Don't be surprised to see Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, who's in town to compete in this weekend's Honda Indy Toronto, racing in a stock car sometime in the near future.

Although he's committed to his open wheel Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) team, the 30-year-old from Oakville would like to get his feet wet on a road course in NASCAR's second tier Xfinity Series sooner rather than later.

"We hit the ground pretty hard in the last 18 months trying to make it happen," says Hinchcliffe, who has had contact with some NASCAR outfits but things haven't progressed to the point where there's any solid lead on a seat.

"I have always wanted to try it and a road course is the best way to ease into it. We want to do it right but it's not something I am looking at in anticipation of a career switch."

In addition, the Xfinity Series will visit the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course on Aug. 12, where Hinchcliffe has raced twice in Indy Lights and five times in IndyCar. As a bonus, he will have started his sixth IndyCar race there (the Mid-Ohio 200) two weeks before the Xfinity Series arrives at the track.

--- full article at the Toronto Star ---