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2018 Honda Indy Toronto preview

By Brittany Frederick

TORONTO, ON - JULY 16: Josef Newgarden (#2) during the Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto Race at Exhibition place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 16 2017 (Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JULY 16: Josef Newgarden (#2) during the Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto Race at Exhibition place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 16 2017 (Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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The Verizon IndyCar Series goes north this weekend for the 2018 Honda Indy Toronto. Here’s what to watch for in IndyCar from Toronto.

The Verizon IndyCar Series‘ lone international race is here, as the 2018 Honda Indy Toronto takes over the streets of Exhibition Place on Sunday. And when IndyCar goes north, the excitement level seems to go up, too.

Toronto is a home race for three IndyCar drivers, a return to road course racing after the short-oval craziness of Iowa, and the place where Sebastien Bourdais infamously broke his trophy (although he’s being a good sport about that this year).

Round 12 of the 2018 IndyCar season also comes after a rough week at Iowa where the points race is again wide open, with so many frontrunners having experienced trouble on the oval. They’ll all be trying to recoup points in Toronto, but not all of them will succeed.

What should we look for this weekend? Let’s break the race down in our Honda Indy Toronto preview:

THREE THINGS TO WATCH:

  • Canada: Our neighbors to the north only have one IndyCar race since the league turned this from a doubleheader to a single event, and they always make it count. The energy and all of the spectacle around the Honda Indy Toronto will add an extra dash of fun to the weekend.
  • Championship implications: In the last nine seasons, the winner of the Honda Indy Toronto has gone on to win the Verizon IndyCar Series championship five times. Of course, that also means it hasn’t happened four times, so it’s a fairly even split. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on just to see.
  • The trophy presentation: Admit it, ever since Bourdais dropped his, you’ve always watched the Toronto trophy ceremony a little closer just to see if it will happen again. It hasn’t, but if Bourdais ends up on the podium, he might pull a little fake-out.

THREE DRIVERS TO WATCH:

  • Josef Newgarden: Newgarden is the reigning Toronto winner, and his recent victory at Road America put him right back into the championship conversation. He’s now right on the heels of championship leader Scott Dixon. Plus, will his team be a little more cautious on their strategy calls this weekend after a late-race pit decision cost them a podium finish at Iowa?
  • James Hinchcliffe: As one of three Canadian drivers in the field and the most well-known, the expectations for Hinch in the Honda Indy Toronto are high. He also has momentum on his side as the most recent race winner, and he seemed like he was driving on another level at Iowa. If he made it two in a row, it would be no surprise.
  • Conor Daly: A surprise announcement came this week when Conor Daly was hired to run the No. 88 Harding Racing entry at Toronto. While it’s great news for Daly, it’s also bad news for Gabby Chaves, who’s been driving his heart out in the car all season. Can Daly improve on Chaves’ performances and also, in turn, prove he deserves another chance? And if he does, what does that mean for Chaves, who just got back into IndyCar himself?

Next: Read our interview with points leader Scott Dixon

The 2018 Honda Indy Toronto takes place Sunday, July 15 at 3:00 p.m. TV coverage is NBCSN. For complete coverage of the 2018 IndyCar season, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.