Scott Dixon is one step closer to claiming the $100,000 SONAX Perfect Finish Award after winning the first race of the Honda Indy Toronto 2 in T.O. on Saturday, July 13.
Dixon, who started fifth in the 85-lap race on the tight 1.7-mile, 11-turn street circuit, overtook race leader Sebastien Bourdais on Lap 78 and held off the four-time CART champion on a Lap 84 single-file restart for the victory. It was Dixon's 31st victory, tying Bourdais, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy for seventh on the all-time Indy car list. Franchitti finished third in the race Saturday.
If Dixon sweeps the doubleheader weekend by winning Race No. 2 on Sunday in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, he'll earn the $100,000 SONAX Perfect Finish bonus. He will start the race from the pole.
Dixon won six days earlier on the wide and fast Pocono Raceway 2.5-mile tri-oval. His last back-to-back victories occurred in 2008 at Edmonton and Kentucky.
Bourdais was 1.7007 seconds back in Toronto in the No. 7 Dragon Racing Chevrolet for his best finish since rejoining Indy car racing in 2011.
Franchitti, who earned the Verizon P1 Award in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, was informed while standing on the podium that he was assessed a 25-second blocking penalty on the final lap that dropped him to 13th.
After the race, INDYCAR officials met with Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing team members to further review the blocking penalty issued on the final lap. The team presented car data showing steering trace and braking points from the Lap 85 incident with the No. 12 car driven by Will Power. The group also viewed additional video. Upon further review, INDYCAR reinstated Franchitti to his original third-place finishing position.
Helio Castroneves, the championship points front-runner entering the 12th event of the season, increased his lead from 23 points to 39 with a sixth-place finish in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. His closest pursuer, Ryan Hunter-Reay, finished 18th in the No. 1 DHL Chevrolet. Hunter-Reay encountered a string of problems, including stalling twice leaving his pit box and making contact with the Turn 3 tire barrier on Lap 79.
Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti finished fourth and Tony Kanaan was fifth.
The first standing start in IZOD IndyCar Series history was aborted when the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car driven by Josef Newgarden developed an engine sensor malfunction before all the cars were gridded, forcing the implementation of a rolling start. The 24 drivers will try a standing start again in Race 2. Dixon will be joined on the front row by Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Franchitti.
Also on July 13, Jack Hawksworth earned his second victory of the season, winning the Firestone Indy Lights' Toronto 100 from the pole.With bonus points attached for the pole and leading the most laps to the victory and championship points front-runner Carlos Munoz placing fourth, Hawksworth slid into title contention through eight of 12 rounds.
Peter Dempsey, the Firestone Freedom 100 winner in the No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing car, overtook the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car of Gabby Chaves on Lap 46 for second and finished 14.4 seconds back.
DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:
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VERIZON P1 AWARD QUALIFYING, RACE #2:
At 10:30 a.m., the ambient temperature was 76 degrees (24 C) with a relative humidity of 51 percent and winds from the south-southeast at 3 mph (5 km/h). Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 98 degrees (37 C), according to Firestone engineers.
Track record: Gil de Ferran, 57.143 (July 1999).
Pole lap, race #1: #10 Dario Franchitti, 59.6756
10:35 a.m. - GREEN. First group on track. #1 Hunter-Reay, #6 Saavedra only cars to start group on Firestone alternate "red" tires. Other 10 drivers start on Firestone primary "black" tires.
10:43 a.m. -- #1 Hunter-Reay quickest at 59.6723 on alternate tires.
10:44 a.m. -- #10 Franchitti quickest at 59.3512 on scuffed primary tires.
10:45 a.m. -- #10 Franchitti quickest at 59.1905 on scuffed primary tires.
10:47 a.m. - CHECKERED. Session ends for first group. #10 Franchitti quickest at 59.1905, earns one bonus point.
10:52 a.m. - GREEN. Second group on track. Eleven of 12 drivers start on Firestone primary "black" tires. No tire data available for #77 Pagenaud.
