Honda Indy Toronto Preview

2015-toronto-race10

Fast Facts

Track: Streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place, an 11-turn, 1.755-mile temporary street course

Race distance: 85 laps / 149.175 miles

Push-to-pass parameters: 10 activations for 20 seconds each

Firestone tire allotment: Four sets primary, three sets alternate

Twitter: @HondaIndy @IndyCar, #IndyTO, #IndyCar

Event website: www.HondaIndyToronto.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2014 race winners: Sebastien Bourdais (Race 1) and Mike Conway (Race 2)

2014 Verizon P1 Award winners: Sebastien Bourdais (Race 1), 58.9479 seconds, 107.179 mph, and Helio Castroneves (Race 2), Entrant Points

Qualifying record: Gil de Ferran, 57.143 seconds, 110.565 mph, July 17, 1999

NBCSN television broadcasts: Qualifying, 5 p.m. ET Saturday, June 13; Race, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, June 14. Leigh Diffey is the lead announcer for the NBCSN broadcasts this weekend alongside analysts Steve Matchett and Paul Tracy. Pit reporters are Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller.

Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts:
Paul Page is the chief announcer with analyst Davey Hamilton. Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying and races are broadcast live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR 15 app. Verizon IndyCar Series practice sessions are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR 15 app.

Video streaming: All practice sessions for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season are available on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.

INDYCAR 15 app: The Verizon INDYCAR 15 app has new features to keep fans in the know of the latest race-day action. Exclusive features of the INDYCAR 15 app for Verizon Wireless customers will stream live through the app and include interactive 3D Live View with real-time leaderboard and car telemetry to see where a fan’s favorite driver is positioned, leaderboard with enhanced 2D “marching ants” and car telemetry, in-car camera video streams from cameras that move 360 degrees and driver-pit crew chatter as drivers talk strategy with their pit crews during the race.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, June 12
10:45 – 11:30 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice
2:45 – 3:30 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice

Saturday, June 13
10:40 – 11:25 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice
2:30 – 3:45 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying (three-rounds, knockout qualifying), NBCSN (taped, 5 p.m. ET).

Sunday, June 14
11 – 11:30 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series warmup
3 p.m. – NBCSN on air
3:37 p.m. – Honda Indy Toronto (85 laps/149.175 miles), NBCSN (live)

Race notes:
* There have been seven different winners in nine Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2015: Juan Pablo Montoya (Streets of St. Petersburg and Indianapolis 500), James Hinchcliffe (NOLA Motorsports Park), Scott Dixon (Streets of Long Beach and Texas Motor Speedway), Josef Newgarden (Barber Motorsports Park), Will Power (Grand Prix of Indianapolis), Carlos Munoz (Raceway at Belle Isle-1) and Sebastien Bourdais (Raceway at Belle Isle-2). In 2014, there were a record-tying 11 different race winners. Dixon’s win at Long Beach on April 19 gave him sole possession of fifth on the all-time Indy car victory list with 36. He is the active leader in wins with 37 after his victory at Texas on June 6.

* The Honda Indy Toronto will be the 31st Indy car race on the streets of Exhibition Place. Bourdais and Mike Conway split a same-day doubleheader in 2014.

* This is the eighth road/street course race of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule with a different driver winning the previous seven races: Montoya (Streets of St. Petersburg), Hinchcliffe (NOLA Motorsports Park), Dixon (Streets of Long Beach), Newgarden (Barber Motorsports Park), Power (Grand Prix of Indianapolis), Munoz (Raceway at Belle Isle-1) and Bourdais (Raceway at Belle Isle-2).

* Bourdais, Dixon and Power have each won twice at Toronto, the most wins by an active Indy car driver at the track. They are among the four past Toronto winners entered in this year’s race, along with Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012). Michael Andretti has the most wins at the track with seven.

* The Verizon IndyCar Series champion has won in Toronto in four of the last six seasons. Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Dixon all won on the streets of Toronto before eventually claiming the championship. Franchitti won in 2009 and again in 2011. Hunter-Reay won in 2012 and Dixon swept both races in 2013. Seven other drivers have claimed the Indy car championship in the same season they won at Toronto. They are: Bobby Rahal (1986), Al Unser Jr. (1990), Michael Andretti (1991), Alex Zanardi (1998), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Paul Tracy (2003) and Bourdais (2004).

* Drivers who have won poles at Toronto entered in this year’s race are: Bourdais (2014 Race 1, 2007, 2005, 2004), Dixon (2013 Race 2), Power (2011) and Helio Castroneves (2000). Castroneves also started on pole in Race 2 in 2014 but was awarded the pole based on entrant points.

* Twenty drivers entered in the event have competed in Indy car races at Toronto. Castroneves and Tony Kanaan (12) have the most starts among the entered drivers. Ten of those drivers have led laps at the track (Bourdais 188, Power 121, Dixon 95, Castroneves 62, Hunter-Reay 36, Simon Pagenaud 30, Graham Rahal 23, Newgarden 7, Kanaan 4 and Charlie Kimball 2).

* Kanaan seeks to start his 243rd consecutive race this weekend, which would extend his Indy car-record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Teammate Dixon has made 184 consecutive starts heading into the weekend.

* Chip Ganassi Racing has won six times at Toronto: Michael Andretti (1994), Zanardi (1998), Franchitti (2009 and 2011) and Dixon (2013, both races).

* Team Penske has two wins at the track (Tracy 1993 and Power 2010). It has six pole positions at the track: Danny Sullivan (1988 and 1990), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Castroneves (2000), Gil de Ferran (2001) and Power (2011).

* Bourdais has finished in the top 10 in 10 of his 11 races at Toronto, including his wins in 2004 and 2014 Race 1. He has finished on the podium in three of the last four Toronto races.

* Dixon has finished on the podium in three of the last six races at Toronto. He has seven top-five finishes in 10 starts.

* The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season marked the competition debut of aerodynamic bodywork kits designed, manufactured and supplied by Chevrolet and Honda. Cars are differentiated by their shape as the manufacturers have designed separate aero kit specifications for road and street course/short ovals and superspeedways for the Dallara IR-12 chassis. References to the cars incorporate the name of the corresponding manufacturer.

* With a total pit lane time of 1 minute, 47.013 seconds, the No. 26 AndrettiTV Cinsay Honda crew of Andretti Autosport and driver Carlos Munoz won the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award during the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. The win marks back-to-back Pit Stop Performance Awards for Andretti Autosport (No. 28 crew at Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Race 2), and the team’s third overall win of the season (No. 27 crew at the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama). The AndrettiTV Cinsay Andretti Autosport crew will receive its $10,000 award during pre-race festivities at Honda Indy Toronto.

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