Tag: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Not So Quick Toronto Thoughts

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Toronto was arguably the most entertaining race since the Indianapolis 500. We had a driver out front all day while chaos reigned behind him. Neither numerous cautions nr a late red flag deterred Herta from a long overdue victory.

Total dominance by a driver and his team. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood were the class of the field at Toronto today. While Herta won, Kirkwood did an equally fine job running interference for his teammate.

We have seen drivers lead several sessions during a race weekend, but they did not win the race. I don’t recall a driver leading every session plus winning the pole and the race. What dominance by Colton Herta and Andretti Global.

Herta ended his 41 race winless streak. He has been so close all year. Today the breaks fell his way.

Herta has won two of the last three poles.

Why Palou Won’t be Caught for the Title

The opportunity for Alex Palou’s three closest pursuers was ripe for the taking. Palou started 18th due to a questionable qualifying penalty. Will Power started ninth, Scott Dixon rolled off 15th, and Pato O’Ward lined up 14th. All looked to make big gains on the points leader.

We have seen this movie before. Power had the best opportunity to slice into Palou’s lead, but a penalty for avoidable contact on lap 81 dropped him to 12th.

Palou finished fourth and increased his lead to 49 points. Days like this strengthen my belief that Palou will win the title, but it will be close and may come down the final pit stop at Nashville.

Bad Day for Team Penske

In addition to Power’s troubles, Josef Newgarden started seventh and had worked his way up to third. An issue on his second stop put him deep in the field. Newgarden had worked back into the top 10, but overshoot a corner. He rejoined the race, but could only get back to 11th.

Scott Mclaughlin had the fastest Chevy all weekend, and he aqppeared to be the one car that could challenge Herta. Going side by side with Will power on lap 77, Power moved into his teammate, putting the New Zealander into the wall.

Safety

For the second week in a row, praise must go to the aeroscreen and the AMR Safety Crew.

Santino Ferrucci got airborne and into the fence, and he landed upside down like his teammate Sting Ray Robb did at Iowa. Ferrucci was unhurt. Nolan Siegel also got airborne but landed on all fours.

The safety fencing held up during Ferrucci;’s contact. It bent but flexed right back into position.

Notes

Recognition needs to go to Theo Pourchaire and Toby Sowery. Pourchaire started 26th after flying from France yesterday and driving on a track he had never seen. He finished 14th.

Sowery drove in just his second Indycar race. He started 21st, avoided the carnage, and finished 15th.

Rinus VeeKay has three consecutive top 10s. he was eighth today, fifth in race 1 at Iowa, and ninth race 2.

Juncos Hollinger racing has improved their qualifying results and are starting to show some good race results. Bothe Romain Grosjean and Agustin Canapino made the second round in qualifying. Grosjean finished ninth today.

Indycar is on an NBC imposed break for the Olympics. Then series returns August 16 and 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Herta Stays Ahead of the Pack

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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.

Results

Herta Takes Toronto Pole as Andretti Sweeps Front Row

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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.

Strange Brew

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.

Results

Herta Leads Practice; Rossi out for the Weekend

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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.”

Notes

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.

Results

The next practice is at 10 am Eastern tomorrow on Peacock, with qualifying at 2:45 pm.

Toronto Preview

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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.