11:01 a.m. -- #9 Dixon quickest at 59.1751 on scuffed primary tires. Top overall lap of weekend.
11:02 a.m. - #12 Power hits wall exiting Turn 8, continues with banner stuck to side of car. Banner frees itself from Power's car and gets stuck under front wing of #7 Bourdais.
11:03 a.m. - RED. #16 Jakes hits tire wall in Turn 5 with nose of car. Jakes will lose two quickest laps during this session for causing red flag.
#9 Dixon improves quickest time to 58.9686 on final timed lap on scuffed primary tires. Quickest overall lap of event.
11:04 a.m. - CHECKERED. Session ends for second group. #9 Scott Dixon wins Verizon P1 Award for race #2 with top lap of 58.9686, earns one bonus point. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate #10 Dario Franchitti will start second, joining Dixon on front row, after top lap of 59.1905.
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VERIZON P1 AWARD WINNER'S QUICK QUOTE, RACE #2:
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "Yeah, I saw the first or second lap time, and I said, 'Wow, that's a lot quicker than I thought.' Yesterday was more my issue. I gave up a ton of time. It's nice to reward ourselves today with the pole." (Is it more important to start up front today because of standing start?): "It's kind of similar (for both races), I think. The first race is going to be a total unknown, anyway. We're excited for today's race."
VERIZON P1 AWARD QUALIFYING NOTES, RACE #2:
This is the first pole for Scott Dixon since June 2012 at Belle Isle.
Scott Dixon earned his 19th career Indy-car pole, tying Danny Sullivan for 12th on the all-time list.
This is the first 1-2 start for Chip Ganassi Racing teams in IZOD IndyCar Series competition since Dario Franchitti started first and Scott Dixon second in October 2010 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the season finale in 2010.
Helio Castroneves qualified third, his best qualifying performance this season on a road/street course. His previous best was fifth at St. Petersburg. Castroneves won the pole on the oval at Iowa but started 11th due to an unauthorized engine change.
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HONDA INDY TORONTO 2 IN T.O. RACE #2 QUALIFYING QUOTES:
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): "We made some big changes to the car last night, which improved our Hitachi Dallara/Chevrolet, and we also were able to complete a good lap today. Our Team Penske crew continues to do a great job for me. Looking through the top-five, Hunter-Reay is right there with us. Now we have to go out there and do this standing start and see what happens. Right now I am happy with the car and feel good about today's race."
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch Honda): "This morning's qualifying session we qualified the same spot as yesterday, so we'll start each leg of the doubleheader races from the eighth row. I'm much happier with the car; the crew did a great job of making it better overnight. The No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch car handled better this morning, and we had a lot more confidence in it. Everyone else seemed to take the same step, so it's still really competitive. We'll just focus on what we need to do in the race. This afternoon's standing start will be extremely interesting."
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "Race 2 is going to be a front-row lockout for us, with Dario and myself, so excited. I think we're excited after what happened yesterday, I messed up on a couple of the corners, which cost us, so I don't think we had the time for Dario yesterday. But they put in some work on the car last night, making a few adjustments, and it's definitely got the speed to drive today. It's been a little while since we've been on pole for a road/street course, I think probably Detroit last year, so definitely very happy about that and excited to go in today's race and tomorrow afternoon's race, as well."
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "It's a different rhythm when you're used to doing practice and then qualifying. To go straight to qualifying is interesting, and I'm not a morning person. On the black tires, I brushed the wall - I more than brushed the wall - in Turn 1, and the boys had to replace a toe link and it took them literally a minute and a half to replace the left-rear toe link. Put the red tires on and away we went. I was pushing as hard as I could, and it was a really good lap, actually. The more people run, the more rubber goes down, so we were expecting the second session to be quicker. We're very happy to have both Target cars on the front row, and Scott (Dixon) did a great job to get the pole."
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was a reasonable day cut short. Would've like to have done better than fifth, but very happy to be there in the top five and good for the Verizon Team Penske car. We'll do our absolute best for the next two races here."
