Team Penske Race Preview - Toronto
July 11, 2013
THE RACE
Honda Indy Toronto (IZOD IndyCar Series)
Streets of Exhibition Place (1.75-mile street circuit)
“Two in T.O.” Saturday and Sunday, July 13-14, 2013
No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Standing: 1st
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Will Power - @12WillPower
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Standing: 9th (-114 pts.)
THE BROADCASTS
Qualifying:
Friday (Race 1) – 2:15 pm ET (tape-delayed on NBC Sports at 5:30 pm ET)
Saturday (Race 2) – 10:35 am ET
Race:
Saturday (Race 1) – 3 pm ET (live on NBC Sports)
Sunday (Race 2) – 3 pm ET (live on NBC Sports)
Radio Broadcast: IMS Radio/ SiriusXM 211
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
· LEADING MAN: Helio Castroneves continues to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series standings as he arrives in Toronto with a 22-point lead in the title chase over defending champ Ryan Hunter-Reay. Toronto marks the eighth event out of 11 this season that Castroneves has led the points entering race weekend.
· SUPER STATS: Castroneves also ranks high in several other key statistical categories. He tops the Road Course championship rankings as well and is tied with Hunter-Reay for the lead in the Oval Course standings. Castroneves is the only driver to complete all 1,583 laps of competition in 2013 and he also leads the series with 10 top-10 finishes in 11 races. His average finish of 6.0 tops all series regulars as well.
· TOUGH IN T.O: Though he won the 1997 Indy Lights race on the streets of Toronto, Castroneves has struggled with his IndyCar results on the technical street circuit. In eight career starts at Exhibition Place, Castroneves has just two top-10 finishes with his best-ever result coming last season when he finished in sixth place. Castroneves did win the 2000 pole at Toronto.
· TALKIN’ TURBO: After a visit to team sponsor SKF on Monday, Castroneves traveled to New York City on Tuesday for the premiere of the new animated movie “Turbo” in which a snail dreams of competing in the Indy 500. Castroneves appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” and served as red carpet correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight” during the movie premiere Tuesday night. He also plans to attend the movie premiere event in Toronto on Thursday evening.
· HITACHI HELPS FANS CHEER FOR GEAR: Hitachi, the sponsor of Castroneves’ No. 3 Team Penske IndyCar, continues its “Cheer for Gear” Sweepstakes. Fans can enter to win authentic racing gear and diecast model cars autographed by Castroneves. Each entrant will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing to win a trip for two to the IZOD IndyCar Series race in Sonoma, Calif., in August. Enter at www.facebook.com/hitachimotorsports.
THE Q & A
DO YOU LIKE RACING IN TORONTO?
“I love Toronto. What an awesome city and the race fans there are great. I always enjoy coming to Toronto and the race itself really has a lot of tradition and history. This year it has the new twist of being two races in one weekend. It will be a tough because this is a physical street circuit and there always seems to be a lot of action in the races in Toronto. But the No. 3 Team Penske crew has been working hard since the weekend to get the Hitachi Chevrolet prepared and we will be ready to go this weekend. There are a lot of points out there this weekend and our goal is to make sure we leave Toronto still in front in the championship.”
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
· ON THE RISE: Power continues to climb his way back into contention in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings. After falling to a season-low 18th in the standings after the Sao Paulo race, Power has continued to rise up the rankings and he enters Toronto now in ninth place in points.
· TERRIFIC IN TORONTO: Toronto has been a good track for Power in the past. He owns two wins at Exhibition Place as he captured the 2007 Champ Car event there and won again in 2010 with Team Penske. In six career starts at Toronto he has one pole (2011), three podium finishes and 85 laps led. He has also qualified among the top two in the last four consecutive races.
· CAPTAIN CANADA: Including his success in Toronto, Power has been dominant when the IndyCar Series races in Canada. Since 2007, Power has earned four wins and three poles at Canadian race venues.
· OVAL TO ROAD: Ironically, Power, the series’ three-time defending road course champion, has had his best success this season on oval tracks. Power’s average finish on road courses so far in 2013 in 14.8 while his average finishing position on ovals is 10.0. The native of Toowoomba, Australia earned his top finish of the year with a third-place result at the Milwaukee Mile short oval in June. He will be looking to better his top road course result of fifth place in 2013 (Barber) this weekend at Toronto.
· STANDING START SUCCESS: Saturday’s first of two races this weekend in Toronto will feature the first standing start in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Power is one of the current crop of drivers that has some experience with standing starts as he did them in the Champ Car Series and when he competed in the V8 Supercar races in his native Australia over the last few years. In the most recent Indy car race to feature a standing start, Power passed three cars at the green flag on his way to winning the Grand Prix of Long Beach Champ Car race in 2008.
THE Q & A
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS WEEKEND FOR THE TEAM?
“This will be an important weekend for the Verizon team. We had some good results on the ovals and we’ve continued to score points and keep chipping away after a tough start to the season. With the two races in Toronto there’s a real good opportunity to make up some more ground in the championship. I really enjoy racing at the street circuit in Toronto. We’ve won there before and we know it’s a demanding street circuit that will definitely be a challenge to race twice in two days. But I’m looking forward to it. We want to build on our momentum in the Verizon Chevy and Toronto is a great place to do it.”
