Category: Auto Racing

Toronto Preview

thepitwindow

The final street course of the 2024 season will be the third type of track to test the hybrid system. As expected, there have been issues with the system, and I hope in the final six races of the year the problems can be ironed out. The championship race has tightened up, with four drivers separated by just 57 points. Alex Palou still leads, but 2024 will not be the runaway that last year was for him.

Exhibition Place is a very nice venue for an Indycar event. The race into the first turn with the Princes gate looming is one the more recognizable features of the track. The long high-speed backstretch on lake Shore Drive ends with a slow right-hand turn into turn 3.

Auditions

Several drivers will be using Toronto as an audition for a ride next season. Toby Sowery and Hunter McElrea, in the Dale Coyne cars, have a chance to demonstrate their skills. David Malukas does not have the Meyer Shank ride set for 2025 and needs good results the rest of the way.

Alexander Rossi and Rinus VeeKay also need to solidify a spot on next year’s grid. I am least worried about Rossi. Christian Rasmussen and Linus Lundqvist may also need some good finishes to secure a future spot.

Palou Still the Title Favorite

While Palou lost 13 points of his lead lat weekend at Iowa, he still has the advantage in the points race. Will Power, Pato O’Ward, and Scott Dixon have been busy swapping second place, and until one of them put some distance between themselves and the third place driver, Palou’s lead is safe.

While Palou still seeks his first oval win, he really just needs to get on the podium at the ovals and perform well this weekend and at Portland. He won Portland in 2023. I think he will win one of the four oval races left on the schedule.

Better Racing?

Fans hoping for better racing this weekend will probably be disappointed. Toronto traditionally does not have much passing, and that problem is compounded by the seeming inability of the cars to pass with the added weight of the ERS.

Solving the issue will be a collaborative effort with the series, drivers, Firestone, Dallara, and both OEMs working together to find an answer.

Who will win? I’m looking for Scott Dixon to win and retake second in the standings. Palou will finish in the top four, minimizing Dixon’s gain.

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto Fast Facts

thepitwindow

From Indycar

  Race weekend: Friday, July 19-Sunday, July 21
Track: Streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place, an 11-turn, 1.786-mile (2.874-kilometer) temporary street course
Race distance: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto: 85 laps/151.81 miles/244.29 kilometers
Push to Pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 305 kilojoules (kJ) per lap.
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
X: @HondaIndy, @IndyCar, #indyTO, #IndyCar
Instagram: @HondaIndy, @INDYCAR, #indyTO, #INDYCAR
Threads: @INDYCAR
Facebook: @HondaIndyToronto, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR
Event website: www.HondaIndy.com
INDYCAR website: www.INDYCAR.com
2023 race winner: Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda)
2023 NTT P1 Award winner: Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda), 1 minute, 4.1567 seconds, 100.217 mph
Qualifying record: Gil de Ferran, 57.143 seconds, 110.565 mph, July 17, 1999 (Note: Josef Newgarden set a qualifying mark of 58.4129 seconds, 110.072 mph, for the current layout in 2019.)
Race telecast: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, 1 p.m. ET Sunday, July 21, TSN4 (Canada)/Peacock (USA) (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for Peacock’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dillon Welch and Charlie Kimball are the pit reporters.
Peacock live streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada. The race telecast of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will be streamed exclusively on Peacock in the United States.
I
NDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Alex Wollf are the turn announcers. Joel Sebastianelli, Drake York and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race (1 p.m. ET Sunday), NTT P1 Award Qualifying (2:50 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times local):
Friday, July 19
3-4:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (45 minutes for all cars, followed by two groups for 10 minutes each), Peacock/TSN+
Saturday, July 20
10:30-11:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag running or 60 minutes), Peacock/TSN+
2:45-4:15 p.m. – Qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock/TSN+
Sunday, July 21
10-10:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock/TSN+
1 p.m. – Peacock/TSN4 on air
1:23 p.m. – Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto “Drivers, start your engines”
1:30 p.m. – Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto (85 laps, 151.81 miles), Peacock/TSN4/TSN+ (Live).

Race notes: The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will be the 12th race of the 2024 season. There have been six different winners in 11 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Pato O’Ward (Streets of St. Petersburg and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Scott Dixon (Streets of Long Beach and Streets of Detroit), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park and Iowa Speedway-1), Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca), Will Power (Road America and Iowa Speedway-2) and Josef Newgarden (Indianapolis 500) have all won in 2024.
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will be the 38th INDYCAR SERIES race held on the streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place. Christian Lundgaard earned his first INDYCAR SERIES win in 2023 on the streets of Toronto.
Scott Dixon is the winningest active INDYCAR SERIES driver at Toronto with four victories (Dixon won both races in 2013, the 2018 race and the 2022 race). Michael Andretti has the most wins at the track with seven. Dixon, three-time Toronto winner Will Power (2007, 2010, 2016), Josef Newgarden (2015, 2017) and Christian Lundgaard (2023) are previous race winners entered this year.
ACTIVE RACE WINNER WINS SEASONS
Scott Dixon 4 2013 Race #1, 2013 Race #2, 2018, 2022
Will Power 3 2007, 2010, 2016
Josef Newgarden 2 2015, 2017
Christian Lundgaard 1 2023

Drivers who have won poles at Toronto entered in this year’s race are Will Power (2011, 2015), Scott Dixon (2013 Race 2, 2016), Josef Newgarden (2018), Colton Herta (2022) and Christian Lundgaard (2023). The polesitter has won the race eight times since the first race in 1986, most recently by Lundgaard last season.

