IndyCar: Honda Indy Toronto Preview

Scott Dixon swept last year's doubleheader in Toronto

A Few Quick Facts

Exhibition Place will host the 28th Honda Indy Toronto this weekend. The 11-turn 1.755-mile temporary circuit has hosted 28 previous Indy car races, and for the second straight year will play host to a doubleheader race weekend.

Sixteen drivers have won races on the Streets of Toronto. Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti is the all-time leading winner at Toronto with an unprecedented seven victories. In total, Andretti finished on the podium 10 times in 17 starts.

The recently-retired Dario Franchitti has the most pole positions at Toronto with 5. Franchitti has also won three times.

Who in this year’s race runs well at Toronto?

Will Power celebrates his 2010 victory.

There are 5 past winners entered in this year's race. Scott Dixon won both races last year earning the $100,000 Sonax Perfect Finish Award. Team Penske’s Will Power won in 2007 and 2010. Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), Justin Wilson (2005), and Sebastien Bourdais (2004) have each won once in Toronto.

Wilson and Bourdais have each won pole twice; Dixon and Power once.
Also, many of those mentioned above have additional podium finishes in Toronto. Bourdais has one second and two third-place finishes. Hunter-Reay has one second and one third. Dixon has also finished second. Power and Wilson have each finished third one time.

Four other drivers in this year’s race have finished on the podium at the Toronto. Ryan Briscoe finished second to Franchitti in 2009. Helio Castroneves scored his only podium in 10 starts at Exhibition Place with a second place last year in Race 2. Charlie Kimball finished second to Hunter-Reay in 2012. Mike Conway followed Kimball home in third.

What about teams?

Chip Ganassi Racing and Newman/Haas are the winningest teams at Toronto with six apiece.

Life is good for James Hinchcliffe. He hopes to improve upon his hometown finishing record this weekend.

Is there anyone with a particularly unexceptional record at Toronto?

Sebastian Saavedra has a best finish of 15th in 3 Toronto starts. Josef Newgarden has a best finish of 11th also in three starts. As for Toronto native James Hinchcliffe? The Mayor has never finished better than 8th in his home race.

Also, rather interestingly, Team Penske has only two wins at Toronto.

How important is qualifying at Toronto?

Pretty important.

The only driver to have won from outside the top-8 at Toronto is Andretti, who won from 13th in 2001. Otherwise, 22 of the 28 winners have come from top-5 grid positions.

The rookies had quite a good weekend at the last street race.

What about the rookies?

If you remember, during our last visit to a street course in Houston, all four series rookies Mikhail Aleshin, Jack Hawksworth, Carlos Huertas and Carlos Munoz managed to score a podium finish. After what was a difficult weekend for the youngsters in Iowa, Toronto should be a welcome sight.
In particular, keep an eye on Hawksworth, who was downright electric both days at Houston

What are some of the other storylines coming into this weekend?

The first one is the series championship.

Last week in Iowa Hunter-Reay scored a breathtaking win, while Penske drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Castroneves, and Power all faltered in the late stages. The 2012 champion now sits a mere 32 points behind series leader Castroneves. Power is second, nine points behind the Brazilian? Can RHR parlay the momentum from Iowa into a late season dash for the title a la 2012? Or will one of the Penske drivers be able to exorcise the demons from years of championship disappointment.

The race in Toronto is often a battle of attrition. Rafael Matos finds the wall here in 2010.

Toronto should go a long way to determining this outcome.

Another story that will be intriguing to follow is the always treacherous turn 3 at Exhibition Place. The tight right-hander after the long blast down the backstretch is one of the best overtaking spots in the series. However, it has also ended in tears more than a handful of times. Surviving the perils of turn 3 will be crucial to whoever wins this weekend.

Any sleepers coming into the weekend?

If you’re willing to call Sebastien Bourdais a sleeper, I’ll go with Bourdais. The KVSH Racing driver had an exceptional car in Houston, boasts a phenomenal record in Toronto, and is due for some decent luck. Look for Bourdais to get his first podium of 2014.

Another driver to keep an eye on is Ryan Briscoe. The Aussie has not had finishes worthy of his performances for quite some time, and if he can keep his nose clean in Toronto, we might see a breakout weekend for Briscoe.

So, who is going to win this weekend?

Brian C. says we may see Simon Pagenaud in a very similar pose this weekend.

My first selection is someone yet to be mentioned: Simon Pagenaud.

The French ace seems to have a knack for avoiding trouble, and had the dominant car at the most recent doubleheader in Houston. These doubleheader street course weekends seem to suit Pagenaud well.

My other selection to win a race during the weekend is Power.

The moody Aussie always seems to be at his best when he is the one doing the chasing, rather than being chased. Power now finds himself behind teammate Castroneves, who doesn’t have the best record at Toronto.

So, look for Power and Pagenaud to each capture a win this weekend in Toronto.

Brian Carroccio is a columnist for AutoRacing1. He can be contacted at BrianC@AutoRacing1.com.