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July 18, 2010
Streets of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Last Year's Winner: Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 86.240 mph average
Weather: Sunny early, afternoon clouds, 88 degrees F
Taking advantage of a late-race restart to pass the previously dominant Justin Wilson, Team Penske's Will Power drove a nearly flawless race Sunday on the streets of Exhibition Place to claim his fourth IZOD IndyCar Series victory of 2010 at the Honda Indy Toronto.
On a day when many of his rivals fell by the wayside or were delayed by spins and crashes, Power made his only mistake of the day on the opening lap, when he fell from second to sixth in the shuffle through Turn 1 at the end of Lakeshore Drive. Power regained a couple of positions on track, and his Team Penske crew earned him a couple more during the first round of pit stops on Lap 20.
By mid-race, the three quickest cars on track were Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Wilson, defending race winner Dario Franchitti, and Power. Franchitti led much of the middle stages of the 85-lap contest, but was passed by both Wilson and Power during the final round of stops on Laps 53-54.
By Lap 60, Wilson had opened up a 3.5-second lead over Power, but the restart on Lap 71, after the sixth of a record seven cautions in the race, changed everything. Wilson spun his rear tires on the run to the green flag, and Power was quick to capitalize, taking the lead into Turn 1 to hold off Franchitti for the victory. Later that lap, Wilson spun without contact in Turn 8, leading to a disappointing 7th-place finish.
For the tenth consecutive race weekend in 2010, all 26 drivers completed the event without a single failure of the Honda Indy V-8 engine. This weekend, drivers and teams logged a total of 8,155 trouble-free miles around the classic road-racing circuit.
Following Power and Franchitti at the finish, Ryan Hunter-Reay edged his Andretti Autosport teammate Tony Kanaan for third place, while Graham Rahal celebrated his return to the Newman Haas Racing organization with a hard-fought fifth-place finish. Danica Patrick finished sixth, equaling her best road-course result this season (at Barber Motorsports Park).
Dropping to 12th as a result of his spin on Lap 71, Wilson clawed his way back to seventh over the final 14 laps, while Marco Andretti ran eighth to place all four Andretti Autosport entries in the top eight. Rookie Simona de Silvestro had her best finish to date with a ninth-place run, while Dan Wheldon recovered from contact on the opening lap to finish 10th for Panther Racing.
Will Power (#12 Team Penske Honda) started 2nd, finished 1st, his 4th IZOD IndyCar Series victory and 2nd consecutive win of 2010; the 150th open-wheel racing victory for Team Penske: "It was tough work out there today. The track was very slippery the second half of the race and I nearly lost it a couple of times at the same place Justin [Wilson] spun. We struggled in practice at the start of the weekend, but the team just kept working hard, never giving up, and here we are in Victory Circle. Man, I just love winning!"
Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) started 5th, finished 2nd: "Not a bad job today. The car was pretty good but perhaps we pitted [for the final time] one lap too soon, as Will [Power] and Justin [Wilson] jumped us by pitting one lap later. This weekend, we just weren't quite quick enough. We need to improve, just a little bit, for the rest of the road courses this year."
Marc Sours (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on today's race: "There was a lot of on-track action for the Toronto fans today, including Paul Tracy leading 14 laps in front of his hometown crowd. Although several drivers had problems with the circuit today, I'm pleased that it was another trouble-free weekend for the Honda Indy V-8. Congratulations to Team Penske for its 150th open-wheel race victory today. That's an incredible achievement for an organization that continues to set the standard for IndyCar Series teams."
CURRENT STANDINGS, after 10 of 17 races
RANK - DRIVER - POINTS
01 Will Power 377
02 Dario Franchitti 335
03 Scott Dixon 299
04 Ryan Briscoe 292
05 Ryan Hunter-Reay 286
06 Helio Castroneves 285
07 Tony Kanaan 273
08 Justin Wilson 240
09 Dan Wheldon 231
10 Marco Andretti 225
11 Danica Patrick 218
12 Vitor Meira 191
13 Raphael Matos 186
14 Alex Tagliani 182
15 Mario Moraes 177
16 E.J. Viso 169
17 Alex Lloyd 158
18 Hideki Mutoh 154
19 Simona De Silvestro 143
20 Mario Romancini 137
21 Graham Rahal 125
22 Takuma Sato 120
23 Mike Conway 110
24 Bertrand Baguette 103
25 Milka Duno 102
26 Sarah Fisher 53
27 Tomas Scheckter 36
28 John Andretti 35
29 Ana Beatriz 33
Paul Tracy 33
31 Jay Howard 20
Ed Carpenter 20
33 Townsend Bell 18
34 Sebastian Saavedra 15
35 Davey Hamilton 14
Adam Carroll 14
37 Bruno Junqueira 13
38 A.J. Foyt IV 0
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
RANK - DRIVER - POINTS
01 Alex Lloyd 158
02 Simona de Silvestro 143
03 Mario Romancini 137
04 Takuma Sato 120
05 Bertrand Baguette 103
06 Ana Beatriz 33
07 Jay Howard 20
08 Sebastian Saavedra 15
09 Adam Carroll 14 |
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