STP NLA LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET TXS TOR FON MIL IOW MOH POC SNM 31st 57 2016 Ed Carpenter Racing STP PHX LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET RDA IOW TOR MOH POC TXS WGL SNM 23rd 84 2017 21 STP LBH ALA PHX IMS INDY DET DET TEX ROA IOW TOR MOH POC GTW WGL SNM 15th 347 2018 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 66 STP PHX LBH ALA IMS INDY DET DET TXS RDA IOW TOR MOH POC GTW POR SNM 33rd 38 2019 48 STP COA ALA LBH IMS INDY DET DET TXS RDA TOR IOW MOH POC GTW POR LAG 33rd 20 2020 67 TXS IMS ROA ROA IOW IOW INDY GTW GTW MOH MOH IMS IMS STP 30th 28 2021 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 1 ALA STP TXS TXS IMS INDY DET DET ROA MOH NSH IMS GTW POR LAG LBH 33rd 30 2022 11 STP TXS LBH ALA IMS INDY DET ROA MOH TOR IOW IOW IMS NSH GTW POR LAG 30th 53 Season still in progress.

1 Race cancelled due to death of Dan Wheldon

Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums(non-win) Top 10s(non-podium) Indianapolis 500 wins Championships85560031400 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 Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points 2010 Genoa Racing LMPC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet 6.2L V8 SEBovr:25cls:2 LNBovr:7cls:3 MON UTA LIM MID AME MOS PET 17th 36

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

American rallycross racing results

Complete Americas Rallycross results (key)

Year Entrant Car No. Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ARX2 Points 2019 MOH GAT TRR COTA MOH Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Olsbergs MSE 48 J. R. Hildebrand 4 4 3 4 9th 79

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 2021 NTE Sport GTD Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi 5.2 L V10 DAY SEB MOH DET WGL WGL LIM ELK LGA LBH VIR PET 42nd 394