BY NATASHA PINTO
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS BY MATTHEW JOSEPH
Traveling North of the border, the NTT IndyCar series made its way to the streets of Toronto for their annual season stop.
Defending race winner, Christian Lundgaard hoped to keep his winning streak going with Rahal Letterman Lanigan after securing his first race win last year at the event. He had a tough task ahead of him though, as some of racing’s biggest names, including Andretti Global, were up to the task on the Lakeshore.
The additional introduction of the hybrid system at the beginning of July also saw its first street course debut over the weekend.
Colton Herta went on to win the race, earning his first victory of the season.
In case you missed it, here is a rundown of this year’s busy Ontario Honda Dealers IndyCar race!
Qualifying Fast 6
Colton Herta
Kyle Kirkwood
Felix Rosenqvist
Scott McLaughlin
Romain Grosjean
David Malukas
Race Result Top 6
Colton Herta
Kyle Kirkwood
Scott Dixon
Alex Palou
Marcus Armstrong
David Malukas
Andretti 1-2
Having locked out the front row after qualifying, the Andretti Global cars of Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood finished first and second in the big race. Herta swept the weekend with the fastest times during practice, securing pole position and coming home with the win. This was Herta’s and Andretti Globals’ first win of the season.
Kirkwood battled Herta throughout the race and on several restarts but played it smarter in the end by defending those behind him to keep the team on the front row.
Arrow McLaren brings in Pouchaire
After Alexander Rossi injured his finger in an incident in practice 1, he was ruled out for the rest of the weekend, including the race on Sunday. Arrow McLaren called in Théo Pouchaire, who flew in overnight from France, making it just in time for the qualifying session. This was Pouchaire’s first race back after the team side-lined him in Laguna Seca after they signed Indy NXT driver, Nolan Sigel.
Pouchaire qualified 26th for the race after noting that this was his first time racing around the Streets of Toronto along with the new hybrid system set up. He finished 14th but a lap down at the end.
McElrea Makes IndyCar Debut
Dale Coyne Racing brought in Hunter McElrea to pilot the No. 18 Honda for the weekend, making him the fourth driver to race in that car this season. The New Zealander started 25th, just alongside Pouchaire, but could not finish the race once the rear suspension failed more than halfway through. The team has not noted if he will race again this season, however, he is known by many after his second-place finish during the 2023 Indy NXT season.
Ganassi goes 3-5
Veteran driver Scott Dixon kept his car out of trouble during the race and grabbed the last podium position for the team after starting in 15th. Championship leader, Alex Palou followed him in fourth, while Marcus Armstrong finished fifth. They started 18th and 13th, respectively, resulting in needed championship points on race day.
Despite not winning the race, Palou still keeps his lead in the series championship with 411 points and 53 ahead of his teammate, Dixon, who is in third.
Major crash with 13 laps to go
A massive crash involving several cars towards the end of the race brought out the red flag. Pato O’Ward spun out, tapping the wall as Marcus Ericsson was collected too after not being able to miss the spun car. A delay in displaying the yellow flag led to a frightening scene as drivers turned into a blind corner, hitting O’Ward’s front wing. Santino Ferrucci suffered the worst hit after going airborne and flipping upside down, but no one was injured. This incident also ended the races for Pietro Fittipaldi and Nolan Sigel.
After the summer break, the series heads to the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL, where drivers will turn left for 260 laps. Catch them back on track on August 16th and 17th.
Check out more of Matthew's social media coverage of the Honda Indy on our Instagram page: @intermissionsportsca
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