IndyCar: Title contender Hunter-Reay suffers setback in Toronto Race 1 (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

Ryan Hunter-Reay was seeking to get closer to the top of the Verizon IndyCar Series championship today, but was knocked out early in today’s Race 1 of the Honda Indy Toronto after an incident with Tony Kanaan.

On Lap 39 of 65, Hunter-Reay and Kanaan were racing for fifth position as they both went into Turn 3. On the outside, Hunter-Reay tried to go side-by-side through the corner but contacted Kanaan’s rear wheel guard, which then pitched him into the outside wall.

The No. 28 Andretti Autosport crew tried to make repairs to the car and get Hunter-Reay back in the race, but ran out of time.

Per IndyCar rules, teams are not allowed to push a car out of the paddock area with less than 10 laps remaining.

@RyanHunterReay sits patiently in his @DHLAmericas @IndyCar here @hondaindy after contact @PaddockInsider with TK pic.twitter.com/aqd5r3Kstf

— Tyler Watty Watson (@1_an_only_Watty) July 20, 2014

“I was next to T.K. through the corner, and then just kept coming left,” Hunter-Reay told NBCSN.

“I knew I was getting the squeeze job, but I thought he’d leave me a little bit of room there and we just ran out of real estate.”

With that, Hunter-Reay lost 32 critical championship points and fell back to fourth in the standings. He is now 64 points behind leader Helio Castroneves as the second Toronto race looms later today (coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra).

Hunter-Reay added that he was looking forward to the final stages of the race after some early struggles.

“We had some issues with the first set of tires there,” he explained. “We just overshot the pressures on them and it really fell off. We were running second, really happy with the car, and then just started struggling with it. But I got on new reds and I was really looking forward to that stint.”

Kanaan went on to finish third and claim his third podium of the season for Chip Ganassi Racing. After the race, he felt that he was in the clear regarding blame for his incident with Hunter-Reay.

“I think we’ve been coming here for many years, and we all know that only one car’s gonna fit through that turn,” he said of the deceptive Turn 3. “I was the car in front, so – whatever happens behind me, I have no idea.

“I felt a little bump and I look in my mirror, and he was gone. I kept my line and I move forward. Obviously, he doesn’t have the same opinion…But I’m not worried about it.”

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Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

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How to Watch Seattle Supercross
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SMX develops “Leader Lights”
Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points

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