~ by Daniel Demaras ~
The 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto held its main event on Sunday, to a packed crowd of eager race fans. After an exciting Saturday which saw upsets in qualifying; all five Ganassi cars were eliminated in the opening round, plus an Andretti front-row lockout. The stage was set for an exciting 90 lap race.
We got down to the track bright and early to catch morning warm-up, and to make sure we got our parking spot. Colton Herta topped the timesheets, and everyone kept it clean, except for a spinning Toby Sowery, the rookie competing in only his second IndyCar race. Super-sub Theo Pourchaire finally got on track as well, after flying in from France, except his first laps around the Toronto track were done in qualifying!
Sunday is always the busiest day, and every corner of Exhibition Place started filling up as the race approached. People came in all sorts of racing-related attire including Pato O’Ward shirts and Will Power team jerseys. Swedish star Felix Rosenqvist was one of the most popular drivers to represent. I saw one lady wearing a Scott Dixon shirt and a Will Power hat, which just made me shake my head. To put it in Canadian terms, it would be like wearing a Leafs jersey and a Habs toque. Ridiculous!
There were several support races inclucing USF200 and the Sports Car Championship of Canada. The final junior formula race was a 38-car Radical Cup race which saw only 8-minutes of the allotted 35 actually run under green flag conditions. After that, the main event began with the IndyCar driver introductions on the main podium area.
With drivers in strapped into their cars, and the crowd all pumped-up, legendary Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip gave the starting command, and all twenty-seven V6 hybrid turbo engines fired up for the start of the race. As the cars left pit lane and began two parade laps, the clouds disappeared, and the sun began beating down on the grandstands – typical Honda Indy Toronto weather.
At the green flag, the race did not exactly start cleanly, when Danish driver Christian Rasmussen was put in the wall in the first corner by Swedish superstar Marcus Ericsson, and after a brief yellow, Argentine national hero Agustin Canapino hit the wall in the run to Turn 4 after a run-in with Scott Dixon. But once that initial excitement passed, the drivers settled into a steady rhythm. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood took off in the lead, and championship contenders Will Power, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou moved up the field.
Late in the race, Kyffin Simpson made an error and hit the wall, bringing out a full-course yellow. This bunched up the field with few laps to go, and all the racers were eager to make up ground. The first lap went smoothly, but just as it was completed, chaos was unleashed.
Pato O’Ward lost control on the exit of Turn 1, backing his McLaren into the wall effectively stopped car on the racing line. Ericsson and Fittipaldi crashed trying to avoid O’Ward, but Santino Ferrucci was blindsided by stack-up and got the worst of it, launching his IndyCar into a Monster Jam style corkscrew jump through the air, into the catch-fencing, over Fittipaldi’s car, before landing upside down on track. The crowd gasped, then applauded once they saw Santino step out of his car unhurt. This brought out a red flag, which meant we could refill our water bottles, much needed on such a hot day.
After the red flag, Herta sped off once again, before another yellow came out. Penske driver Scott McLaughlin was in the wall, and the replays showed it was due to contact with his teammate, and my personal hero, Will Power! Scotty Mac waited for Willy P to drive by on the next lap and gave him a sarcastic round of applause. The stewards slapped Power him a drive-through penalty, ruining his Top-5 finish. Personally I think it was just a racing incident, but unfortunately, I don’t make the rules.
Colton Herta led the field to the checkered flag ahead of Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood, and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, whose podium finish tied Mario Andretti in the record books for most podiums in IndyCar history.
Not the result I had hoped for, but maybe we were spoiled last year with Christian Lundgaard’s shock victory. Regardless, it was a thrilling weekend, with big passes, disaster-defying saves, and automotive aerobatics. In the race’s third year back since the pandemic, it seems the IndyCar fanbase in Toronto is growing, more and more people attending, and more people showing up in their own IndyCar fan gear and merchandise. I am already looking forward to the 2025 race! Hopefully by then, they’ll have come up with a snappier name.
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