Fingers crossed for a good race in the north.
This weekend is the last race for the NTT IndyCar Series before the four-week Olympic break starts, and what better race to reignite the on-track battles than the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
A historic race, dating back 1986, with a rich connection to the American open-wheel series, the 11-turn, 1.78-mile circuit has been a foundational connection to IndyCar fans in Canada.
It is the last street course in 2024 and is embedded with multiple storylines to follow, including the hybrid’s debut on this type of track, the championship battle heating up and a first-time winner looking to repeat.
Last Year
Christian Lundgaard won his first race in IndyCar at this event in 2023. His green No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda was the class of the field, winning from the pole. It wasn’t easy though, as he had to work his way through the field as a yellow set him back. The winning pass was even on eventual-champion Alex Palou.
At the start, a parking lot formed after multiple cars wrecked. That would be in-line with a lot of the first laps in the series this year, but some of that has cooled over the last few events.
Hybrids Part III
This will be the third race with the new hybrids. At Mid-Ohio and Iowa, the reviews have been mixed. No doubt the technology is cool, but it’s positive impact at the road course was minimal since most drivers were using it at the same time, and at the doubleheader it was one of several ingredients that turned the show into a parade.
Now the final discipline – a street course – will get a hybrid trial. As I’ve written and stated before, the technology is a positive for the series. But the implementation might have been rushed or second- and third-order effects unforeseen which has dried up the on-track racing product.
Toronto is a tight street circuit, as construction in and around the Exhibition Place has slowly eroded the original layout. The hybrid could benefit on a track where it’s hard to pass, helping drivers set up more overtakes, or be neutralized as everyone uses it at the same time and becomes more of a defensive tool versus offensive.
Olympic Break
When the…
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