PureDWTS Season 23 Cast Rumors & Watchout: Another Racing Driver/James Hinchcliffe, Maybe?
One of the perks of being a lifelong resident of Indianapolis is that you usually have a pretty good ear to the ground when it comes to the goings-on down at the racetrack – I have at least 5 friends whose jobs are directly related to racing, and anything even remotely interesting that happens at the track usually makes it to the local news (even a dog getting loose on the track and delaying practice for 15 minutes…true story).
Occasionally, this connection pays off – as it did a couple weeks ago, when a friend who works very closely with the racing industry (I won’t give any more detail than that, lest I inadvertently get this friend in trouble) mentioned to me in passing that DWTS had been shopping around to cast another racing driver for season 23. Said friend mentioned that they were looking at Indycar, and the name that he/she kept hearing was James Hinchcliffe’s. Given that Hinch was spotted in the audience this past season (see below), I don’t think it’s entirely unbelievable that the show might be angling to cast him. Interestingly, James also favorited/responded to some interesting tweets asking if he would do the show – including one of mine:
For those who aren’t familiar with Indycar or are asking “So why would DWTS cast him?”, let me give you a crash course (no pun intended…ok, maybe a little) in Hinch: he’s Canadian, he’s basically the face of Indycar right now, he has a podcast, he has his own beer, he was on Family Feud recently, and the dude’s hilarious. Charisma for DAYS. Oh, he also almost died in a crash last year and has made a recovery that is nothing short of miraculous. And with Indycar experiencing a resurgence in popularity in the past year, while NASCAR continues to decline in viewership, and the with the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 making the news? He’s got relevance. So to recap: big personality? Check. Relevance? Check. Amazing backstory? Check. Even if this is the extent of his dance ability heading into the show, who the hell even cares? I’d probably laugh my ass off just listening to him read the phone book. 😛
Schedule-wise, it might be a bit of a challenge at first – the Indycar season doesn’t end until September 18 (in Sears Point, California…not too much of a trek from L.A.), so his partner might have to do some traveling with him prior to the start of the season and for the first week of the season; interestingly enough, the penultimate race of the Indycar season is on September 4 in Watkins Glen, New York…last year’s fall cast announcement was on September 2 on GMA, in NYC. See what I’m getting at here? 😉 For what it’s worth, the 2007 Indycar season didn’t end until September 9, and the season 5 cast announcement was on August 29…so Helio was in a similar position and had to rehearse with Julianne concurrently with the Indycar season. Ditto for the All-Star season – cast was announced on July 27, Indycar season didn’t end until September 15, season 15 premiered on September 24. So a bit of overlap between the seasons doesn’t necessarily negate the possibility of him doing the show. It’s also worth mentioning that Michael Waltrip had quite a bit of overlap with the NASCAR season when he did season 19.
If, for whatever reason, they opt not to cast Hinch (or he declines), there’s still some other casting possibilities within Indycar – you might remember that Tony Kanaan was a rumor a few years back, and nothing really came of it; he’s still very much an Indycar fan favorite, and recently appeared on both American Ninja Warrior and Family Feud. Also noteworthy? Alexander Rossi, the winner of the 100th running of the Indy 500 and the first rookie to win the Indy 500 since Helio won it back in 2001 – I could see the show running with that buzzworthy fact. Granted, I personally just don’t find either to be as interesting a casting as Hinch (though TK comes close), but they’re options nonetheless.
So what do you guys think? Do you think Hinch or another Indycar driver would be a good get for this season? Who would you like to see him paired with, if he is cast?
i can see james with either alison or lindsey
Good job and good eye, Court! I’d love for him to dance and so would hubby. I think Emma or Lindsay would make great partners for him.
Yippee!! James was delightful on Celebrity Family Feud along with Helio and his fellow drivers. Count me in!! And he’s single ladies.
I don’t he will last much longer though..the dude’s got ONLY 80.9k followers on twitter!! LOL..
Also, I hope TPTB manages to cast much popular celebs this season or else DWTS will be a goner with the rival show The Voice roping in MILEY freakin’ CYRUS & Alicia Keys as coaches for the new season!
TWITTER FOLLOWERS HAVE LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH SUCCESS ON DWTS. We’ve been through this MULTIPLE times.
