Indy Toronto podium reflects new generation
Standing atop the podium with Honda Indy Toronto winner Josef Newgarden, 26, and runner-up Alexander Rossi, 25, James Hinchcliffe, 30, soaked in his surroundings and thought: This is it. This is the future of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Some day — maybe soon — some of IndyCar’s biggest stars will be gone. Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan are 42, and Scott Dixon, Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais and Ryan Hunter-Reay are closer to 40 than to 30. When they leave, a younger class of stars will be entrusted with carrying IndyCar into the future.
“I look at the podium, this is exactly what IndyCar racing is going to be,” Hinchcliffe said. “It’s kind of already here, which is great to see. I think it’s great for the series, great for the sport, that the guys who are going to be flying the flag for that next generation of drivers are already at the front and challenging for race wins.”
That’s not to say the series’ elder statesmen should be counted out anytime soon. Dixon is leading the championship, and Castroneves and Power are hot on his trail. But in six or seven years, the era of drivers such as Castroneves, Dixon and Power will likely be over, and it will be up to drivers such as Newgarden, Rossi and Hinchcliffe to bring IndyCar into the future.
TORONTO LOVES INDYCAR The evidence was everywhere. The lines for autograph sessions stretched far and wide; the paddock was consistently packed with fans and the race-day grandstands were filled despite the threat of rain.
“The parade lap before the race, I haven’t seen the stands that packed since I’ve been behind the wheel, and the energy was just incredible,” Hinchcliffe said. “Every group we went by was ready to go. They wanted to go racing, and it was awesome to see.”
But the proof of the successful weekend came later Sunday, when IndyCar announced that Honda Canada had agreed to a three-year contract extension, sponsoring the event through 2020.
“It was music to my ears,” Hinchcliffe said. “To hear that we have three (more) years and that the support from the city seems to be high — we had repaving (of a portion of the track) done for this year, and I think there’s more on the schedule for next year — it gives me confidence that this race will be around for a while.
“We went through some kind of tough years there, but certainly with Honda Canada’s support, we’ve done a great job of keeping it going and building momentum.”
DIXON FINDS A LITTLE LUCK After a race in which he suffered damage on the first lap and was later assessed a drive-through penalty, it might seem to strange to consider Dixon lucky. But while Sunday decidedly was not a great day for Dixon, it could have been much worse.
After 20 laps, it looked like for the first time in a long time the championship leader was in danger of losing that points lead. After his win at Iowa Speedway, Castroneves had climbed within striking distance of Dixon, and after his bold charge to the front on the first turn Sunday, the Team Penske star looked capable of contending for another win and surpassing Dixon.
But that didn’t happen — thanks to Tony Kanaan. By crashing when he did, Kanaan delivered a huge assist to his teammate’s hunt for a fifth series title. The lap 23 wreck worked out perfectly for Dixon, as the yellow flag flew just as Castroneves, along with fellow front-runners and championship contenders Graham Rahal and Simon Pagenaud, had passed pit lane. The threesome was cycled to the back of the pack and never able to regain their momentum. Pagenaud finished fifth, Castroneves eighth and Rahal ninth.
Meanwhile, Dixon was bailed out by Kanaan’s caution as he had fallen to the back of the field after making contact with Power on the opening lap. The yellow flag cycled Dixon to the front, and while he wasn’t able to hold the position, he finished 10th and kept his championship lead.
In a season filled with rotten luck, it only seemed appropriate Dixon was awarded at least a little good fortune. While he would have preferred to be on the receiving end of the same type of good luck bestowed upon Newgarden — who was running seventh at the time of Kanaan’s crash and was in position to immediately duck into the pits and assume the race lead — he should be relatively pleased that he’s still leading the championship heading to Mid- Ohio.