IndyCar Preview: Honda Indy Toronto

By Jul 12, 2018, 3:00 PM EDT
Photo: IndyCar
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The Verizon IndyCar Series makes its annual trek north of the border this weekend for the Honda Indy Toronto, the lone event outside of the United States on the IndyCar calendar. With only six events remaining in the 2018 season, the championship picture is very much at the forefront.

Last year, this race saw Josef Newgarden’s title push begin – his Toronto win was the first of three in a four race span, with second place finishes at Pocono Raceway and Sonoma Raceway also bolstering his late-season push. And with 53 points currently separating the top five, any one of them could make a big dent in the points chase.

Talking points ahead of the Honda Indy Toronto are below.

Dixon Looks to Rebound from Troublesome Day in Iowa

Scott Dixon languished in 12th at the end of the Iowa Corn Indy 300, his worst outing of the season. Photo: IndyCar

Iowa Speedway saw points leader Scott Dixon have his worst race of the year. Starting sixth, Dixon started going backward early and fell outside of the top 10 after the first round of pit stops. A combination of poor handling and a mistake on their final scheduled stop – his No. 9 PNC Bank Honda team mistakenly swapped the right front and left front tires – ultimately saw Dixon finish 12th, four laps off the lead.

Along with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, where he finished 11th, it’s Dixon’s only other finish outside of the top 10 – and his Long Beach result was down to falling victim to an untimely caution that hurt the team’s strategy. Rest assured, Iowa was the rare instance where Dixon and the Chip Ganassi Racing team were just off.

“I don’t think we really had the weekend we wanted to in Iowa after having a string of five or so podiums over the last six races,” Dixon said of the Iowa result. “We stayed with it as best we could, though, in the PNC Bank car and had a reasonable points day with some of the other top point contenders having issues in the race. So, it’s on to Toronto where we’ve had some success in the past. It’s a great city that I know we all love coming to, and I hope it’s a good show Sunday and a good performance for the No. 9 team.”

It would be a genuine surprise if Dixon struggled for a second weekend in a row. He is a previous Toronto winner – he swept both races in the 2013 Toronto double header – and the event provides a great opportunity for him to put Iowa to bed.

The Canadian Contingent

Toronto natives James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens look to wow the home crowd this weekend. Photo: IndyCar

This weekend will be a case of metaphorical “home cooking” for three IndyCar drivers, as Canada welcomes back homegrown sons James Hinchcliffe, Robert Wickens, and Zachary Claman De Melo.

Unsurprisingly, the lion’s share of the home crowd’s attention might be directed toward the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports duo of Hinchcliffe and Wickens. Hinch is the most recent IndyCar winner, having taken his sixth career win at Iowa Speedway, while Wickens has done everything but win in 2018, though he has come tantalizingly close on multiple occasions.

Hinchcliffe has back-to-back podiums at Toronto and has his sights set on his first back-to-back wins of his career. Wickens, meanwhile, looks to get the monkey off his back and take his first IndyCar win.

Wickens is particularly amped up to compete in Canada – it will be his first race on home soil since 2009, when he raced at what is now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the Atlantic Championship.

“I can’t express enough how excited I am to race the Lucas Oil car in front of my hometown in Toronto,” Wickens revealed. “The team is coming off a great result in Iowa with both cars in the top five and James’ win. It’s already been a crazy week here, and the rest of the week is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to get my helmet on and get on with practice because it’s a track I’ve always wanted to drive an Indy car on. It’s a bucket list item of mine to race as a professional driver in front of my hometown, so I’m really looking forward to checking that off the list.”

However, while Hinch and Wickens may get the most attention, don’t sleep on the third Canadian driver in the field. Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo, a native on Montreal, gets better with every IndyCar outing, and is a genuine dark horse entering the weekend. He finished second and third in the two Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires races last year, and he’s keen to make a strong showing in front of the Canadian crowd again and score his first IndyCar top 10.

Zachary Claman De Melo is looking for a career-best finish in front a home crowd in Toronto. Photo: IndyCar

“I’m extremely excited to go to Toronto. I have a lot of friends and family there that will be watching, so it’s a really special race for me,” Claman De Melo said of competing at Toronto. “I love the track and I think it should be a fun race. I got a double podium in Toronto last year in Indy Lights, so hopefully I can be strong there again and get a really good result for the team in front of my friends and family.”

