Newgarden in driver’s seat for Honda Indy
Defending Toronto champion arrives in town fresh off dominating victory in Iowa last week
Defending Honda Indy Toronto champion Josef Newgarden can hardly wait to get back to the city.
Not simply because he’s coming off a victory last Sunday at Iowa Speedway and would look forward to perhaps winning two straight races in the series as well as two in a row in Toronto, but because the city is a cool place to visit.
“We stay downtown and so we have a chance to try some of the restaurants and to see the people out and about, having a good time,” he said during a phone interview with the Star on Tuesday. “It would be nice if we could stick around and take in some of the rest that Toronto has to offer, and it’s a fantastic place. But after Sunday we’ll be off to the next race and there just isn’t a lot of time.”
Newgarden, 25, and the rest of the stars and cars of the Verizon IndyCar Series, will be racing through the streets of Exhibition Place this weekend in the 30th Toronto Indy, now sponsored by Honda. Bobby Rahal won the first “Indy” as it’s known around town, back in 1986 when it was launched and sponsored by Molson’s.
Rahal will be back this weekend, this time as a team owner in partnership with retired TV star David Letterman and U.S. businessman and sometimes-race promoter Mike Lanigan. Third-generation Rahal racer Graham Rahal drives for his dad’s organization.
The Honda Indy weekend will get under way Friday with practice for all series and classes, including USFormula 2000, Star Mazda, Indy Lights, Porsche GT3 Cup, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series for late-model stock cars and the Indy cars. The NASCAR race, called the Pinty’s Grand Prix of Toronto, will headline Saturday’s program. The headline Honda Indy Toronto goes to the post Sunday just after 3 p.m.
There will be no admission to attend Friday’s practice sessions. Known as Fan Friday, the day is sponsored by the Honda Dealers of Ontario and anyone can go onto the grounds in exchange for a donation to Make-A-Wish Canada.
Newgarden, who finished a fighting third in this year’s 100th Indianapolis 500, was involved in a serious accident at Texas Motor Speedway in mid-June and has been healing and racing ever since. He broke his shoulder and a bone in his right hand when he collided with Conor Daly’s car and went crashing into a wall at high speed. After finishing eighth in the next event, a road-course race at Road America in Wisconsin, Newgarden won last Sunday’s oval race at Iowa in dominating fashion, leading 282 of the 300 laps and lapping most of the field.
“Things are coming along okay,” he said when asked about his recovery. “I was at the doctor’s for x-rays and they’re still healing and still growing bone, but they’re getting better every week. I think in three or four more weeks, they should be rock solid.”
Newgarden, who grew up in Tennessee stock-car country but was always drawn to formula-car racing, said from a physical standpoint he’s not particularly worried about racing in Toronto with what some people might call handicaps.
“I told the doctor that this was the point of no return,” joked the driver, who started racing in the U.S. but went to Britain, where he won the prestigious Formula Ford Festival and then finished second in the following year’s Formula Ford Championship.
“You get out there, and you’ve come this far and you’ve just got to go do it.
“Toronto might be a little more painful (no drugs allowed in the systems of race drivers) and it’s bumpy and there are (rumble strips) at corners and you feel all that in the wheel. So some of the kickback in the steering wheel could hurt a little more but I’m not too worried about getting through the weekend. I think I’ll be just fine.”
IndyCar racing is definitely safer than it used to be but there have been several huge crashes in recent years.
Last year, Canadian James Hinchcliffe was nearly killed when he piled up at Indianapolis and a connecting rod speared through his body. Newgarden’s crash in Texas saw him emerge relatively unscathed, considering he initially flew into the wall cockpit-first.
“That was the biggest impact I’ve ever experienced,” said the driver, who’s sitting second in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings behind Simon Pagenaud.
“I was just thankful for all our safety advancements. Everything did its job and I’m still here kicking and able to race.”
But he said there was no comparison between what Hinchcliffe went through last year — he was forced out of IndyCar racing for the season — and his injuries.
“His (crash) was so much more violent than mine,” Newgarden said.
“I just broke some bones; he lost almost his life. Getting a couple of broken bones was getting off easy compared to what he had to go through.”
He’s optimistic his Ed Carpenter Racing team will perform well this week. Owner Carpenter, who races the team’s second car in oval races, will step out of the cockpit for Toronto and American rookie Spencer Pigott will partner Newgarden.
“The team has done really well the last two years here,” Newgarden said. “Mike Conway won a race for Ed here in 2014 and then I was first last year.
“In fact, my teammate last year, Luca Filippi, finished second. We have a great team. I don’t think there’s any reason why we can’t continue the momentum from Iowa and perform well there.
“Everyone’s excited, including Ed, and we should be able to hit the ground running and have a good opportunity to challenge for a win again.”