Today’s question: The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto this weekend is the last street-course event of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. What has been the top street racing moment so far this season?

Curt Cavin: Unfortunately, the lasting memory of this year’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will be the disqualification of race winner Josef Newgarden and third-place finisher Scott McLaughlin, both of Team Penske, for improper use of the Push to Pass system. However, my fond memory is the midrace dogfight that Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward found himself in against the three Team Penske drivers, including Will Power. O’Ward did a masterful job, as he often does, and held McLaughlin and Power off to finish second. Six weeks later, O’Ward was officially handed the victory, something he understandably felt awkward about receiving. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take away from the job he did that day and the memory he created.

Eric Smith: My top street course moment of the 2024 season thus far is the disagreement between two prominent American drivers Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta in the closing laps of the April 21 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The two clashed in the final corner, a tight right-handed hairpin, on Lap 77 of 85. Leader and eventual winner Scott Dixon was facing a massive fuel-saving measure, but the turbulent air tossed from his car dropped Newgarden into the clutches of Herta, who was riding in third. Alex Palou eventually joined the fray, making it a four-car street fight for the win in the prestigious event. Newgarden, trying to hold off the two combatants behind but time his move on Dixon in front, faded a bit wide in the tight corner, allowing Herta to peek to the inside. The two cars met in the middle like magnets. Herta’s nose lifted Newgarden’s rear wheels off the ground, forcing Newgarden’s engine to engage the anti-stall mechanism. Dixon pulled further ahead, Herta was promoted to second, and a disappointed Newgarden dropped to fourth behind Palou. Herta and Newgarden agreed to disagree about the incident.

Paul Kelly: The entire Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear was memorable, for many reasons. One, Scott Dixon did Scott Dixon things once again by using smart fuel strategy amid dry and wet conditions to earn his second victory of the season in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two, the chaos that ensued when a passing shower fell on Lap 34 that didn’t even appear on team’s radar screens. Drivers and strategists wondered out loud on the radio whether to pit for rain tires or stay on track on Firestone slicks. That’s one of the reasons why there was such variance in the number of pit stops. Dixon and runner-up Marcus Ericsson only stopped twice. Meanwhile, Alex Palou stopped five times. Finally, this was the race in which reigning series champion Palou finally looked vulnerable. He finished 16th, his first result outside of the top eight since September 2022 – a span of 24 consecutive races, including the non-points exhibition at The Thermal Club.