Times are Eastern. Laguna Seca is on Pacific Daylight Time
Fri-FS2
4-Indy NXT practice 1
5-INDYCAR practice 1
6:35-NXT practice 2
Sat
11:30–INDYCAR practice 2 FS1
1–NXT qualifying FS1
2:35-INDYCAR qualifying FS1
4:36–Indy NXT Race one 35 laps FS2
Sun
12-INDYCAR Warmup FS2
1:06–Indy NXT Race two 35 laps FS1
3-Prerace FOX
3:22- Green flag-INDYCAR Race 95 laps FOX
Thursday, July 24, Indiana Sprint begins with a program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time The event is an appearance points only race Indiana Sprint week officially begins Friday night at Putnamville and runs through August 2nd
The IMS schedule:
6:30 PM
Group qualifying, by Heat Race group
7:45 PM
8:00 PM
10 Laps
Top 3 Transfer
9:00 PM
12 Laps
Top 4 transfer
9:30 PM
15 Laps
Top 4 transfer
10:00 PM
35 Laps
The 40 car entry list has many veterans and some winners of the BC39 midget programs that runs at the IMS dirt oval
Pato O’Ward won the race by stopping. His Arrow McLaren team called him in to ditch the alternate tires on the early caution on lap 3. The strategy put him in position to take the lead on lap 57, then assume it again on lap 62 after everyone else cycled through their final stops. O’Ward dodged the colliding cars of David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist on lap 88. I thought he may have had slight contact with one of them.
O’Ward has won two of the last three races and has cut Alex Palou’s lead in the championship to 99 points with four races to go.
The 90 lap race was one of the best of the year. Three cautions in the first 30 laps scrambled pit strategies and made it a thinking man’s race, but in between the yellows, fans saw some excellent racing. There were many battles throughout the field. I don’t recall ever seeing Toronto as racy as it was today.
Rinus VeeKay returned to the podium for the first time in three years. He finished second after O’Ward won the pit stop battle. The result isvindication for VeeKay, who could not find a ride until just before the season began. It is also a win for Dale Coyne Racing. DCR cars usually hover near the Leaders’ Circle cut line, but VeeKay has the 18 solidly in 11th place. VeeKay has recorded seven top 10s and two top fives in 2025.
Kyfffin Simpson has come close, but today he finally earned the elusive podium. Simpson drove from 13th to third as he held off Colton Herta, who had fresher tires. Simpson has had a solid season. He is 14th in points in his sophomore campaign.
From the opener at St. Pete through the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar races were as uninteresting as I ever remember, There were few cautions, and they all occurred very early in the races. The racing was processional, and drama came only when there was a pit stop miscue.
At Detroit, someone finally remembered to turn on the IndyCar racing switch. The last seven races have been amazing. Timely and untimely cautions, incredible racing for position, and victories in doubt until the end have produced a great summer of action.
There are sadly just four races left for 2025, and let’s hope the trend continues.
While the network pulled out all the stops for the Indianapolis 500, I am finding their broadcasts a bit tedious. Today a they were once again in commercial when a major crash happened, important pit stops were missed, and not much mention was made of O’Ward’s near miss at the end.
Towards the end of the race there was a one lap break between commercials.
The last two weekends we have seen a tiny peek at a pit stop timer. I saw it once today. If you have it, use it consistently. I would rather the pit stop timer overused than the current overuse of onboard cameras. I wnt to see side by side racing, not the view from a cockpit.
Finally, a good result for Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson finished fifth, between teammates Herta and Kyle Kirkwood. The 2023 500 winner has had a tough year with disqualifications and unfortunate happenings on track.
Tam Penske’s dismal season continues. Scott McLaughlin left the pits with the left rear wheel not mounted properly and crashed in turn 3 on the out lap. It is the third time this season he has been the first car out of the race. Josef Newgarden once again got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he ended up underneath the car of Jacob Abel. Will Power finished 11th, but he had several incidents of contact throughout the day.
David Malukas salvaged a top 10 after a disastrous final pit stop and a collision with two laps to go. Malukas began to exit the pits before the right rear tire had been secured. He stopped and the crew pulled him back, but the time lost nearly ruined the day.
Kirkwood thought that he threw away the pole yesterday. Today he may have thrown away a win. Team strategy had him in a good spot to contend, but he was spun coming in for his last stop and had to fight his way back to sixth. While he regained third place in the standings Kirkwood is 173 points behind Palou.
Thanks for following along this weekend. One more race this month, then a short break.
I’m surprised at how many drivers are starting on the primary tire.
In the Warmup, Santino Ferrucci crashed heavily in turn 7 destroying the car’s left side suspension. He slid down the track top turn 8 where the right side made contact with the tire barrier.
Late word is that Ferrucci was seen by IndyCar medical but not cleared to drive. Will keep you posted as this story is updated.
Race broadcast begins at noon Eastern on Fox, with he green flag at 12:22 pm.
IndeyCar Radio coverage begins at 11:30 am Eastern.
Colton Herta took pole at Toronto for the second straight year and the third time in his career as Andretti Global completed an amazing qualifying record across all four street races for the IndyCar season.
The team has had a presence on the front row at every street course event. Herta started second at St. Pete, Kyle Kirkwood and Herta locked out the front row at Long Beach, Herta won pole at Detroit and starts first again tomorrow for the Ontario Honda dealers Toronto Indy.
Qualifying began as a battle between Kirkwood and Will Power for the pole as they traded the top spot in round 1. Herta, Marcus armstrong, and Alex Palou then became the main contenders as the fast 12 came to a close. In the Fast Six, Herta and Palou were left to slug it out as Kirkwood had a wild slide on his hot lap and Power could not improve on his first lap. Just 27 hu8ndredths of a second was the difference between Herta and Palou. The Fast Six had a separation of just seven tenths of a second.
Louis Foster is becoming a Fast Six and Fast 12 regular in the second half of the season.
Five different teams made the Fast Six, and eight different teams advanced to round 2.
Marcus Armstrong backed up his podium last Sunday at Iowa with a third place result in today’s qualifying.
Nolan Siegel qualified 13th, a respectable return after sitting out last Sunday’s race.
The cars of Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard will undergo engine changes this afternoon. Both new powerplants are approved, and no penalties will be assessed for the changes.
Scott Dixon will start 17th due to an engine penalty.
Qualifying at 2:30 Eastern on FS1.
Low grip and bumps were the main concerns for drivers in Practice 1 for the Ontario Honda Dealers Toronto Indy. Kyle Kirkwood led the practice session after Will Power led the way in the all car portion and his group. Nine drivers turned laps under 62 seconds.
It appears as if the race is trending toward running primary tires as the preferred rubber in what should be a three stop race.
| INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, July 18, 2025) – INDYCAR has announced a six-position starting grid penalty for the entry of No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing for an unapproved engine change following the Sunday, July 13 race at Iowa Speedway. The entry was in violation of:Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out. According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, which is the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto Sunday, July 20 on the Streets of Toronto. |
With five races remaining on the 2025 IndyCar schedule, Toronto begins the final third of the year. Alex Palou has virtually clinched the championship while second place is very much in play between Pato O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood, and Scott Dixon. Just 51 points separate the three drivers.
The 39th running of the race at Exhibition Place faces an uncertain future. The event renews annually, and with the calendar shifts coming in2026 and beyond, this tight track and this ever-changing venue may be a casualty. It would be a shame for IndyCar to lose this race and this city. I have only attended once, but it was one of the best times I have ever had at a race weekend.
The team most happy to come to Toronto is Andretti Global. They had a miserable two races at Iowa last weekend with three tire failures and each car crashing at least once.
But Andretti drivers Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood finished 1-2 at Toronto last year, and they have dominated the street courses in 2025. Kirkwood has won at Long Beach and Detroit. Both drivers have a street course pole this season as well.
I will give the nod to Herta as your winner again Sunday, but it very well could be Kirkwood.
In race 1 at Iowa, it appeared Team Penske might have regained some momentum, but that balloon quickly deflated in race 2. The team comes to a track where their last podium is a second place by Simon Pagenaud in 2018 and thei next best finish was in 2023 when Josef newgarden ended the race in fifth place.
Penske’s street course record this season shows a pole for McLaughlin at St. Pete, a podium for Newgarden at St. Pete, Fifth for Power and sixth for McLaughlin at Long Beach, and fourth for Power at Detroit. McLaughlin is the only Penske driver to make the Fast Six this season, adding a sixth place start at long Beach to his pole.
Nolan Siegel has been cleared by IndyCar Medical to drive this weekend. Siegel had to sit out last Sunday’s race at Iowa after suffering a mild concussion in Saturday’s race 1.
On Monday Arrow McLaren signed Linus Lundqvist as a reserve driver to cover situations like last weekend.
ECR will build a new race shop in Westfield.
Toronto is third of four straight IndyCar weekends., Next weekend’s race at Weather Tech raceway in Monterey will conclude a five races in four weeks stretch. A much deserved but too short one week break follows.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 