JAMES JAKES (No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Honda): "The session was going OK. We didn't quite make the improvements that we wanted, but I still think we had a top-five car. I just made a mistake pushing a little bit too hard. We'll see what we can do starting in the back, which is a shame, but we will put a good strategy together and work our way forward."
HONDA INDY TORONTO 2 IN T.O. RACE #1 RACE RUNNING:
Race distance: 85 laps on 1.755-mile (2.824-km) course
Estimated fuel window: 30 laps
3:33 p.m.: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Dave Bolland gives command to start engines. All cars fired. #19 Wilson stalls on grid. Car refires, joins formation lap but must start from end of grid. Original grid spot for #19 Wilson will remain open on starting grid.
Lap 1: YELLOW. Standing start aborted due to stall on grid by #67 Newgarden. Cars will continue behind Safety Car for rolling restart. #67 Newgarden fired, continues. Team reports problem with anti-stall system.
Lap 2: #67 Newgarden stops in Turn 5. Rolling restart delayed.
Lap 4: GREEN. Rolling restart.
Lap 5: #10 Franchitti leads into Turn 1 on restart. #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by 1.2516 seconds.
Lap 6: Smoke trailing from #14 Sato on acceleration. #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by 1.3109 seconds.
This is the second race Dario Franchitti has led this season. He led 27 laps at Long Beach.
Lap 9: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by 1.3797 seconds.
Lap 10: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by 1.2965 seconds.
Lap 11: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by 1.2427 seconds.
Lap 12: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by .9872 of a second. Franchitti on alternate tires; Bourdais on primary tires.
Lap 14: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by .8467 of a second. #15 Rahal up to 14th after starting 18th.
Lap 15: Crew for #67 Newgarden reports electrical problem is fixed. Team pushing car back to pit road.
Lap 16: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by .6310 of a second.
Lap 17: #55 Vautier to pits, four tires (primary scuffed) and fuel.
Lap 18: #98 Tagliani to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 19: #77 Pagenaud to pits, four tires (primary), fuel, tire pressure adjustment.
Lap 20: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Bourdais by .5052 of a second.
Lap 21: #7 Bourdais, #12 Power dive under #10 Franchitti for lead and second, respectively, in Turn 5.
This is the second race Sebastien Bourdais has led this season. He led 13 laps at Sao Paulo.
Lap 22: #10 Franchitti falls to fourth behind #7 Bourdais, #12 Power, #9 Dixon.
Lap 23: #10 Franchitti to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 24: #15 Rahal to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 25: #5 Viso, #1 Hunter-Reay to pits, four tires (primary), fuel, front-wing adjustment. #1 Hunter-Reay stalled on exit from pits.
Lap 26: #9 Dixon, #11 Kanaan to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel. Slow stop for Kanaan due to slow fueling.
Lap 27: #77 Pagenaud into runoff in Turn 1, continues. #27 Hinchcliffe, #16 Jakes to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 28: #12 Power, #25 Andretti, #3 Castroneves, #4 Briscoe to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel. Front-wing adjustment for #4 Briscoe. #25 Andretti beat #3 Castroneves out of pits.
Lap 29: #67 Newgarden in garage for further repairs to electrical system.
Lap 30: #7 Bourdais to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel. #83 Kimball takes lead.
Lap 31: #19 Wilson to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 32: #12 Power dives under #7 Bourdais for second place in Turn 1. #83 Kimball to pits, four tires (alternate) and fuel. #12 Power takes lead.
Will Power has led in nine of the 12 races this season.
Lap 34: #15 Rahal to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 35: YELLOW. #15 Rahal, #55 Vautier make contact in Turn 4. Vautier's right-front tire hit left-rear of Rahal and spun Rahal into wall. #55 Vautier to pits for new front wing.
Lap 38: #14 Sato out of race due to broken header.
Lap 40: GREEN. Restart order: #12 Power, #7 Bourdais, #9 Dixon, #10 Franchitti, #1 Hunter-Reay.