Honda Indy Toronto (IZOD IndyCar Series)
Streets of Exhibition Place (1.75-mile street circuit)
“Two in T.O.” Saturday and Sunday, July 13-14, 2013
No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Standing: 1st
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Will Power - @12WillPower
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Standing: 9th (-114 pts.)
THE BROADCASTS
Qualifying:
Friday (Race 1) – 2:15 pm ET (tape-delayed on NBC Sports at 5:30 pm ET)
Saturday (Race 2) – 10:35 am ET
Race:
Saturday (Race 1) – 3 pm ET (live on NBC Sports)
Sunday (Race 2) – 3 pm ET (live on NBC Sports)
Radio Broadcast: IMS Radio/ SiriusXM 211
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
· LEADING MAN: Helio Castroneves continues to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series standings as he arrives in Toronto with a 22-point lead in the title chase over defending champ Ryan Hunter-Reay. Toronto marks the eighth event out of 11 this season that Castroneves has led the points entering race weekend.
· SUPER STATS: Castroneves also ranks high in several other key statistical categories. He tops the Road Course championship rankings as well and is tied with Hunter-Reay for the lead in the Oval Course standings. Castroneves is the only driver to complete all 1,583 laps of competition in 2013 and he also leads the series with 10 top-10 finishes in 11 races. His average finish of 6.0 tops all series regulars as well.
· TOUGH IN T.O: Though he won the 1997 Indy Lights race on the streets of Toronto, Castroneves has struggled with his IndyCar results on the technical street circuit. In eight career starts at Exhibition Place, Castroneves has just two top-10 finishes with his best-ever result coming last season when he finished in sixth place. Castroneves did win the 2000 pole at Toronto.
· TALKIN’ TURBO: After a visit to team sponsor SKF on Monday, Castroneves traveled to New York City on Tuesday for the premiere of the new animated movie “Turbo” in which a snail dreams of competing in the Indy 500. Castroneves appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” and served as red carpet correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight” during the movie premiere Tuesday night. He also plans to attend the movie premiere event in Toronto on Thursday evening.
· HITACHI HELPS FANS CHEER FOR GEAR: Hitachi, the sponsor of Castroneves’ No. 3 Team Penske IndyCar, continues its “Cheer for Gear” Sweepstakes. Fans can enter to win authentic racing gear and diecast model cars autographed by Castroneves. Each entrant will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing to win a trip for two to the IZOD IndyCar Series race in Sonoma, Calif., in August. Enter at www.facebook.com/hitachimotorsports.
THE Q & A
DO YOU LIKE RACING IN TORONTO?
“I love Toronto. What an awesome city and the race fans there are great. I always enjoy coming to Toronto and the race itself really has a lot of tradition and history. This year it has the new twist of being two races in one weekend. It will be a tough because this is a physical street circuit and there always seems to be a lot of action in the races in Toronto. But the No. 3 Team Penske crew has been working hard since the weekend to get the Hitachi Chevrolet prepared and we will be ready to go this weekend. There are a lot of points out there this weekend and our goal is to make sure we leave Toronto still in front in the championship.”
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
· ON THE RISE: Power continues to climb his way back into contention in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings. After falling to a season-low 18th in the standings after the Sao Paulo race, Power has continued to rise up the rankings and he enters Toronto now in ninth place in points.
· TERRIFIC IN TORONTO: Toronto has been a good track for Power in the past. He owns two wins at Exhibition Place as he captured the 2007 Champ Car event there and won again in 2010 with Team Penske. In six career starts at Toronto he has one pole (2011), three podium finishes and 85 laps led. He has also qualified among the top two in the last four consecutive races.
· CAPTAIN CANADA: Including his success in Toronto, Power has been dominant when the IndyCar Series races in Canada. Since 2007, Power has earned four wins and three poles at Canadian race venues.
· OVAL TO ROAD: Ironically, Power, the series’ three-time defending road course champion, has had his best success this season on oval tracks. Power’s average finish on road courses so far in 2013 in 14.8 while his average finishing position on ovals is 10.0. The native of Toowoomba, Australia earned his top finish of the year with a third-place result at the Milwaukee Mile short oval in June. He will be looking to better his top road course result of fifth place in 2013 (Barber) this weekend at Toronto.
· STANDING START SUCCESS: Saturday’s first of two races this weekend in Toronto will feature the first standing start in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Power is one of the current crop of drivers that has some experience with standing starts as he did them in the Champ Car Series and when he competed in the V8 Supercar races in his native Australia over the last few years. In the most recent Indy car race to feature a standing start, Power passed three cars at the green flag on his way to winning the Grand Prix of Long Beach Champ Car race in 2008.
THE Q & A
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS WEEKEND FOR THE TEAM?
“This will be an important weekend for the Verizon team. We had some good results on the ovals and we’ve continued to score points and keep chipping away after a tough start to the season. With the two races in Toronto there’s a real good opportunity to make up some more ground in the championship. I really enjoy racing at the street circuit in Toronto. We’ve won there before and we know it’s a demanding street circuit that will definitely be a challenge to race twice in two days. But I’m looking forward to it. We want to build on our momentum in the Verizon Chevy and Toronto is a great place to do it.”