ACTIVE POLE WINNER POLES SEASONS
Will Power 2 2011, 2015
Scott Dixon 2 2013 Race #2, 2016
Josef Newgarden 1 2018
Colton Herta 1 2022
Christian Lundgaard 1 2023

From 2009-19, the eventual NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion won the Toronto race six times. Dario Franchitti won in 2009 and in 2011. Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2012, Scott Dixon swept both races in 2013 and won the single race in 2018, and Josef Newgarden won in 2017. Seven other drivers have claimed the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season they won at Toronto: Bobby Rahal (1986), Al Unser Jr. (1990), Michael Andretti (1991), Alex Zanardi (1998), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Paul Tracy (2003) and Sebastien Bourdais (2004).
Twenty drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Exhibition Place. Scott Dixon and Will Power (17) have made the most starts at Toronto among the entered drivers. Eleven entered drivers have led laps at the track (Dixon 242, Power 162, Josef Newgarden 120, Christian Lundgaard 54, Graham Rahal 29, Scott McLaughlin 28, Rinus VeeKay 18, Colton Herta 17, Pato O’Ward 3, Marcus Ericsson 1 and Felix Rosenqvist 1)
.Chip Ganassi Racing has won eight times at Toronto: Michael Andretti (1994), Alex Zanardi (1998), Dario Franchitti (2009, 2011) and Scott Dixon (2013 both races, 2018, 2022).
Team Penske has five wins at the track: Paul Tracy (1993), Will Power (2010, 2016), Josef Newgarden (2017) and Simon Pagenaud (2019). Team Penske has 10 pole positions at the track: Danny Sullivan (1988, 1990), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Helio Castroneves (2000), Gil de Ferran (2001), Will Power (2011, 2015), Simon Pagenaud (2017, 2019) and Josef Newgarden (2018).
Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in six of his last 13 starts at Toronto and has 11 consecutive top-10 finishes. He has 11 top-five finishes in his 17 Toronto races … Will Power has finished on the podium in five of his 17 Toronto starts.Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 334th consecutive start, extending his record streak. 
 

Coyne Tabs Hunter McElrea for Toronto; Sowery Gets A Second Look

thepitwindow

Dale Coyne Racing today named former Indy NXT driver Hunter McElrea as the driver of car `18 for this weekend’s Toronto Indycar race., and Toby Sowery returns to the 51 after his great outing at Mid-Ohio.

McElrea has been driving sportscars after huis Indy NXT career did not result in an Indycar ride. he tested for Coyne at Mid-Ohio earlier this summer.

Sowery drove to 13th place at Mid-Ohio in his first Indycar drive.

Mcelrea is the ninth driver in a Coyne entry in 2024, a record. he is the 42nd driver to take part in a series race this season.

Nolan Siegel was originally slated for the Toronto ride, but he signed a multi year deal with Arrow McLaren last month. Jack harvey woiuld have been tghe logical choice toi step in, but he needs time to recover from the injury which caused him to miss Sunday’s race.

Practice for the Toronto race begins Friday afternoon. Sunday’s race is exclusively on Peacock.

Quick Thoughts- Iowa Race 2

thepitwindow

Photo by Kyle McInnes

Alex Palou summed it up.

“It was a boring race,” he told the media in the post race press conference. Scott McLaughlin echoed those thoughts.

Today’s race pretty much turned out the way I expected. I thought there might be another yellow or two.

This weekend at Iowa we saw two races without a single on track pass for the lead. Today it was an overcut pit stop by Will Power that got him to the front. With the lack of passing Power cruised to the victory.

Update-Sting Ray Robb is awake and alert after his horrific flip at the checkered flag. He was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

There is a consensus among the drivers that something must be done to improve this race. Power said a second lane “…would make this race amazing.”

He suggested a softer tire and a lighter car asn two possible solutions. he surface in turns also needs some attention.

Iowa used to be really fun track. I almost wish that they would bring back the bump in turn 2.

The last lap incident cost Kyle Kirkwood his top 10 streak.

Nice Recoveries

Colton Herta and Alex Palou bounced back from difficult Race 1 results. Palou crashed Saturday and finished 23rd.

Herta finished mid pack last night after getting caught out by a yellow just after he pitted.

Palou was 2nd today and Herta was 5th.

Good Weekends

Rinus VeeKay earned a top 10 in both races.

Pato O’Ward finished second and sixth. he moves to third int he standings, 52 points behind Palou. Power takes over second, just 35 points behind. The battle for second is helping Palou keep his lead.

Final Thought

I’m glad Indycar and Iowa have extended their agreement. If both parties want a race here, Indycar and the track have to work together to find a solution to get the racing back to where it was.

