Honda Indy Toronto 2016 Results: 5 things we learned
With the Honda Indy Toronto race behind us, what did we learn and what major points should you take away?
With Josef Newgarden and Will Power both surging to close the points gap, leader Simon Pagenaud needed a good finish at the Honda Indy Toronto to secure his lead. However, a late race caution and great pit strategy from Power would ruin his plans.
Pagenaud started the race with luck seemingly in his favor. Contact between Josef Newgarden and Juan Pablo Montoya on lap six put Newgarden at the tail end of the field. With Pagenuad running solidly in the top-5, as they ran, he stood to gain a lot of points on Newgarden.
On lap 58, Newgarden’s car hopped a curb hard into the wall bringing out a full course caution. Newgarden, clearly in pain and favoring his broken right hand, exited the race and would finish 22nd. Initially, this seemed to be just the thing that Pagenaud needed. However, Newgarden’s caution fell at the worst time for Pagenaud. The yellow came out in the middle of green flag stops and relegated Pagenaud to 14th. Power pitted before the caution came out and so he cycled to second place.
Although he was running better than Newgarden, Pagenaud now had to worry about third in points Will Power, who now ran second.
Tony Kanaan, who was on an alternate pit strategy, took over the lead after the Newgarden caution. However, with 5 to go, he had to pit for fuel. This handed the lead to Will Power—which is exactly what Pagenaud did not want to see.
As Power drove away with the lead, contact between Montoya and Jack Hawksworth brought out the caution with four laps to go. Power had to get through one more restart to win at Toronto.
They restarted with one to go. Like he was shot out of a cannon, Power got off to a fantastic restart and drove away with the win. Helio Castroneves finished second, and James Hinchcliff finished third to round off the podium.
Next: 5 Takeaways