James Hinchcliffe Says IndyCar Has Plan to Keep Pace with F1's Growth in U.S.

• The significant increase in attention to Formula 1 by U.S. fans could pose trouble for IndyCar and the continuing growth it has seen over

• It can be argued that there is more buzz about the three upcoming Formula 1 races in the U.S. this year than there is for any IndyCar race outside of the Indianapolis 500.

• Former IndyCar racer and current NBC TV personality James Hinchcliffe, "There's a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes right now that I think a lot of people have been wanting to see."

As excited as IndyCar fans are for the 17-race season to get started this weekend, James Hinchcliffe is also looking hard at the challenge Formula 1 is placing upon IndyCar.

Consider this. The F1 series, which is owned by U.S.-based Liberty Media, will have three races in the United States this season: Austin, Miami and the newest addition to the schedule, Las Vegas, in November. It can be argued that there is more buzz about the three upcoming F1 races in the U.S. this year than there is for any IndyCar race outside of the Indianapolis 500.

Is there a worry that F1 is cutting in on IndyCar's turf?

“Yeah, that's an interesting question,” said Hinchcliffe the former IndyCar racer now on the NBC TV broadcast team for IndyCar. “Certainly, you've got to give credit where credit is due and seeing the growth that from where F1 was domestically here five years ago (to the present time) is pretty impressive.