| Race details | |
|---|---|
| 12th round of the2017 IndyCar Series season | |
 | |
| Date | July 16, 2017 |
| Official name | Honda Indy Toronto |
| Location | Exhibition Place |
| Course | Temporary road course 1.786 mi / 2.874 km |
| Distance | 85 laps 151.81 mi / 244.314 km |
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 27.3 °C (81.1 °F); with temperatures dropping to 22.1 °C (71.8 °F) by the end of the event[1] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) |
| Time | 58.9124 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) |
| Time | 1:00.2357 (on lap 55 of 85) |
| Podium | |
| First |  Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) |
| Second | Alexander Rossi (Andretti Herta Autosport) |
| Third |  James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) |
The2017 Honda Indy Toronto was anIndyCar Series event held on July 16, 2017 inToronto, Ontario, Canada. The race served as the 12th round of the2017 IndyCar Series season. FrenchmanSimon Pagenaud qualified on pole position, while AmericanJosef Newgarden took victory in the race.
Prior to the race,Schmidt Peterson Motorsports elected to replaceMikhail Aleshin in the No. 7 car, instead opting for veteran driverSebastián Saavedra. The reasons for the change were undisclosed by the team.[2]
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 15.Simon Pagenaud secured pole position, setting a new track record time of 58.9124 at an average speed of 109.14 mph (175.64 km/h). Alongside him on the front row wasGraham Rahal. The remained of the top six was rounded out byHélio Castroneves,Will Power,Scott Dixon, andJames Hinchcliffe.
Qualifying saw two incidents during the course of its several sessions. During the second group of round 1 qualifying,Esteban Gutiérrez suffered a heavy crash in turn 11 that placed doubt on his participation in the race, both due to damage to the car and due to Gutiérrez displaying concussion-like symptoms. However, the car was repaired, and Guitérrez was cleared by IndyCar's doctors, allowing him to participate in the race.[3] A second, more minor incident occurred in round 2 qualifying, whenJ. R. Hildebrand made contact with the wall in turn 8.[4]
The race was held on Sunday, July 16. At the start,Hélio Castroneves managed to pass bothSimon Pagenaud andGraham Rahal going into turn 1, giving him the lead of the race. Behind them,Scott Dixon managed to get to the inside ofWill Power to move to third. However, as cars approached turn 3, Dixon moved wide to avoid hitting the back of Rahal, in the process making contact with Power and forcing him into the outside wall. Power's car suffered terminal suspension damage, relegating him to a last place finish. Dixon limped around the track with a flat tire, which, after repairs, dropped him to the tail-end of the field. He would then be assessed a drive-through penalty for entering a closed pit-lane. The incident brought out the race's first caution period.
Racing resumed on lap 6, with Castroneves leading Pagenaud, Rahal,Josef Newgarden, andJames Hinchcliffe. The top five remained unchanged until lap 20, whenSpencer Pigot, who had charged through the field, managed to move around Hinchcliffe. Shortly thereafter, drivers began making their first pit stops, including Hinchcliffe,Alexander Rossi, andJosef Newgarden. Just as Newgarden entered the pits,Tony Kanaan nosed into the wall in turn 1, bringing out the race's second caution, forcing the leaders and anyone else who had not pitted to make their first stop under caution and secede track position. Newgarden proved the biggest beneficiary of the caution, moving into the lead once the leaders came into pit lane. Behind him wereEd Jones, who had not yet pitted,Charlie Kimball, Rossi, and Hinchcliffe.
Racing resumed on lap 27 with the top five remaining intact. Further back,Takuma Sato suffered front wing damage and a punctured tire, forcing him to pit again. On lap 29, Jones began to fall back in the field due to his worn tires, losing position first to Kimball, then to Rossi, Hinchcliffe, andMarco Andretti before finally coming in to pit on lap 33. Several drivers began to make their second pit stops shortly thereafter, includingCarlos Muñoz,Scott Dixon, and second-place running Kimball. This promoted Rossi to second, but Newgarden continued to extend his lead.
