INDYCAR heads back to street course this weekend

After an ovals doubleheader last weekend, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads back to a street course this weekend with the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. It’s one of just two remaining non-oval races in the series.

 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) driver Linus Lundqvist, driving the No. 8 American Legion Honda featuring the Be the One message, is coming off one of his best finishes of the season. His 12th place in the Hy-Vee One Step 250 tied for his second-best showing in his rookie year with CGR.

Lundqvist led three laps of the race in pushing his Rookie of the Year lead to 31 points over teammate Kyffin Simpson.

And defending series champ Alex Palou, driving the No. 10 DHL Honda featuring American Legion branding, rallied from a 23rd-place finish last Saturday after hitting the wall to earn a P2 on Sunday, finishing just .39 seconds behind Will Power. Palou led a race-high 103 laps and heads into this weekend with a 35-point lead over Power in the points race.

The Indy Toronto’s tight 11-turn, 1.786-mile Exhibition Place street circuit offers great views of downtown Toronto and often leads to cars attempting to squeeze past each other in turns. Many times, only one car makes it out unscathed. The long frontstretch leading into the Princes' Gate at Turn 1 and the Lakeshore Boulevard straight leading into a hard 90-degree right-hander at Turn 3 are the best places for overtaking.

This weekend’s broadcast schedule:

·       Friday, July 19 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, 3-4:15 p.m.

·       Saturday, July 20 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2, 10:30-11:30 a.m.; NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifications, 2:45-4:15 p.m. (All Peacock).

·       Sunday, July 21 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, 10-10:30 a.m.; Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, 1-4 p.m. (both Peacock).

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto 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.

·       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.

·       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.

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