Five Honda-powered drivers topped the overall time sheet in Friday’s first practice for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, although it likely doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field at the final street race of the season.
SEE: Practice Results
The final minutes of Friday’s practice saw two drivers – Alexander Rossi and rookie Linus Lundqvist – hit tire barriers on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit, reducing the amount of time left for half of the field to complete a final timed lap.
Rossi was seen and released from the INDYCAR Medical Unit, but the incident resulted in a broken right thumb, knocking the 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner out of the weekend's race.
Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian driver Colton Herta finished with the day’s fastest lap at 1 minute, 1.0399 seconds, but he knows others will be coming for the top spot the rest of the weekend.
“Overall, the car was really nice,” said Herta, who has a pair of top-three finishes on street circuits this season and won the pole for last month’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. “(It) feels like the same car that we brought last two years, which we've had podium results. And so hopefully that bodes well for us.”
Herta finished third in last year’s race and was second in 2022.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda) had Friday’s second-quickest time at 1:01.3323 and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong (No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) was third at 1:01.7791.
Rounding out the top five was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) at 1:01.8717 and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal (No. 15 United Rentals Honda) at 1:02.0162.
AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 AJ FOYT RACING/SEXTON PROPERTIES Chevrolet) had the day’s fastest lap by a Chevrolet driver at 1:02.0519.
Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award is Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET, and recent history suggests it will be important for drivers to perform well in the session. The past four Toronto race winners have started on the front row -- two from the pole, two from the No. 2 starting position. This race is the fourth of four on street circuits this season. Dixon has won the past two.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda) won last year’s Toronto race from the pole, and he led 54 of the 85 laps. While his margin at the finish line was 11.7893 seconds – the third-largest of the season – Alex Palou and Herta drove from the 15th and 14th starting positions to finish on the podium. Lundgaard’s best lap Friday ranked 12th on the speed chart.
Three-time Toronto race winner Will Power had the first incident of Friday’s practice. He spun his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet without contact in Turn 9, then was able to use the series’ new hybrid until to restart the car and continue without requiring a caution flag. Agustin Canapino spun his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet harmlessly minutes later in Turn 8, and he kept the car running.
Later, Rossi and Lundqvist hit the tire barrier in nearly the same fashion.
Series points leader Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda), who was seventh Friday, has a 35-point lead over Power in the standings as both drivers try to score their third series championship. Sunday’s race is one of six remaining events on the calendar. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) has climbed from sixth in points to third in recent weeks. He is 52 points behind Palou as he chases his first series title. O’Ward’s best lap Friday was good for 16th place.
This field includes Hunter McElrea, who finished second last season in the INDY NXT by Firestone standings. Driving the No. 18 Courtesy Corporation Honda, the 24-year-old New Zealander became the 44th driver to make their series debut with Dale Coyne Racing, including four this season. That group includes Toby Sowery, who is making his second series start this weekend in the team’s No. 51 Global Karting League/Vuzix Honda. They finished 18th and 25th, respectively, in Friday’s practice.
Saturday’s action begins with the weekend’s second practice at 10:30 a.m. ET. The final practice is Sunday at 10 a.m. ET. All sessions will air live on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.