By INDYCAR
TORONTO – Michael Andretti’s raised right arm said it all following the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, and the team owner could have raised two.
One for Colton Herta, another for Kyle Kirkwood.
The two drivers gave Andretti Global a win for the first time since last year’s rebranding and its first 1-2 finish in a race since Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean delivered in 2023 at Long Beach.
SEE: Results
Herta ended a 40-race winless drought by scoring his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in 799 days, and an Andretti car won this event for the ninth time. Andretti won seven times as a driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay went to victory lane for Andretti’s team in 2012.
“We needed this so bad,” Andretti said after the race. “We’ve been competitive all year but we just haven’t been able to get the final result.
“It was a big day.”
Herta effectively led from start to finish, relinquishing the lead only twice to pit. Officially, he paced 81 of the 85 laps, with Kirkwood following him throughout, including on the stops.
For the weekend, Herta had the fastest lap in all three practices, won the NTT P1 Award and then he won the race, a feat that is mind-boggling if not unprecedented. It’s believed no driver in the sport’s history has so dominated an event weekend. Herta now has eight career wins.
“We’ve been knocking on the door to win for so long,” Herta said. “Forty-one starts without a win is a long time, and it’s been disappointing for us. I think we’re a team – Michael is the owner — that demands perfection … (I’m) so happy. The Gainbridge Honda was so fast.”
The separation between Herta and Kirkwood at the finish line was .3469 of a second, but the driver of the No. 27 AutoNation Honda said he was less concerned with passing Herta than keeping third-place Scott Dixon at bay.
“Putting us at risk was just not the move today,” Kirkwood said of the team’s approach. “I played a little bit more defense as you probably noticed over the (late) restarts. Super happy with second place. (Finishing 1-2) was the goal today.”
Kirkwood said Herta earning the pole on Saturday made him “deserving” of the race win.
Dixon finished third to tie Mario Andretti for the most top-three finishes in series history. Each has 141.
Behind those three was something of a mess, including stoppage for a multi-car accident in Turn 1 on Lap 73.
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