News

Toronto, Ontario (July 19, 2014) – Persistent rain showers forced INDYCAR to cancel the first race of the “2 In T.O.” Verizon IndyCar Series doubleheader on the streets of Toronto. Several attempts were made to start the race, including a call to change from a standing start to a rolling start, but with standing water on the course, race officials deemed the conditions too dangerous.

Two competitors experienced issues due to the conditions, and the pace car spun out while leading the field under the yellow caution flag. After postponing Saturday's race, INDYCAR officials made the decision to run two 65-lap races on Sunday. The first, beginning at 10:35 am ET, will utilize Saturday’s qualifying positions to set the field. Sunday’s second race - which will begin with a standing start - is set to get the green flag at 4:15 pm ET using the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series points standings to determine the starting positions.

Helio Castroneves, the Verizon IndyCar Series point leader and third-place qualifier in Toronto, will launch from the same position in the No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Dallara/Chevrolet when the first race begins Sunday morning.

“Obviously we all wanted to get the race in today, but this was the correct call,” said Castroneves. “We really tried to start the race but it was clear that we were going to wreck a lot of cars. The PPG Chevy is very fast so whenever we start the race we will be fine.”

Second-place qualifier, Will Power, was one of the unfortunate drivers to be involved in an incident as the cars tried to run in the rain Saturday. While the field was coming to one of the green-flag attempts, Power spun his No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet into the outside wall. The resulting damage to all of the left-side suspension had to be repaired by his Team Penske crew in an impressive display of team work during the long delay. Power, ranked second in the series standings, will start tomorrow’s first race from the second position.

“Unfortunately the turbo just kicked in and I whipped it and had no chance,” Power said of the unfortunate incident. "I felt really bad for the Verizon guys and they just did an incredible job making repairs in the garage. We were fortunate there and we will get another chance on Sunday. We need to make the most of it."

Juan Pablo Montoya, who qualified in the 11th position in the Saturday morning time trials, also had to deal with some misfortune during the wet day. On yet another attempt at starting the race, Montoya radioed that his car was losing power. The No. 2 Hawk Performance Dallara/Chevrolet team changed all electrical units during the delay, which resolved the problem.

“I really hate it for the fans,” said Montoya. “You never want to feel like you cheated them, but you can’t control the weather. But it was the right call. We were getting ready to have an expensive day for everyone with the cars we were going to wreck. The Hawk Chevrolet had a bit of an electrical issue, but we are good to go now. Looking forward to getting the race started.”

CNBC will provide television coverage of the first race of the Honda Indy Toronto. NBC Sports Network will air the second, 65-lap event. Radio coverage of both races will be broadcast live on IMS Radio, XM Radio 209 and Sirius Channel 213.