Notes: Toronto Fan Friday raises funds, awareness

More than $57,000 (Canadian) was raised for Make-A-Wish Canada during the Honda Indy Toronto race weekend.

The event included Fan Friday in which admission to watch IZOD IndyCar Series practice and qualifications for Race 1, Mazda Road to Indy series (Firestone Indy Lights, Pro Mazda and USF2000) practice and participate in interactive displays was free through the backing of the Ontario Honda Dealers Association. Spectators made donations to the charity.

In four years of the fund-raising efforts during the race weekend, more than $308,000 has been generated.

Alex Tagliani, driver of the No. 98 Barracuda Racing car and a Make-A-Wish Canada ambassador, spent time with Make-A-Wish families between on-track sessions. He kicked off raising awareness of Fan Friday by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Rogers Centre before the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Detroit Tigers on July 1.

“On behalf of everyone at Make-A-Wish Canada, I’d like to express our sincere thanks to Honda Canada, its dealers and, of course, the fans,” said Jennifer Ritter, CEO of Make-A-Wish Canada. “This level of commitment and support is a huge part of how we can continue to grant wishes and bring happiness and strength to the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions."

Time winding down to support either Tagliani or Dixon

Days are winding down to donate to the dare between Scott Dixon and Tagliani.

Fans can make monetary donations to charities designated by Dixon or Tagliani through July 19 at www.power-of-2.org.

The charities will end up winners, but the celebrity who finishes second in the fund-raising will have to cash in with a very public dare: They'll get into costume (Tagliani a beaver; Dixon a sheep) and ride around the grounds of the Indiana State Fair in August on a tricycle.

There is also something in it for those who make contributions: A chance to win a signed Dixon or Tagliani racing helmet and phone/Skype call with them.

De Silvestro has male representation

For the fan walkabout on pit lane before the Race 2 standing start of the Honda Indy Toronto on July 14, there were 23 grid girls holding a sign of the corresponding driver and their country of origin. Race organizers arranged for a male to be with the No. 78 Nuclear Entergy Areva KV Racing Technology car of Simona De Silvestro -- the lone female in the race.

On July 15, she participated in the Michael Strahan Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey to benefit the Newark Mentoring Movement.

Strahan, a former New York Giants defensive end and co-host of "Live with Kelly and Michael," was joined by the Giants’ David Diehl and Justin Tuck, Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd and NFL Pro Bowler Bruce Smith among others.

Of note

Josef Newgarden competed in the Honda Indy Toronto in the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car without chief engineer Nathan O'Rourke, who returned to Indianapolis early July 13 to be with his wife, Nikki, for the birth of the couple's second child. "It was tough losing Nathan, he's kind of like my right arm," Newgarden said. ... Ryan Briscoe, who suffered a fractured right wrist while driving the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car in Race 1 at Toronto, on July 15 underwent surgery, which included the fitting of a small t-plate and screws into the fracture of the distal radius bone. Briscoe will be re-evaluated July 30, at which point he is expected to be fitted with a carbon fiber splint. ... Mike Conway, who picked up 29 positions in the two Toronto races for a pair of seventh-place finishes in a Dale Coyne Racing car, will sub for Briscoe this weekend in a Level 5 Motorsports car for the American Le Mans Series race.

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