Lap 41: #9 Dixon passes #7 Bourdais second in Turn 3. #55 Vautier issued drive-through penalty for avoidable contact on Lap 35.
Lap 43: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon by .5851 of a second.
Lap 44: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon by .6851 of a second.
Lap 45: Drivers on track with alternate tires after first pit stop -- #83 Kimball, #5 Viso, #6 Saavedra. All other drivers on primary tires.
Lap 46: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon by .5083 of a second.
Lap 48: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon by .6576 of a second.
Lap 49: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon by .7632. Pole sitter #10 Franchitti fourth, 4.3439 seconds behind leader.
Lap 50: Top 10 - #12 Power, #9 Dixon, #7 Bourdais, #10 Franchitti, #5 Viso, #11 Kanaan, #1 Hunter-Reay, #83 Kimball, #27 Hinchcliffe, #3 Castroneves.
Lap 51: #5 Viso runs wide, loses spot to #11 Kanaan.
Lap 52: #5 Viso, #98 Tagliani, #3 Castroneves to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 53: #67 Newgarden rejoins race after extensive repairs. #77 Pagenaud to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 54: #27 Hinchcliffe to pits, four tires (alternate) and fuel. #4 Briscoe to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 55: #16 Jakes to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 56: #83 Kimball, #1 Hunter-Reay to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel. Hunter-Reay stalls exiting pits due to possible clutch problem.
Lap 58: #10 Franchitti to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 59: #11 Kanaan to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel, #18 Conway to pits, four tires (alternate) and fuel.
Lap 61: #12 Power, #25 Andretti to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel. #9 Dixon takes lead.
Lap 62: #9 Dixon, #78 De Silvestro to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel. #7 Bourdais takes lead.
Lap 63: #9 Dixon exits pits just in front of #12 Power. #12 Power tries to pass #9 Dixon with inside move entering Turn 3, runs wide. Dixon drives past under Power to keep position.
#7 Bourdais to pits, four tires (alternate) and fuel. #9 Dixon keeps lead. #7 Bourdais exits pits in second, between leader #9 Dixon, #12 Power.
Lap 64: #7 Bourdais holds off attempt to pass for second by #12 Power in Turn 3. #20 Carpenter to pits, four tires (primary) and fuel.
Lap 65: YELLOW. Incident in Turn 5 involving #4 Briscoe, #6 Saavedra, #83 Kimball, #19 Wilson. #83 Kimball launches from curb inside turn, collects #6 Saavedra, with both cars hitting wall exiting Turn 5. #4 Briscoe slows to avoid that incident and is clipped by #19 Wilson, who continues. #4 Briscoe, #83 Kimball refired, continue to closed pit.
Lap 69: GREEN. Restart order: #9 Dixon, #7 Bourdais, #12 Power, #10 Franchitti, #11 Kanaan.
Lap 70: #7 Bourdais takes lead on restart, leads into Turn 1. #27 Hinchcliffe smoking due to wheel guard rubbing on right-rear tire. #7 Bourdais leads #9 Dixon by .5162 of a second.
#19 Wilson assessed drive-through penalty for avoidable contact in previous incident.
Lap 71: #83 Kimball in runoff area in Turn 8, continues.
Lap 73: #7 Bourdais leads #9 Dixon by .4208 of a second.
Lap 74: #7 Bourdais leads #9 Dixon by .3701 of a second.
Race Control has reviewed restart on Lap 69 and ruled it as proper.
Lap 75: #83 Kimball slows on course and drives into runoff in Turn 1 (Princes Gate).
Lap 76: #7 Bourdais leads #9 Dixon by .3109 of a second.
Lap 77: #7 Bourdais, #9 Dixon side by side entering Turn 3; Bourdais keeps lead. #7 Bourdais leads #9 Dixon by .3009 of a second.