I love this track. the quick laps are incredible to watch, but I want to see good racing, which was in very short supply this weekend.

Indycar can’t control where NASCAR races, b ut if a track wants Indycar as well, a compromise needs to be reached so that both series can put on a great show.

I will have a final wrap-up tomorrow. Thanks for following along on what was a very quick trip.

Race Day 2- Deja Vu?

thepitwindow

Photo by Kyle McInnes

Good morning from Iowa Speedway as we get ready for a very early Race 2. Scott McLaughlin has to be the favorite. he has had the fastest car all weekend

Today’s schedule, including the all important concert times:.

9-9:05 am: All cars install lap
9:05-9:20 am: Special session for 18 car
10:41 am: Driver Intros
11:03 am: Invocation
11:04 am: Anthem
11:25 pm: Command
11:30 pm: Green Flag
2 pm: @KelseaBallerini Concert
3:45 pm: @PostMalone Concert

Conor Daly will replace Jjack Harvey in the 18. Harvey is suffering from neck and back pain. he drove in last night’s race but dropped out and to be helped out of the car.

Today’s revised lineup:

Yesterday’s race presented a strong case why t Iowa needs to be a true night race. The racing got so uch better once the sun went behind the grandstands. I have attended both day and night races here, and the night races are many times better. A start tie 30 minutes before sunset would be ideal.

In the media availability after the race last night, Pato O’Ward spoke out about how the repave has changed the track. “They ruined a good race,” he said.

I will be back after the race with a brief post with some thoughts, and I will have a weekend wrap-up tomorrow..

McLaughlin Takes Race 1- Some Thoughts

thepitwindow

Photo by Kyle McInnes

The racing was good- what there was of it. Six caution periods slowed the pace. No matter how slow the pace car leads the field around, cautions eat laps quickly on a 7/8 mile track.

Early on we saw a great duel between Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin. When McLaughlin beat Herta out of the pits, the race was pretty much over.

In the post race press conference, Pato O’Ward talked about how the repave hurt the racing. “You couldn’t get by anybody,” he said. The track seemed to get racier when the sun went behind the grandstands.

We don’t normally see this much attrition in an Indycar race. The half dozen cautions and the number of cars dropping out made the race a bit old school.

McLaughlin starts on pole tomorrow, and he has a great chance of sweeping the weekend. The driver may change, but the team remains the same.

McLaughlin says he can now call himself an Indycar driver since he’s won on an oval. “I’m proud to say I’ve won on all three types of courses, ” McLaughlin said.

O’Ward is now second in points, just 37 behind Alex Palou. Will Power and Scott Dixon are also within 50 points of Palou. The standings are refreshing to see after last year’s runaway by Palou.

Kyle Kirkwood notched another Top 10, as did Santino Ferrucci. Both have been consistent all season,. The logjam of drivers who usually get Top 5s is keeping them from moving up a bit.

I will have a pre race post early tomorrow morning. remember, the race begins at 12:30 pm Eastern

Herta, McLaughlin Take Iowa Poles

thepitwindow

Phot by Kyle McInnes

After a delayed and confusing qualifying session in which Jack Harvey both began and ended, Colton Herta won the pole for tonight’s race and Scott McLaughlin will loead the field to green tomorrow morning.

Hybrid issues apparently hindered Harvey’s run, and he was given another chance. I was traveling during qualifying and will need to watch the replay to see exactly what happened.

Will Power’s two year deiouble pole streak has ended. He will start fourth tonight and 23rd tomorrow.

Josef Newgarden’s string of wins is in jeopardy. the winner of three of the last four Iowa races starts14t5h Sunday and 22nd tonight.

Toniught’s lineup

. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 187.655 mph
2. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevy, 187.526
3. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 186.841
4. (12) Will Power, Chevy, 186.328
5. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 186.208
6. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevy, 186.074
7. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevy, 186.039
8. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevy, 185.405
9. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 185.337
10. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 185.271
11. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 185.196
12. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 184.810
13. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 184.659
14. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevy, 184.336
15. (66) David Malukas, Honda, 184.151
16. (6) Nolan Siegel, Chevy, 183.749
17. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevy, 183.632
18. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 183.623
19. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 183.556
20. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 183.504
21. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevy, 183.453
22. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevy, 182.763
23. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 181.521
24. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevy, 177.530
25. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevy, 176.838
26. (51) Katherine Legge, Honda, 176.225
27. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 175.

There are conflicting reports on whether Harvey will drive in the race tonight because of back pain. Conor Daly will fill in for him if he cannot go.

I will have a quick wrapu after the race.

McLaughlin Leads Iowa Practice

thepitwindow

photo by Kyle McInnes

About to board my flight. Yesterday saw a busy session. Marcus Ericsson hit tge wall. Katherine Legge spun d didn’t hit anything.

Saturday

Times Eastern Iowa is on Central time

2:15p: INDY NXT Race

3:45p: INDYCAR Qualifying Peacock, Indycar radio

5:15p: @lukecombs Concert

8p: INDYCAR Race 250 laps NBC, Peacock, Indycar Radio

Results