2022 Honda Indy Toronto

Race Notes

• The 2022 Honda Indy Toronto was 85 laps on the 11-turn, 1.768-mile temporary street course totaling 151.81 miles. Had inclement weather affected the race, it would have become a timed race of two hours.
• The pit road speed limit was 40 mph and the pit window was approximately 25–32 laps under green-flag conditions.
• Pole sitter Colton Herta gridded drivers' right and took the green flag the third time past the start-finish line.
• All cars but those of Graham Rahal, Pato O'Ward, Takuma Sato, Rinus VeeKay, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Kirkwood started on alternate red tires. All cars were required to use one new set of alternate tires and one set of primary black tires in the race.
• At 3:20 p.m. EDT, the ambient temperature at Exhibition Place in Toronto was 80 degrees with 46% relative humidity and partly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 112 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 3:23 p.m., members of the Canadian rock band Arkells, the race's grand marshal, gave the command, "Drivers, start your engines." All 25 cars started and rolled on the grid.
• Herta led the field to the green flag on Lap 1 and went on to lead 17 of the race's 85 laps.
• Four full-course cautions slowed the action in Toronto:
  • Laps 2–3: The race went yellow for debris on the racing line in Turn 8. The debris was from the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda of Sato, which had made earlier wall contact that damaged the front left corner of the race car.
  • Laps 45–48: The No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda of Alexander Rossi made contact with the barrier in Turn 3 after earlier side-to-side contact with the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist. The incident was reviewed by Race Control but no action was taken. Rossi was later checked and released from the infield care center.
  • Laps 55–57: Debris, which appeared to be pieces of concrete from the track surface, was present in Turn 1.
  • Laps 60–65: The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Honda of Kirkwood made contact with the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Johnson in Turn 9.
• Scott Dixon, who started from the second position, gained control of the leaders' strategy when he came out ahead of Herta during the first green-flag pit stop cycle. Dixon went on to lead 40 of the race's 85 laps.
• Dixon first took the lead on Lap 32 then lost it to VeeKay on Lap 47. VeeKay, who was off strategy, pitted on Lap 61 and returned the race lead to Dixon.
• Dixon went on to take the white flag with an advantage of 2.2013 seconds over Herta and won the race with a 0.8106 of a second margin of victory.
• The effort marked Dixon's first win of 2022 and the 52nd victory of his NTT IndyCar Series career, tying him with Mario Andretti for second on the all-time wins list. The victory also marked DIxon's 18th consecutive season with at least one victory and 20th season overall with at least one win.
• Herta's second-place finish in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda was his second podium of the season. He previously won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May.
• Felix Rosenqvist finished third, his season-best finish. His last podium was his win at Road America in 2020.
• Unofficial points after the Honda Indy Toronto:
  1. Ericsson 351
  2. Power 316 (-35)
  3. Palou 314 (-37)
  4. Dixon 307 (-44)
  5. Newgarden 307 (-44)
  6. O'Ward 276 (-75)
  7. McLaughlin 274 (-77)
  8. Herta 254 (-97)
  9. Rosenqvist 244 (-107)
     

Qualifying Notes

• Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award consists of three segments. In the first round, each group receives 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Round 2 while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13 to 25. Group 1 drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions while Group 2 drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions based on their fastest lap times. During Round 2, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time with the fastest six advancing to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining cars are ranked in positions seven through 12 based on their fastest laps. During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive six minutes of guaranteed green-flag time. At the end of session, cars are ranked one through six based on their fastest laps.
• At the start of the session, the ambient temperature in Toronto was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius) with clear skies. The track temperature was 124 degrees Fahrenheit (51 degrees Celsius) according to Firestone engineers.
• While Group 1 was without incident, Group 2 featured two red flags and three penalties.
  • The No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet of Conor Daly was judged to have interfered with Colton Herta's qualifying effort, causing Daly to lose his two fastest laps and the ability to advance.
  • The No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda of Devlin DeFrancesco nosed into the tires in Turn 3 causing a local yellow. At the same time, the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Alex Palou slowed to a stop bringing out a red flag. Palou was stripped of his two fastest laps and the ability to advance.
  • After the checkered flag, the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Kyle Kirkwood spun and made contact in Turn 8 after earlier wall contact. The incident brought out a red flag and cost Kirkwood his two fastest laps and the ability to advance.
• Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, David Malukas, Scott Dixon, Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin competed in the Firestone Fast Six for the NTT P1 Award.
• Herta ended the final round of qualifying with the fastest lap: 59.2698 seconds. The effort marked his ninth career NTT IndyCar Series pole. Herta became the first driver to win more than one pole position in 2022 having previously won the pole at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
  

Session Notes

• The start of Practice 2 was delayed 33 minutes due to course and wall repair from previous sessions. Despite the late start, the session remained 45 minutes in duration in a 60-minute window.
• Five minutes after the 10:33 a.m. EDT green flag, the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden was in pit lane with an oil pressure issue. Newgarden later exited his race car after turning a single lap in Practice 2.
• Eight minutes into the session, the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Alex Palou slowed on course after making contact with the inside and outside barrier in Turn 2. A red flag was not displayed.
• Two other incidents brought out red flags:
  • At 10:51 a.m., the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda of Romain Grosjean was moving slowly on course after contact in Turn 11. Due to debris, the red flag was seven minutes in duration.
  • At 11:23 a.m., the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda of Takuma Sato made contact with the barrier at the exit of Turn 6 causing a seven-minute red flag.
• Colton Herta's 1:00.0471 was the fastest lap of the session.
  

Session Notes

• The first practice of the 2022 Honda Indy Toronto race weekend was 75 minutes in duration and began nine minutes after its scheduled 2:30 p.m. EDT start time due to cleanup following the day’s earlier sessions. Teams were able to use both primary and alternate tires in Practice 1.
• In addition to a track inspection at 3:10 p.m., three other red flags paused the action:
  • At 3:23 p.m., the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet of Callum Ilott stopped in Turn 2 with front wing damage after making left-side contact with the barrier. Ilott climbed from his race car without assistance from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team.
  • At 3:34 p.m., the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Jimmie Johnson spun and made light contact in Turn 8.
  • At 3:50 p.m., the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves made contact with the tire barrier in Turn 8.
• Alexander Rossi’s 1:00.6090 in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda was the fastest lap of the session.