Colton Herta has just one more session to lead as he turned the quickest time in this morning’s 30 minute warmup session.
The tune-up was interrupted about halfway through when Toby Sowery spun and stalled facing the wrong way off of turn 10. Even if he had been able to restart the car on his own, it would have been difficult know when it would have been safe to move because he was in a blind spot.
Qualifying results for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto were obvious since Friday. Colton Herta had the fastest car, and his teammates weren’t far behind.
Herta won the pole for tomorrow’s race, and teammate Kyle Kirkwood will start next to him. Marcus Ericsson did not quite make the fast Six after suffering an engine issue on Friday,
Herta also won the pole for Race 1 in Iowa last week
“We just need to (do) the same,” Herta said of maintaining his advantage on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit. “This (car) has been a rocket ship all weekend (and) really has (been) the past few races. Luck hasn’t turned our way for a win yet, and I’m hoping it’s here tomorrow.”
Bad luck in races as plagued the 26 car all season, but tomorrow looks like Herta’s best chance for a win this season. The Andretti team is winless in 2024.
Scott McLaughlin is the only driver in the top five of the standings to advance to the Fast Six. Alex Palou starts 18th, Will Power starts ninth, Scott Dixon starts 15th, and Pato O’Ward starts 14th.
Palou had gone quick enough to advance, but he was penalized for impeding O’Ward. The two time series champion was trying to get around a slower car when O’Ward approached on a hot lap. I didn’t think Palou had anywhere else to go, but race control didn’t consult me on this one.
Thus, we have a starting field with some fast cars that will try to move though a talented field on a tight track. It should be a fun race.
Special shoutout– Theo Pourchaire, who travelled virtually since midnight Eastern time to get to Toronto to fill in for Alexander Rossi. His first laps on this track, which he had never seen, were qualifying laps. Pourchaire will start 26th, which was pretty much expected, but what an effort.
It’s more proof that race car drivers are wired differently from you and me.
Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood gave Andretti the top two spots in practice this morning at Toronto. Eight cars ran laps in the 60 second range.
Theo Pourchaire was en route to Toronto and is expected to be at the track for qualifying.
Colton Herta led the first practice for Ontario Honda dealers Indy Toronto. Indycar used the split format that debuted in St. Pete, a 45 minute practice for all cars followed by two 10 minute session, one each for half of the field.
During the main session, Will Power and Agustin Canapino spun and stalled but were able to refire their cars and kept going.
In group two of the mini rounds Alexander Rossi hit the re barrier hard on the right front. He was seen and released in the care center, but his right thumb is broken, and Rossi will not drive the rest of the weekend.
Linus Lundqvist plowed into the same barrier with about three minutes left in practice. Lundqvist is fine, but the car suffered significant damage. The session did not resume.
The fortunate thing for Rossi is that the next race is four weeks away thanks to NBC’s Olympic coverage. I will have some thoughts on that during the break.
“Overall, the car was really nice,” said Herta, who has a pair of top-three finishes on street circuits this season and won the pole for last month’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. “(It) feels like the same car that we brought last two years, which we’ve had podium results. And so hopefully that bodes well for us.”
Could this be the weekend Herta finally catches a break? It seems as if bad luck is a constant Andretti global crew member.
Marcus Ericsson had an engine issue during practice.
Track management did a great job cleaning up the backstretch after the flooding earlier in the week.
I like the battery icon on NBC’s telemetry much more than the green lightning bolt and red arrow. Maybe they could just show the battery icon all the time. It’s not like when the cars run out of battery they are done, like Formula E.
The next practice is at 10 am Eastern tomorrow on Peacock, with qualifying at 2:45 pm.
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.
Photo by Kyle McInnes
Colton Herta led practice 2
Photo by Kyle McInnes
Sounds like it was a rainy practice.
From earlier
Le Mans Journal- Day 2: Everyone’s Day in the Sun
Qualifying Groups
Photo by Kyle McInnes
Colton Herta had a day of personal redemption and led a Honda resurgence in winning the pole for the Grand Prix of Detroit. Defending race winner Alex Palou will start second. Four Hondas advanced to the Fast Six.
Herta was one of the favorites to win the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday, but he spun and hit the wall in turn 1. Herta finished 23rd.
” A complete 180 and just super happy for the team,” Herta said of his rebound from Indianapolis disappointment. “They worked their tails off in the Month of May. To come back with some redemption, it feels good.”
Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Scott McLaughlin make up the second row, the only Chevy representatives in the top six.
Scott Dixon and Kyle Kirkwood make up the third row. Kirkwood was on track for a top four spot until he slid into a runoff area and stalled the car, bringing out a red flag with 43 seconds left in the final round.
After a frustrating May followed by an electrical issue in the morning practice, Marcus Ericsson advanced to the second round of qualifying. He will start ninth.
Andretti Global has looked strong this weekend. The team will start first, sixth, and ninth.
Theo Pourchaire was fourth fastest in the morning practice, led his round one qualifying group, and just missed the Fast Six. He is the fastest Arrow McLaren qualifier. The rookie, who will drive the number 6 car for the rest of the season, looks great.
The race tomorrow is USA network. Coverage begins at noon and the green flag is at 12:45 PM Eastern.
Photo by Kyle McInnes
In one of Honda’s strongest sessions of the season, Colton Herta led Practice 2 in Detroit this morning, followed by teammate Kyle Kirkwood and Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou.
Herta turned a fast lap of 1:01.5726, which is faster than the 2023 pole speed set by Palou.
The 45 minutes featured lots of cars in runoff areas. Indycar had AMR Safety team members at the ready with starters preventing what would have been several red flags. The lone stoppage came with 75 seconds remaining when Theo Pourchaire went head on into the tire barrier in turn 9.
Traffic was an issue throughout the practice as drivers seemed unwilling to allow fellow competitors to get the gaps needed for a clean lap.
During the red flag, Kirkwood confronted Santino Ferrucci, who had tried to pass and made contact with Kirkwood on track. Ferrucci aliso had contact with Herta. Ferrucci shoved Kirkwood, who just walked away.
This is not the first on track issue the driver for A. J. Foyt Racing has had with other drivers on track. Ferrucci needs to learn to drive with respect and respect his fellow drivers..
Results
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 