Lap 78: #9 Dixon passes #7 Bourdais for lead on Lake Shore Boulevard between Turns 2 and 3. Dixon has one push-to-pass remaining; Bourdais has zero. #9 Dixon leads #7 Bourdais by .9360 of a second.
Lap 79: #1 Hunter-Reay noses into tires in Turn 3 when trying to dive under Andretti Autosport teammate #5 Viso for position. Damage to nose of Hunter-Reay's car, which is refired and continues. #9 Dixon leads #7 Bourdais by 1.8870 seconds. #1 Hunter-Reay to pits for new nose.
Lap 80: #9 Dixon leads #7 Bourdais by 2.4646 seconds.
Lap 82: YELLOW. #77 Pagenaud, #98 Tagliani touch exiting Turn 1 side by side, with Pagenaud on outside and Tagliani on inside. Tagliani stalls.
Lap 84: GREEN. Single-file restart for one full green lap to finish. Restart order: #9 Dixon, #7 Bourdais, #10 Franchitti, #12 Power, #25 Andretti. Push-to-pass: Dixon 1, Bourdais 0, Franchitti, 1.
Lap 85: #9 Dixon leads into Turn 1. #12 Power, #10 Franchitti touch battling for third entering Turn 3. #12 Power noses into tire barriers at exit of Turn 3.
CHECKERED. #9 Scott Dixon wins Honda Indy Toronto 2 in T.O. Race #1 by 1.7007 seconds over #7 Sebastien Bourdais. #10 Dario Franchitti third.
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HONDA INDY TORONTO 2 IN T.O. RACE #1 QUICK QUOTES:
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, winner): "First of all, I want to say thanks to everyone in Toronto. These doubleheaders are tough. We got through race one big. Just a crazy day." (On Lap 69 restart): "At the end there on that restart, they definitely jumped. We'll review what happened there later." (About winning pass of Sebastien Bourdais): "We tried a couple of times; he was good on the brakes into (Turn) 3. Eventually he ran out of overtakes. I got past him on the straight. The car was fantastic. This is what we need. We need to get this momentum going."
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 7 Dragon Racing Chevrolet): "We didn't have quite enough for Dixie. After everything we went through, it feels like a win. I want to thank these guys for sticking with me. It's been a rough ride so far, so hopefully we can turn it around." (About his throughts while leading late in the race): "What's going to happen? I was so stressed out."
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): (About last-lap contact with Will Power): "I was defending. It's always someone else's fault with Will. I went to the outside, and he went to the inside when there was only a half a car length."
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Me and Dario just don't like Turn 3. I feel bad for the Verizon crew."
Race Control update: #10 Dario Franchitti has been assessed a 25-second penalty for blocking #12 Will Power on the last lap. Franchitti will drop to 13th place. #25 Marco Andretti climbs to final podium position, in third place.
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HONDA INDY TORONTO 2 IN T.O. RACE #1 POST-RACE NOTES:
Scott Dixon earned his second victory of the season. He also won last Sunday, July 7 on the oval at Pocono.
Scott Dixon earned his 31st career Indy car victory, tying him for seventh on the all-time list with Sebastien Bourdais, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy.
This is Scott Dixon's first career victory at Toronto. His previous best here was second in 2011.
Scott Dixon won two consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series races for the first time since 2008, when he won at Edmonton (street circuit) and Kentucky (oval) in succession.
Scott Dixon is the first driver to win two consecutive races this season in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Ryan Hunter-Reay won three consecutive races last season at Milwaukee (June 16), Iowa (June 23) and Toronto (July 8).
Sebastien Bourdais finished second, the best IZOD IndyCar Series result for Dragon Racing since the team was formed in 2007. The team's previous best result was fourth by Bourdais in 2012 at Mid-Ohio and in 2010 by Raphael Matos at Sao Paulo and Watkins Glen.
This is Sebastien Bourdais' first podium finish since Mexico City in 2007.
Sebastien Bourdais earned his best finish since returning to Indy car racing in 2011 after competing in Formula One in 2008-09 and sports-car racing in 2009-10. Bourdais won four consecutive Champ Car World Series titles from 2004-07.