The running order remained the same until the leaders made their pit-stops at lap 54, when Newgarden led the entire top five into the pits.Max Chilton briefly inherited the lead before handing the lead over to Pagenaud with his stop on lap later. Pagenaud led until lap 57 when he pitted, allowing Newgarden to return to the lead of the race. The order now ran Newgarden, Rossi, Hinchcliffe, Dixon, Andretti, though Dixon would pit for the final time on lap 61, promotingRyan Hunter-Reay into the top 5, though with heavy pressure from Pagenaud behind. The top five remained the same until lap 81, when Hunter-Reay ran wide at turn 7, allowing Pagenaud to move ahead for position. Up front, despite dealing with traffic from a duelingTakuma Sato andConor Daly,Josef Newgarden held on to take his second victory of the 2017 season by a comfortable margin of 1.87 seconds overAlexander Rossi, whileJames Hinchcliffe came across the line third.[5]Marco Andretti secured his first top 5 finish in IndyCar since the2015 MAVTV 500 with his fourth-place finish.
In the point standings,Scott Dixon remained in the lead of the championship, but his lead dropped to only three points overHélio Castroneves.Simon Pagenaud remained in third place, while Newgarden moved past his teammateWill Power thanks to his victory.[6][7][8]
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| Pos | No. | Name | Grp. | Round 1 | Round 2 | Firestone Fast 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Simon Pagenaud | 2 | 59.5570 | 59.2922 | 58.9124 | ||||
| 2 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 1 | 59.3984 | 59.7432 | 59.2245 | ||||
| 3 | 3 |  Hélio Castroneves | 1 | 59.6836 | 59.6497 | 59.4345 | ||||
| 4 | 12 |  Will PowerW | 1 | 59.3910 | 59.6476 | 59.5430 | ||||
| 5 | 9 |  Scott DixonW | 2 | 59.7578 | 59.5732 | 59.7970 | ||||
| 6 | 5 | James Hinchcliffe | 2 | 1:00.0348 | 59.7201 | 1:00.1415 | ||||
| 7 | 2 | Josef NewgardenW | 2 | 59.6609 | 59.8992 | |||||
| 8 | 98 | Alexander Rossi | 2 | 59.5577 | 1:00.0114 | |||||
| 9 | 8 |  Max Chilton | 2 | 59.7555 | 1:00.1202 | |||||
| 10 | 26 |  Takuma Sato | 1 | 59.5527 | 1:00.1970 | |||||
| 11 | 27 | Marco Andretti | 1 | 59.7464 | 1:00.3384 | |||||
| 12 | 21 | J. R. Hildebrand | 1 | 59.6967 | 1:02.3040 | |||||
| 13 | 20 | Spencer Pigot | 1 | 59.7585 | ||||||
| 14 | 10 | Tony Kanaan | 2 | 1:00.0607 | ||||||
| 15 | 19 |  Ed JonesR | 1 | 59.8686 | ||||||
| 16 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-ReayW | 2 | 1:00.0926 | ||||||
| 17 | 83 | Charlie Kimball | 1 | 59.9820 | ||||||
| 18 | 4 | Conor Daly | 2 | 1:00.2713 | ||||||
| 19 | 14 |  Carlos Muñoz | 1 | 1:00.1650 | ||||||
| 20 | 7 | Sebastián Saavedra | 2 | 1:00.6272 | ||||||
| 21 | 18 |  Esteban GutiérrezR | 2 | 1:00.7441 | ||||||
| OFFICIAL BOX SCORE | ||||||||||
Source for individual rounds:[9]
1 Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.
Source for time gaps:[10]
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| Previous race: 2017 Iowa Corn 300 | Verizon IndyCar Series 2017 season | Next race: 2017 Honda Indy 200 |
| Previous race: 2016 Honda Indy Toronto | Honda Indy Toronto | Next race: 2018 Honda Indy Toronto |