And last I checked, DWTS was beating The Voice handily in ratings…so, yeah…
Reality Bites, I don’t think Amy Purdy (and I know there are others, but, I can’t remember right now) had many followers when she was asked to do DWTS and she made it to 2nd place. In other words, never underestimate fans who watch and vote off the internet.
And might I add. The verdict is still out on The Voice’s casting of the controversial Miley Cyrus. I can’t stand Miley Cyrus so I won’t be watching.
@Vogue..but Amy Purdy had Derek Hough.. & Derek’s starpower is crazy, we know that.. cast Derek with ANYONE..& that person will make the finals..
@Court..The Voice have always beaten DWTS in the 18-49 ratings..CHECK AGAIN ..So you’re wrong 🙂
You’re backpedaling, RealityBites. You inferred ratings – not ratings share. The Voice has beaten DWTS in share, I’ll give you that – but it’s still overall getting more viewers than The Voice, which is what matters in the end. To illustrate, the performance finale of The Voice last season had 10.26 million viewers; DWTS had 12.34 million. Quite a bit of difference there.
And as for your claim about Derek’s “star power” getting “ANYONE” to the finals – you don’t get to the finals based on who your pro is, you get to the finals by dancing well and getting votes. You keep moving the goal posts to fit your theories. Hell, Antonio Brown had the most Twitter followers of anyone going into last season, and he could only eke out 5th place…behind Nyle, Paige, & Ginger, who all had barely half the number of followers he had. TWITTER FOLLOWERS ARE NOT THE BE ALL, END ALL. But I think you probably know this, and are just trolling…based on your childish response to both Vogue & myself. You’ve been warned – it’s early in the season, but I’m not above starting to put people on comment moderation.
Jennifer Grey had 60k followers when she did DWTS. Kellie and Amy both had small followings.
Alek didn’t even have any twitter before joining DWTS and he still made it to 3rd place over Hayes…
EXACTLY, Geri – and Kim Kardashian had a TON of Twitter followers, but was the 3rd one eliminated on her season. Smart fans know that social media following is not the be-all, end-all on this show – I would say engagement is. And Hinch is known for really interacting with his fans individually – I think he’d win a lot of hearts on DWTS.
Thanks Miss Heidi and Geri!! So true about the 4 you mentioned. I don’t think Noah Galloway had that many followers either. There are others too I think, but, I hope with you and Court’s help, RB gets the picture.
I really enjoyed Helio and Michael Waltrip (I know he’s not Indy). If they have another driver with the enthusiasm, humor and work ethic of those two I’m all for it- even if they aren’t the best dancer.
I think he would be really good with either witney or Allison. Something tells me he would be a fun one.
Maybe I’m just protective of my Indycar babies, but I’ve gotta say “no” to both Allison and Witney as potential partners for James – the former because her choreo worries me, and the latter because I still think she’s got some maturing to do. Ideally, I think he’d mesh the best with Emma – his sense of humor skews more dry & British (his dad is from the UK), and I could see he & Emma just HOWLING with laughter in rehearsal. Lindsay would also be a good option, as she just seems to get better and better as the seasons wear on, and I think he’d be another unique partner for her after having Victor, Alek, & Wanya. Karina might also be good, but I wonder how many more seasons we’re actually going to see her on the show.
I could see him with Edyta, but having her on the show again is probably a long shot.
I don’t want to wish Allison on anyone, myself. She’s not had enough ballroom skill to teach/choreograph a beginner, and she rides/rode on the knowledge of a partner with ballroom experience, holding him back. I can’t believe that she would have improved her ballroom dance/choreographic skills over the summer, with a brand new baby, and I’d bet she hasn’t changed her frantic approach to every dance ….
Just want to point out that Allison doesn’t have the corner on the market of “frantic approach” – I noticed that a lot with Peta last season. Little light and shade, more hard hitting dances all the way through.
I think Hinch (that’s what he goes by) would be a perfect match with Lindsay. I just love her.
I feel like GMA will announce the pros after the olympics. I want to see edyta come back because i want to see her with a better partner but i dont think he will
i meant she
The cast is most likely going to be announced on August 30th, but that isn’t confirmed yet.
matthew, are you just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks? Stop.
There has also been contests like zendaya and cody simspon who have had millions of social media followers who didn’t win
*Contestants
Yes please! to Hinch. Seriously exciting rumor. I really hope it’s true.