Petro Canada Lubricants sponsored Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) and James Hinchcliffe enjoyed a quiet, but solid run to 6^th at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama today.

Hinchcliffe qualified 6^th and looked set to challenge for a Top-5 finish before a slight off-track excursion on lap 70 relegated him to 8^th. The Canadian put on a great effort in the closing laps to finish the race in the same spot he started.

He continued to move up the grid as the race progressed and made it inside the top-10 before making his first pit stop. Supported by a fast and flawless pit crew, Hinchcliffe emerged in the mid-field and maintained position all the way to the chequered flag. The result means the Canadian driver finished 13th in the overall championship standings for 2016.

"I feel bad for the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports guys," Hinchcliffe noted. "The Arrow Electronics car was good enough for a podium, but I tried to go around the outside of Simon [Pagenaud] on the restart and lost a couple of spots. It’s just so hard to pass around here. A bit disappointed, the guys deserved a little more today. But I guess overall it’s a good thing when you’re disappointed with a sixth place finish."

SPM was able to further showcase its performance as a team by winning the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award on Friday afternoon.

Hinchcliffe now sits 5^th in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship standings, with Aleshin in 12^th.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports now has a quick turnaround to get ready for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix on April 29 at Phoenix International Raceway.

View the race recap video