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Old Jul 18, 2010 | 08:00 PM
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94civicEX
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Default Honda Indy Toronto Race Report

Toronto, Ont. - Jul 18 — Circuit: Exhibition Place (1.755-mile temporary street circuit) Toronto, Ont.
2009 Winner: Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 86.240 mph average
Weather: Sunny early, afternoon clouds, 88 degrees F

Race Results:

Fn. St. Driver Team Engine/Chassis Laps Average Speed/Notes 1. 2. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 85 83.451 mph avg.; led 15 laps 2. 5. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 85 -1.2757 seconds, led 22 laps 3. 4. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 85 85 -1.7605 seconds 4. 8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 85 -3.5382 seconds; led 1 lap 5. 14. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Racing Honda Dallara 85 -9.7349 seconds 6. 12. Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 85 -11.9439 seconds 7. 1. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 85 -12.3783 seconds; led 32 laps 8. 10. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 85 -16.3360 seconds 9. 21. Simona de Silvestro HVM Racing Honda Dallara 85 -21.5321 seconds 10. 15. Dan Wheldon Panther Racing Honda Dallara 85 -23.1537 seconds 11. 26. Vitor Meira A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 85 -25.8960 seconds 12. 22. Hideki Mutoh Newman Haas Racing Honda Dallara 85 -26.3878 seconds 13. 24. Paul Tracy KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 84 Running, led 14 laps 14. 20. Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 84 Running 15. 19. Tomas Schekter Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 84 Running 16. 16. Bertrand Baguette - R Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 84 Running 17. 9. Alex Tagliani FAZZT Racing Honda Dallara 84 Running 18. 7. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 83 Running 19. 13. E.J. Viso KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 82 Running 20. 6. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 71 Did not finish - contact 21. 11. Raphael Matos de Ferran Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 64 Did not finish - crash 22. 17. Mario Romancini - R Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 31 Did not finish - crash 23. 23. Alex Lloyd - R Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 26 Did not finish - crash 24. 3. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 21 Did not finish - crash 25. 18. Takuma Sato - R KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 15 Did not finish - crash 26. 25. Milka Duno Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 8 Did not finish - handling Penske's Power Tames Toronto

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.

Next week, the IZOD IndyCar Series heads west to Alberta to conclude its "Canadian Tour 2010" with the Honda Indy Edmonton, the fifth and final temporary street circuit of the season, held on the runways and tarmac of Edmonton's City Centre Airport.

IZOD IndyCar Series Championship (after 10 of 17 races):

1. Will Power 327 (4 wins) 6. Helio Castroneves 251 (1 win) 2. Dario Franchitti 295 (1 win) 7. Tony Kanaan 241 (1 win) 3. Scott Dixon 287 (1 win) 8. Justin Wilson 211 4. Ryan Briscoe 280 (1 win) Dan Wheldon 211 5. Ryan Hunter-Reay 273 (1 win) 10. Marco Andretti 201 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."



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