Dixon’s Championship Rivals Aim to Gain Ground

As previously described, four drivers are within 53 points of Scott Dixon for the championship lead. Josef Newgarden (-33), Alexander Rossi (-41), Ryan Hunter-Reay (-52), and Will Power (-53) are all within range of Dixon, and recent street course history, both in Toronto and elsewhere, has been kind to all of them.

Newgarden is the defending Toronto winner, and currently leads the series in wins (with four). Rossi and Hunter-Reay are winners at prior street races this year (Rossi at Long Beach and Hunter-Reay in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit), and Hunter-Reay is a previous winner in Toronto (2012). Power, meanwhile, has won three times on the streets of Toronto (2007, 2010, and 2016).

In short, Toronto has historically been a strong event for everyone in the title chase, and Sunday’s race could be a titanic battle amongst the title contenders.

Misc.

  • Conor Daly returns to the Verizon IndyCar Series in what is currently a one-off effort with Harding Racing, standing in for Gabby Chaves. (Note: Harding has stated that they’re not looking to replace Chaves, but are rather evaluating options for a second full-time driver next year).
  • To date, Honda powered cars have won the four previous street races in 2018 (Sebastien Bourdais in St. Petersburg, Rossi in Long Beach, and Dixon and Hunter-Reay in Detroit). Honda nearly swept the street courses last year – Newgarden’s Toronto triumph spoiled that effort – and a Honda win on Sunday would complete the 2018 street course sweep.
  • Several cars sport new and/or different sponsor liveries this weekend. Sebastien Bourdais’ No. 18 Honda for Dalye Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan features Mouser Electronics and Molex. Charlie Kimball sports Novo Nordisk colors, departing from his now usual Tresiba livery, on his No. 23 Carlin Chevrolet. Marco Andretti sees Oberta Beef Jerky on his No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda. And Spencer Pigot sees Preferred Freezer Services return to his No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.

The Final Word…

From Iowa winner and two-time third place finisher at Toronto James Hinchcliffe:

“It’s been pretty nonstop since the win in Iowa, but the momentum we have is hopefully going to carry over into the race this weekend in Toronto. It’s always so special to be able to race in front of my hometown, and I’m really looking forward to sharing that with Robbie (Wickens). The support coming home is always so incredible. The Arrow Electronics crew have been working really hard all year, and after the win, we are all hungrier than ever.”

Here’s the IndyCar weekend schedule:

At-track schedule:

Friday, July 13
10:40 – 11:25 a.m. ET – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. ET – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)

Saturday, July 14
9:50 – 10:35 a.m. ET – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #3, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
1:55 p.m. – Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live); NBCSN (Same-day delay, 5:00 p.m. ET)

Sunday, July 15
11:40 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. ET – Verizon IndyCar Series warmup, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
3:00 p.m. ET – NBCSN on air
3:35 p.m. – Honda Indy Toronto (85 laps/151.81 miles), NBCSN (Live)

Here’s last year’s top 10:

1. Josef Newgarden
2. Alexander Rossi
3. James Hinchcliffe
4. Marco Andretti
5. Simon Pagenaud (pole)
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay
7. Max Chilton
8. Helio Castroneves
9. Graham Rahal
10. Scott Dixon

Here’s last year’s Firestone Fast Six:

1. Simon Pagenaud
2. Graham Rahal
3. Helio Castroneves
4. Will Power
5. Scott Dixon
6. James Hinchcliffe

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With throaty roar, NASCAR Next Gen Camaro is taking Le Mans by storm on global stage

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
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LE MANS, France — The V8 engine of the NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro has a distinct growl that cannot go unnoticed even among the most elite sports cars in the world at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

When the Hendrick Motorsports crew fired up the car inside Garage 56, NASCAR chairman Jim France broke into a huge grin and gave a thumbs up.

“The only guy who didn’t cover his ears,” laughed seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

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France has been waiting since 1962 – the year his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., brought him to his first 24 Hours of Le Mans – to hear the roar of a stock car at the most prestigious endurance race in the world.