This is Sebastien Bourdais fifth top-five finish at Toronto. He also was in the top five in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
This is Sebastien Bourdais' best finish of the season. His previous best was 11th at St. Petersburg and Belle Isle 2.
Marco Andretti finished third, tying his season best. He also finished third at St. Petersburg and Sao Paulo.
Marco Andretti finished third, a career best at Toronto. His previous best was third in 2011.
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HONDA INDY TORONTO 2 IN T.O. RACE #1 POST-RACE QUOTES:
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch Honda): "I feel badly for the No. 83 NovoRapid FlexTouch team today. We had a really good car; we just got caught up in other people's wrecks. It's the first time we haven't seen the checkered flag all year, which is a pretty good run. The car was great and we have to make the most of it here, but we learned a lot. I think we can make the car better for tomorrow, and I think for tomorrow's race we have every chance of moving forward again."
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Hydroxycut KVRT-SH Racing Chevrolet): "An eventful race. Back and forth. Back and forth. We had a little bit of problem on the pit stop, and I got shuffled back on the restart. It's was a good race. Top-five is never bad."
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Hydroxycut KVRT-SH Racing Chevrolet)(cont.): "It was a tough race. We were running with the leaders, then had a slow first pit stop that shuffled us back a few places. We battled back. Then I got caught on the inside during a restart and lost a couple of spots. We kept fighting and came away with a top-five finish, so I have to be happy about that especially with this being a home race for my sponsor Hydroxycut."
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 98 Barracuda Racing Honda): "It was unfortunate because the Barracuda Racing team was running well, and we were fighting for a top-10 finish. I had a little dice with (Simon) Pagenaud in Turn 1. I didn't want to go on the outside, but he turned and brought me all the way to the inside wall. I didn't want to tap the wall, but he just hit my front tire and got me into a spin. It was one of those race incidents that would've been better to avoid. It cost us a top-10 in the race."
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Nuclear Entergy Areva KVRT Chevrolet): "It was a good recovery to where we were, starting way in the back. It was kind of a mess of a race; we stalled it in the pits once, and we were really struggling at the beginning of the race and still came out 10th. It was a big surprise, really, because I didn't think we would be even close to that. But toward the end, we were pretty quick, so that was good. The car started to get there, so we might only need to tweak it just a bit for tomorrow in order to be a little better right away. Because we're going to be starting closer to the front, it's even more important to have the Nuclear Clean Air Energy car dialed in from the start. We'll see tomorrow, but I think it should be fun."
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "It was a good race as we had good pace today. It was a bummer at the end. The Fuzzy's guys did a great job in the pits. We were in position for a top-nine today. Then on the restart with 15 to go, Hinch checked up in Turn 1, and I checked up, too, not to take him out. I didn't have anywhere to go. I was able to check up enough to clip his rear bumper. It also broke my right-front wing. Then our car just didn't turn like before. I was just hanging on since we lost the balance of the car. It's disappointing to only get 13th today. I think we could have easily been in the top-nine. I had the pace to be in the top-nine. There are things to be happy about because the pace was better and the performance was better than the finish shows. Man, it would be nice to get a result on one of the street circuits."
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 GoDaddy Chevrolet): "It was a dog fight out there today. This place is so tough, and this series is so competitive. To start 13th and pick up a couple spots to finish eighth in the GoDaddy car, I'm happy with that. We weren't the quickest car out there, by any means, but we fought through a couple that were thrown at us. We got hit on that second-to-last restart. The guys were great in the pits, the strategy was good, and the good news is we have another chance to try tomorrow, get the car a little better and see what we can do. Top 10. Thanks to the fans for all their support. It was awesome out there today. I'm upset we couldn't do the standing starts. I was looking forward to that, but maybe another day."
RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 1 DHL Chevrolet): "Not an ideal day. We had two stalls in the pit lane and then were making some moves, making our way up on track, and then racing with E.J. (Viso) there I just got held down in the marbles on the inside and collected all that stuff on my tires. I came down into (Turn) 3 and locked up the right side. A frustrating afternoon, but I hope we can regroup overnight and improve on the car. I didn't feel confident at all under braking today and had some issues with it. The four cars, we'll put our heads together and hopefully come out a better team tomorrow."
E.J. VISO (No. 5 Team Venezuela PDVSA Citgo Chevrolet): "Well, it was definitely a very tough race. I think we did a very good job in the first half of the race. We had a good strategy and very good pace. Unfortunately, we had a bad (pit) stop that put us behind a pack of cars that became very difficult to pass them and stay with the front pack, and it seemed we lost everything then. The very last part of the race, I had a very slight touch in Turn 1 with (Alex) Tagliani and bent the rear left wishbone. I needed to finish the race like that, losing a few positions to save the car for tomorrow."
JUSTIN WILSON (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "What a day! I stalled the car at the start of the race on the attempted standing start, and I was forced to start from the back. We raced our way back up through the field, and things were looking great. Then I came up behind the No. 83 car of Charlie Kimball and I went to pass him, and I didn't realize he was using the short cut in Turn 5. I was edging alongside of him, and then he started turning left. I never saw it coming since that isn't the racetrack. There was a car there, so I don't know why he would do that. We managed to recover, but then I was penalized a drive-through for that incident. That really hurt us. We worked our way back for a P10 finish, but it's a shame since we had a top-five car today. We will see what we can do tomorrow."
TRISTAN VAUTIER (No. 55 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "I think we could have had a good run today because the car was fast. I was making up several positions in the beginning, and we had a great strategy. Unfortunately I had contact with another driver when we were running side by side after Turn 3, and he just didn't give me enough room. I tried to back off but ended up getting driven right into the wall. It's a shame that it happened because we ran great lap times after that, but we were too far behind. The good news is that our VisitFlorida.com car is strong, and I'm hoping we can bring home a result tomorrow in Race 2 that shows that."
SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports Honda): "For the conditions that we are dealing with this weekend, ninth place is a good result. We have a good car, but we can't extract anything out of it because we're having so much trouble with the brakes. The team is doing a great job; we just need to overcome this issue. We'll take a look at it all again tonight and do everything in our power to come back stronger tomorrow. It's frustrating because I don't feel like I can attack on the track right now like I typically do. Ninth is great considering the situation, and I'm very happy that Honda got another victory. I'm hoping I can bring the HP car on top with them tomorrow."
MIKE CONWAY (No. 18 Sonny's Honda): "Tough race. We improved on things today, and think there are a few more things we can pick up in the warm-up tomorrow. I was happy with a P6 finish today, and the No. 18 Sonny's Bar-B-Q team did a great job today. We were able to salvage some points, which was a good thing today. It will be tough starting at the back of the field in Sunday's race, but I'm confident we can pull out another top-10 for Dale Coyne Racing."
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda): "We haven't had the smoothest weekend so far, but we've got another day and another race that we need to put full focus on. The good news after this is that we have a fast race car. We just weren't able to show that today. I think we are plenty capable of coming home at the end of the day tomorrow with great points and finishing on a high note, so that's what we are all focused on doing."
GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Midas/Big O Tires Honda): "Unfortunately I saw in my mirror that Newgarden had stalled, and I was thinking 'There goes that.' I was kind of excited about the start; I thought that it would be fun, but then again, I also wasn't all that disappointed. I know the fans will be, but to be honest, IndyCar racing isn't Formula One - it's not about the standing starts. And I'm not sure we need them. Tradition in this sport goes back 100 years. My start was good; I think I passed four guys. I got by Sato and a couple of others in the second lap and felt pretty strong initially. The tires went away from me early, and I struggled with the rears on the reds, and we pitted to get on the blacks, and unfortunately Vautier hit us as I was trying to pass Pagenaud. It was kind of a mess, and Pagenaud appeared to be struggling with the rears (tires), so I was trying to get by him and Vautier drove over his head, and I should have known it could happen. He couldn't have even had his (car) nose next to my rear pod, and the contact didn't leave a mark on the tires, which tells you something. (About learning today for tomorrow's race:) "The laps that you do today help. As dad said on the radio, this became a test session for us. Unfortunately with the issues that we had getting the car started, we lost a few laps and knew we were totally out of contention for anything but a top-20 at best. So you just try things like driver lines and I figured some stuff out, but we have some work to do before tomorrow."
