Start Your Engines
Gear up for some serious racing with this primer on the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
By Sean Deasy
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO
IF THERE’S A DISTINCT BUZZ IN THE AIR on an otherwise typically hot weekend in Toronto, the big race is likely in town. Specifically, the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, which is the sole Canadian stop of the NTT IndyCar Series, North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series.
The sound of high-performance engines grows louder as you approach the grounds of Exhibition Place near Lake Ontario. Taking place each July, the race features some of the most versatile drivers in the world — those who compete internationally on superspeedways, short ovals, permanent road courses and street circuits. The Canadian edition is a 90-lap street course that attracts some of the world’s fastest race car drivers, including past IndyCar champions Scott Dixon and Will Power, as well as Canadian drivers Paul Tracy and Jacques Villeneuve. The 2.87-kilometre (1.78-mile) track in Toronto is one of only four street courses on the 17-race schedule. And with varying surfaces and 11 turns — one of them is 90 degrees — it’s a challenging circuit.
The race draws plenty of fans before the first checkered flag is waved. One of them is IndyCar broadcast legend Mary Bignotti Mendez, who’s been to every IndyCar race weekend in Toronto since 1990. When she’s not reporting on races, she leads tours for team sponsors, VIPs and others who want to learn about the sport from the inside. She’s essentially the oracle of IndyCar.
So, with Mendez as my guide, here is what I’ve learned at the Indy, while gaining a new appreciation for one of the fastest sports around.
The Canadian edition is a 90-lap street course that attracts some of the world’s fastest race car drivers, including Scott Dixon and Will Power, as well as Canadian drivers Paul Tracy and Jacques Villeneuve.
There’s always something going on. And it all starts on Fan Friday.
Two days before the big race, Your Ontario Honda Dealers Present Free Fan Friday gives racing enthusiasts free entry in exchange for a donation to the Make-A-Wish® Foundation. The day features on-track practice runs, contests, autograph sessions and driver meet-and-greets.
Pre-race? The Paddock is the place to be.
The Paddock in the Enercare Centre is team headquarters — a fully functional temporary garage. The Indy cars are displayed here, along with each team’s mechanical trailer and crew. Spectators with a Paddock pass ($80) can get up close to the kind of access not offered at most sporting events. “You can walk in and see the teams working on the cars,” says Mendez. “You might get to talk to a driver.”
There’s not a bad seat in the house.
A two-day grandstand or general admission ticket offers the best weekend value. A reserved grandstand ticket gives you access to one of the four grandstands. You can’t see the entire track from the grandstands, but giant screens allow spectators to view replays as well as live action that’s not in front of them. “You get a feeling for what the entire race looks like,” notes Mendez.
This course is unforgiving.
The temporary street circuit is lined with 2,050-plus steel-reinforced concrete barriers, built using more than 10 million pounds of concrete. The barriers are 12 feet long and three feet high and weigh about 8,650 pounds each. “I don’t know if people understand how treacherous it is to drive between these cement walls,” Mendez says. “I call ’em cement canyons. You cannot be a few inches off or you might end up in the wall.”
A street course makes for uneven surfaces.
Different types of pavement mean different road surfaces, from bumps to slippery concrete to sticky asphalt. Cars need to be stable and balanced to navigate the range of surfaces, but the unpredictable makes for great viewing for racing fans. “It’s non-stop excitement,” Mendez says. “There’s something always happening the drivers can’t test [in practice]. In the race, you could have a tire puncture, and you might have to pit earlier than planned. Teams must go through different scenarios. If there’s an early crash, what’s our strategy going to be? Do we stay out? Do we pit?”
An Indy car is not as high-tech as Formula One, but it might be tougher to drive.
All teams use the same engine type — a 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged V6, producing 650 to 700 horsepower. While they still incorporate advanced technologies like turbocharging, Indy cars are less complex — they don’t have power steering, for instance — and are more standardized than Formula One cars. And that makes racing strategy more important than speed alone. “The car is like an animal to drive,” one Indy car driver tells Mendez. “And you have to really grab it by the scruff of the neck.”
Same engine specs but two different manufacturers.
All Indy cars use the same chassis, built by Dallara. But two manufacturers — Chevrolet and Honda — build the engines. The difference comes down to speed and torque. “Chevy has a higher top-end speed, but Honda has more torque getting off the corners at the lower-end speed,” says Mendez. “On a street course with a lot of turns, you can only go so fast and then you’ve got to brake for the next turn.” It seems the Toronto track, at least recently, favoured torque: Honda took the top seven finishing positions in 2024.
Pit lane perils!
The track’s pit lane has two turns, which can be challenging for drivers. “A lot of times, the drivers can’t see if another car is coming down the pit lane as you’re trying to leave your pit box,” Mendez notes.
Winning the race could come down to tire strategy.
Firestone, the exclusive tire supplier for IndyCar, will deliver about 32,000 Firestone Firehawk race tires for the entire season. The tire allotment means racing teams must use one set of primary (hard, black) tires, and one set of alternate (softer, green-walled) tires in the race. But precisely when teams use each type and for how long could dictate their success. “The softer tire, once it’s up to temperature, should carry more speed,” Mendez says, “but the challenge is, [the softer tires] are not going to last as long as the primary tire.”
On the scene with CAA
Towing support at the Honda Indy is provided by CAA. We asked CAA project lead Dhushan Puvanachandran what that looks like.
Who are the CAA tow truck operators working at the race?
We are part of the Trackside Recovery team that’s been working the Toronto Indy for six years. The tow truck operators chosen to attend the races are experienced, hand-picked rescuers that take care of our Members on roadways.
How big is the team?
We have 28 tow truck operators on the track. In the event of a rescue, a vehicle must be moved into The Paddock, where a crew of 12 safely directs the trucks. There are five people on the project planning team and five reserve drivers.
What are your guiding principles at the race?
- Be Ready: We can go two or three races without a single rescue and then have a race where all seven trucks are on the track.
- Be Alert: On the track, operators must do everything to protect their truck, the race car and, most importantly, themselves.
- Have Fun: We take this event very seriously and we understand the importance of it. That does not mean our operators cannot enjoy themselves. They have a front-row seat to the race.
What racetrack lessons can apply off the track, too?
The same logic applies to these drivers who have cars whizzing by at 200 kilometres an hour: when there is any sort of breakdown, they stay in their vehicle. That’s something we always suggest. Do not get out of your vehicle.
What does it mean to work at Indy?
It is an honour, and I never take it for granted. I love being part of a team where everyone is so passionate. CAA
(Top) An Indy car is hoisted by the CAA towing team. (Above) CAA tow truck operators are close by and ready to deal with any problems on the track. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO