> TRYING TO BUILD RACE BUZZ

James Hinchcliffe says he’s noticed a buzz around the Honda Indy Toronto that hasn’t been there for years and thinks it’s an omen that the race is on the way back to once again being one of the “must attend” summertime festivals in the city, along with Pride Toronto and the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. “I think having Jeff Atkinson take over (as president of the event) has helped. He started as an intern and worked his way up in the organization. “Jeff is just so gung-ho, so I don’t think there is a coincidence that things are happening. “I’ve heard lots of good things about the race this year, about ticket sales and corporate sales and things like that. We’re coming off having to move around the date last year (it was held a month early because of the Pan Am Games) and around this hotel being built (on the Exhibition grounds), and I’m looking at this as a fresh start for the race. “I’m looking forward to doing my bit to make this one of the great races again.” Hinchcliffe said the challenge is to get the race back to where it was in the glory days of CART, when 70,000-plus attended on race day. “The track’s always been fun,” he said, “and the fans who do come out have always been supportive, but getting more people to come out and making it an even bigger event every year is our goal, and I think this year is going to be really, really good. “Having Petro Canada on board since the start of the season has been really big for me personally, and now we have Pizza Pizza for this race. Having some cool Canadian companies getting involved is great for Canadian racing.”