JAMES JAKES (No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Honda): "I was ready to make a standing start, and it just didn't happen, which was a shame. I think the fans were looking forward to it, too. I got a shocking start, either way. Pagenaud nearly spun, and I got boxed in. I got blocked to the inside on the initial start and lost a few positions there. We tried to work our way up but struggled. The track temperature came up, and it really seemed to affect us. When it's cool, we're pretty quick, if not one of the quickest cars out there. It's a shame that we didn't get 10th place. I made a mistake on the restart after the last caution, and two cars got past me. I'm disappointed, but we'll move on and see what we can do tomorrow."
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "On the last lap, it was tight. There might have been a little move on Dario's part, but that's racing, and we sometimes come together in Turn 3. We will go for another win in our Verizon car tomorrow. It will be a little harder starting from fifth. We had a chance today, but we just didn't get it right. We will try again tomorrow."
TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): "It was a mechanical failure. I couldn't select the gears. It was stuck in second."
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Update from Dr. Michael Olinger, INDYCAR medical director: Ryan Briscoe has been transported via car to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto for X-rays on his right wrist. A further update on his condition will be provided when available.
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Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Clarkson will serve as the grand marshal for the Honda Indy Toronto 2 in T.O. Race No. 2 Sunday. Clarkson will give the command to start engines.
Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri will serve as the honorary starter of the race Sunday.
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INDYCAR statement:
After the race, INDYCAR officials met with Dario Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing team members to further review the blocking penalty issued on the final lap of today's Honda Indy Toronto.
The team presented car data showing steering trace and braking points from the Lap 85 incident with the No. 12 car driven by Will Power. The group also viewed additional video.
Upon further review, INDYCAR has reinstated No. 10 Franchitti to his original third-place finishing position.
FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS QUALIFYING:
At 7:45 a.m., the ambient temperature was 72 degrees (22 C) with a relative humidity of 60 percent and winds from the southeast at 2 mph (3 km/h). Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 75 degrees (24 C), according to Firestone engineers.
Top lap, event: #77 Jack Hawksworth, 1:04.7627 (second practice, Friday)
7:45 a.m. - Start of session will be delayed due to track preparation.
7:47 a.m. - GREEN. Session will run full 45 minutes.
7:48 a.m. -- #77 Hawksworth makes contact with tire barrier in Turn 8, continues to pit lane.
7:50 a.m. - RED. #8 Karam hit wall in Turn 5. Karam climbs from car without assistance from Holmatro Safety Team.
7:57 a.m. - GREEN.
8:05 a.m. - RED. #12 Veach spins in Turn 1, hit in sidepod by #5 Dempsey. Both drivers climb from respective cars without assistance from Holmatro Safety Team.
Race Control update: #5 Dempsey, #12 Veach will lose their respective quickest times for creating a red-flag situation. Dempsey was second in the qualification order when the incident occurred.
8:22 a.m. - GREEN.
8:29 a.m. -- #26 Munoz takes top spot at 1:05.0169.
8:30 a.m. -- #77 Hawksworth takes top spot at 1:04.6578.
8:31 a.m. -- #77 Hawksworth improves upon top spot at 1:04.6332.
8:32 a.m. - CHECKERED. #77 Jack Hawksworth wins pole for Toronto 100 at 1:04.3994. His quickest lap came on his last lap of qualifying. #26 Carlos Munoz was second at 1:04.4363, also turned on his final lap of the session.
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