Open-wheel racing returns to Toronto
Wilson, IndyCar Series getting up to speed
The sounds of IndyCars whirring and whizzing through the city streets return to downtown Toronto this weekend, and the timing couldn't be much better for the series in general — and Justin Wilson in particular.
Wilson heads to a track where he had a landmark victory just one week after winning Watkins Glen International. His victory Sunday at the Glen was a boost to the series' competitiveness — not only did it give long-time owner Dale Coyne his first win in 558 starts, it was the first victory in nearly a calendar year for a team that wasn't Team Penske or Target Chip Ganassi.
The victory also offered a possible glimpse at a more balanced, competitive series that is still gathering momentum after last year's merger between IndyCar and Champ Car.
Complications from last year's merger kept open-wheel racing off of Lake Shore Drive and surrounding streets for the first time in 22 years. Toronto has long been one of open-wheel's most popular stops in North America for the last two decades.
"There is a great fan base — fantastic," said Dario Franchitti, who was a part of several races in Toronto with the Championship Auto Racing Teams series, which would later be known as Champ Car. "I don't remember many races that were better attended or having a better fan atmosphere than Toronto. Hopefully we can get back to that. I've got a long history racing there — I love Toronto."
Having one of the best markets for open-wheel racing comes at a good time. Last week, longtime open-wheel leader Tony George was forced out as president and chief executive officer of the IndyCar Series, leaving series leadership to calm concerns about the series inside and outside the paddock area.
This week an embracing Canadian fan base welcomes a unified open-wheel series for the first time since the 1995 race, which was won by Michael Andretti. The series stays in Canada — and on a street course — for its next stop when it heads to Edmonton on July 26.
This weekend's Honda Indy Toronto will be the first major race in Toronto for Danica Patrick and other drivers who had been exclusive to the Indy Racing League, which raced primarily on ovals. Will Power, who was signed to Penske's No.‚12 ride last week, won the last race in Toronto — the Champ Car event in 2007. Toronto's tabloids are likely to get some good stories from headline-friendly Paul Tracy — the veteran Canadian standout driver known as the "Thrill from West Hill."
"I raced there in [support series Toyota] Atlantic, I raced there in Champ Car, and it's awesome," said Graham Rahal. "It's a great place. The thing about the Toronto race for us, is that there are very few places we go, that we get the diehard fans. No matter where you go in Canada, that's how they are. They don't really know much or care much about NASCAR. We went to Edmonton our first year, and there were 120,000 people there on Friday, in the pouring rain. The Canadian fans [are great]. It will be good to go back there to Toronto."
On-track action might begin Friday, but there have been weeklong activities downtown, including Tuesday's outdoor showing of Steve McQueen's "LeMans," and Wednesday's fan contest for the best starting command of "drivers, start your engines." This evening there is a 6K road race around the course as well as several parties downtown. Gene Simmons of KISS has been named the race's grand marshal.
On the track, Wilson might have the most momentum of his career. Following his second IndyCar series win last week at the Glen, he returns to the street course where he recorded the first major open-wheel victory of his career in 2005.
That experience should help the Englishman and Coyne's single-car team, which provided the series with its first victory by a team other than Penske or Ganassi since Wilson won in August of last year.
"I think we've got an idea what the car wants on the setup and things to look for," said Wilson, who raced for Newman/Haas when he won the Molson Indy Toronto. "But it's all a matter of how that translates to this car.
"Sometimes you just need to unload fast and that first run you hit the track on Friday at Toronto you'll know whether you're really close or you have a few changes to make."
As they are back on a road course, the teams will again this week face the decisions on when to use the softer "red" tires vs. the standard "black" compound sets — decisions that were crucial to Wilson's win. The race at the Glen was wide open, despite the seasonlong dominance of Scott Dixon and Franchitti of Ganassi (top two in points) and Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves (third and fourth, respectively), and especially after Wilson's win there is a similar feeling this week.
"I don't think you can expect to go away from a market and come back having one or two years away and expect it to be immediately as it once was," said Franchitti. "Having PT [Paul Tracy] in the race is a big part of that, and putting on a good show for the fans is another part."
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