IndyCar News: Herta wins pole for Toronto IndyCar race
Defending Toronto IndyCar winner Colton Herta turned a lap of 59.8320s in his #26 Andretti Global Honda to win the pole for the Ontario Honda dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. This is the American’s third pole in four years at this track.
“I am feeling pretty good about the race tomorrow. I think we were extremely competitive on blacks. I felt like if we put on blacks, I could have been close to my red tire time. We’re fast on reds, but I feel we’re even more competitive on blacks.”
“It was a stressful qualifying, though. Really close to being knocked out in the first round. We had to make some adjustments on pit lane that worked beautifully and got us back into contention.”
” I think the tires for the race will depend on how long you can run the alternatives for. That’s a big question mark. Is it going to be four laps? Is it going to be 20 laps? It’s really not sure yet. It will be more of an answer after warm-up to what the race is really going to look like tomorrow.”
“I think we have the ability to be fast on both. But I’m glad it’s the harder compound tire race because I think we’re really strong on those.”
Runaway IndyCar points leader Alex Palou was 2nd fastest, 0.28s behind Herta.
“I am super happy. It was a very good day for us. I think this is the first time we’ve been in the top 10 here. Starting tomorrow, hopefully it’s going to be a little bit easier, a little bit less chaotic, especially the first stint.”
“Yeah, I mean, Colton and Kyle, they’ve been like on another league this weekend. To be second and to be a bit closer than what we started this morning or in P1 or anything, it’s really good.”
Autoracing1 asked how the Spaniard felt about this tires for the race.
“Yeah, the alternates are a bit faster. Well, we will see, but I think it’s going to be tough to make them last for a full stint. They are faster and you feel like a super hero for those five to maybe 10 laps. They kind of like give up. I think for tomorrow, obviously it’s going to be tough.”
“I think on primaries, they last for a full stint. It’s about 30, 35 laps. The only issue is that the last 10 or the last eight, they are not easy.”
“I think it’s going to be interesting tomorrow on strategy, if somebody can make it on one stop less or they can make the tires last a bit longer than anyone else.”
“I think it’s going to be more of a tire race than a fuel race. Obviously fuel always comes into play. I think the biggest difference will be the tires.”
Marcus Armstrong will roll off third on Sunday in his Meyer Shank Racing Honda, featuring a red and white Canadian-themed livery, 0.52 seconds behind the Andretti polesitter.
“It was a good day in the office. The lap felt pretty average, if I’m being brutally honest, so that tomorrow could be even better. The race tomorrow is going to be a completely different story compared to qualifying.”
“In Iowa, I manifested being on the podium before the race, and that’s what happened. So see you on the podium after the race.”
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Honda-powered cars will start 1-2-3.
Will Power was the fastest Chevy, 0.62 seconds behind Herta, and the 4th fastest in his #12 Penske Chevy.
Graham Rahal rounded out the top 5 in his RLL Honda, 1.03s behind.
Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Ganassi Racing entry, has won on the streets of Toronto four times. This weekend, Dixon will have a grid penalty for changing to a fifth engine after the Iowa race. The Kiwi made the Firestone Fast 12 but received a penalty for losing his fastest lap after causing a yellow and impeding another competitor.
Dixon will start 17th tomorrow.