Car FYI

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Due to various reasons, I have not had the time I needed to properly share my experience at the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto. It is really quite a shame on my part because the day I attended the event was perhaps the most lively events I have been to. The reconfigured track resulting from moving pit to the outside portion of the front stretch, positioning the IndyCar paddock inside the Enercare Centre, the return of NASCAR stock cars belonging to the Canadian Pinty's Series as well as the overall ambiance of the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto provided a memorable time at the races. The Verizon IndyCar Series paddock located inside for 2016 served as an interesting change. Providing a fresh change of scenery to watch the crews prepare race cars, it wasn't without a minor discomfort. Though the area was shaded from the hot July sun and any potential precipitation, I found it to be actually warmer inside than outside since a breeze was present through much of...

Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski For the 30th occasion, the City of Toronto has welcomed a majestic show of competitive technology alongside the waterfront within the Exhibition Place grounds. Since 1986, open wheel Indy-style cars have been the highlight to major auto racing held on a temporary street course. With exception to 2008, the racing activities has been an yearly occasion that attracted some of the largest crowds for an annual sporting event in Ontario and ranks high within the country of Canada. As the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series arrived in Toronto for the longstanding engagement of thrilling Canadian fans, this year's race demonstrated a revamped flavour compared to the 29 races that preceded this year's race. Not immune to the hotel/condo construction fever that Toronto has been weathering for the past decade, the 30th anniversary of the Honda Indy Toronto was marked by some key changes. The movement of the pit road to the left side of the track was noted for th...

Photo Credit: Chris Jones For three decades, Indy-style car racing has been an ingredient of summertime in Toronto (well, somewhat less last year since the race was positioned in June to accommodate the 2015 Pan-Am Games but the race was still held in reasonably warm temperatures). The 30th edition of the Toronto street race within Exhibition Place arrived with sensational momentum as current IndyCar stars including Canadian and 2016 Indy 500 pole sitter James Hinchcliffe prepared for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ only stop outside of the United States for 2016. Serving as the main event for the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto, the Verizon IndyCar Series 85-lap race on Sunday was set by the outcome of Saturday afternoon qualifying. Contending on a refreshed street course design for 2016 created as a result of construction within the event grounds, the pit road was most notably shifted from the right side of the track to the left side. The pit road location movement has also prepared to ...

Photo Credit: Chris Jones One week ahead of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, the 33-car field was structured by two days of time trials. Sunday’s Fast 9 was established on Saturday by the quickest qualifiers of the day one qualifying session. Consisting of five Honda and four Chevrolet powered machines, qualifying for the momentous 2016 Memorial Day 500-mile event gave nine cars the opportunity for the coveted pole position with the best 10-mile run around the 2.5-mile oval track. The first of the nine cars to post a pole-challenging run, Simon Pagenaud in the #22 car for Team Penske set the early benchmark with a 229.139-mile per hour average speed through a four-lap qualifying run. Carlos Munoz quickly displaced Pagenaud from the top spot piloting an Andretti Autosport machine. Two cars after Munoz, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden posted an effort resulting in a 230.700-mile per hour average qualifying time. Newgarden’s fast effort in the #21 Chevrolet-powered ...

Photo Credit: Chris Jones St. Petersburg, Florida once again serves as the launching pad for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ 2016 campaign. The 1.8-mile street course in the vibrant tourist hot spot provided the first opportunity for open wheel drivers in the North American-based series to compete with a clean slate. The first race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series would be contested by 22 drivers (18 returning veterans and 4 rookies to the Series) for a 110-lap main event on Sunday. Two drivers for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Canada’s James Hinchcliffe and Russian driver Mikhail Aleshin made competitive returns to the cockpit for a full season. Hinchcliffe’s 2015 season came to an end at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway following a severe crash in practice for the Indy 500. Aleshin’s suffered injuries in a practice crash in the 2014 race at Auto Club Speedway that took the driver out of the car for a year. Mikhail Aleshin was back in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car for IndyCar...

Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Johnson Equals The Intimidator’s Career Win Tally With Thrilling Atlanta Victory The second race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was a drastically different affair compared to the Daytona 500 opener won by Denny Hamlin . Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 was the season’s first use of new low-downforce aerodynamic rules on the stock cars. Differences in car handling and the aged surface of the oval track contributed to a very active race with plenty of competitive passing. Despite vehicles being less stable than in previously years, the 39-car field was slowed by only three cautions with the first coming out on lap 211. Ceasing on an advantage through short-pitting in a late stint to vault over the race-dominating vehicle of Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr, the #48 Lowes Chevrolet piloted by Jimmie Johnson held an advantage of more than five seconds before a lap-324 caution resulting from a spinning #31 ...