A path finally opened when NASCAR developed its Next Gen car, which debuted last year. France worked out a deal to enter a car in a specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development. The effort would be part of NASCAR’s 75th celebration and it comes as Le Mans marks its 100th.

Once he had the approval, France persuaded Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear – NASCAR’s winningest team, manufacturer and tire supplier – to build a car capable of running the twice-around-the-clock race.

The race doesn’t start until Saturday, but NASCAR’s arrival has already been wildly embraced and France could not be more thrilled.

“Dad’s vision, to be able to follow it, it took awhile to follow it up, and my goal was to outdo what he accomplished,” France told The Associated Press. “I just hope we don’t fall on our ass.”

The car is in a class of its own and not racing anyone else in the 62-car field. But the lineup of 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button and Johnson has been fast enough; Rockenfeller put down a qualifying lap that was faster than every car in the GTE AM class by a full three seconds.

The Hendrick Motorsports crew won its class in the pit stop competition and finished fifth overall as the only team using a manual jack against teams exclusively using air jacks. Rick Hendrick said he could not be prouder of the showing his organization has made even before race day.

“When we said we’re gonna do it, I said, ‘Look, we can’t do this half-assed. I want to be as sharp as anybody out there,” Hendrick told AP. “I don’t want to be any less than any other team here. And just to see the reaction from the crowd, people are so excited about this car. My granddaughter has been sending me all these TikTok things that fans are making about NASCAR being at Le Mans.”

This isn’t NASCAR’s first attempt to run Le Mans. The late France Sr. brokered a deal in 1976, as America celebrated its bicentennial, to bring two cars to compete in the Grand International class and NASCAR selected the teams. Herschel McGriff and his son, Doug, drove a Wedge-powered, Olympia Beer-sponsored Dodge Charger, and Junie Donlavey piloted a Ford Torino shared by Richard Brooks and Dick Hutcherson.

Neither car came close to finishing the race. McGriff, now 95 and inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in January, is in Le Mans as France’s guest, clad head-to-toe in the noticeable Garage 56 uniforms.

“I threw a lot of hints that I would like to come. And I’ve been treated as royalty,” McGriff said. “This is unbelievable to me. I recognize nothing but I’m anxious to see everything. I’ve been watching and seeing pictures and I can certainly see the fans love their NASCAR.”

The goal is to finish the full race Sunday and, just maybe, beat cars from other classes. Should they pull off the feat, the driver trio wants its own podium celebration.

“I think people will talk about this car for a long, long time,” said Rockenfeller, who along with sports car driver Jordan Taylor did much of the development alongside crew chief Chad Knaus and Greg Ives, a former crew chief who stepped into a projects role at Hendrick this year.

“When we started with the Cup car, we felt already there was so much potential,” Rockenfeller said. “And then we tweaked it. And we go faster, and faster, at Le Mans on the SIM. But you never know until you hit the real track, and to be actually faster than the SIM. Everybody in the paddock, all the drivers, they come up and they are, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ and they were impressed by the pit stops. We’ve overachieved, almost, and now of course the goal is to run for 24 hours.”

The car completed a full 24-hour test at Sebring, Florida, earlier this year, Knaus said, and is capable of finishing the race. Button believes NASCAR will leave a lasting impression no matter what happens.

“If you haven’t seen this car live yet, it’s an absolute beast,” Button said. “When you see and hear it go by, it just puts a massive smile on your face.”

For Hendrick, the effort is the first in his newfound embrace of racing outside NASCAR, the stock car series founded long ago in the American South. Aside from the Le Mans project, he will own the Indy car that Kyle Larson drives for Arrow McLaren in next year’s Indianapolis 500 and it will be sponsored by his automotive company.

“If you’d have told me I’d be racing at Le Mans and Indianapolis within the same year, I’d never have believed you,” Hendrick told AP. “But we’re doing both and we’re going to do it right.”

Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Fans gather around the NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that is the Garage 56 entry for the 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe (Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

General Motors is celebrating the achievement with a 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition and only 56 will be available to collectors later this year.

“Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “A NASCAR stock car running at Le Mans is something fans doubted they would see again.”

The race hasn’t even started yet, but Hendrick has enjoyed it so much that he doesn’t want the project to end.

“It’s like a shame to go through all this and do all this, and then Sunday it’s done,” Hendrick said. “It’s just really special to be here.”