Scott Dixon moved himself into a tie for second most IndyCar victories with Mario Andretti. Lawyers are going to be more prominent in IndyCar circles over the next few races. The Road to Indy is inching toward its championship-deciders. There was a thrilling final lap at Lime Rock Park. Robert Wickens is human after all. Testing continues for LMDh programs. Formula E got 1960s television treatment for its only race weekend in the United States. NASCAR is verging on pure chaos. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Fixing Toronto
When IndyCar last left Toronto in 2019, I wrote about the event feeling it was being squeezed out of the city and with the tight pit configuration the course needed to be adjusted. Three years later, it is good to be back in Toronto after missing two years due to the pandemic, but with this year's race having its most entries since 2012 and the grid possibly growing in 2023 beyond 25 cars, IndyCar and Toronto must realize an adjustment is needed.
Toronto has largely had the same layout since its first race in 1986, but a notable adjustment would be needed to address the largest issue with the current circuit, the pit lane layout.
Pit lane has been too tight since it moved to its serpentine location along the final turns in 2016 and that was with only 22 cars. With the grid now above two-dozen entries and ready to expand further, Toronto cannot fit anymore cars in its pit lane location. Pit stalls were only 35-feet in length for this year's race, five feet shorter than they were in 2019 to account for the additional cars. It would be unwise to shrink pit stalls even further and frankly there comes a point where they cannot be any smaller. IndyCar should acknowledge it is at that point and the next option is working with Green Savoree Promotion and the city to adjust the circuit.
Exhibition Place is really the only place in Toronto that can host this race, but it has some room to accommodate a different circuit layouts. It would be tough to get used to something different but it is necessary and other circuits have changed before. Long Beach has had many different configurations. Vancouver had multiple layouts, as did Edmonton and Cleveland, though both those were airport circuits. Look at Belle Isle! It had multiple layouts as well.
Toronto can make this change and survive. It can also make this change and improve. Outside of turn three, is the current Exhibition Place layout the best we can do? It is certainly a suitable circuit in terms of length, but outside of the rare side-by-side battle that carries into turn five and occasional pass attempt into turn eight, the second half of the circuit is rather pedestrian. Even with the tightened set of final corners we see less passing into turn one.
The only thing working for the current layout is the Lake Shore Boulevard straightaway and turn three. The rest can be changed. How can we improve the pit lane, improve the rest of the circuit and still keep the current turn three layout intact?
I have four proposals for a new Toronto course.
Let's start with the pit lane first. IndyCar needs space. Exhibition Place does not have much space. Options are limited, but there is one area.
Right around where the original pit lane was located is a parking lot. That area is currently used as a fan area and the support series paddock are in that area. It was once where the IndyCar paddock was before it moved into the convention center across the street when the pit lane moved.
The IndyCar paddock would have to move back to the outdoor area and the pit lane could run along that arrow. It would tighten the fan area and push the grandstands back, but where the current final corners are could become a fan space with a spectator bridge crossing the main straightaway.
But moving pit lane means we would need to completely change the circuit and how cars get onto pit lane. The entirety of Princes' Boulevard would be used. How can we have this pit location and have a suitable circuit? Here is the first option?
Layout #1: 1.51 Miles
Pros: Turn three remains unchanged. Longer main straightaway. Circuit remains in the same general area.
Cons: The shortest street circuit in IndyCar would become even short. It is rather dull outside of two areas. Also, what is that around the turn two area at the intersection of Fleet Street, Manitoba Drive and Canada Boulevard?
Yep, light rail tracks, IndyCar's arch nemesis. I don't think Toronto is going to change its public transportation for IndyCar. I also think if the circuit went this direction that part of the light rail service would have to shut down due to how close the cars would be. That seems like a negative considering Toronto probably prefers spectators taking light rail to the event. Plus, this part of the circuit would be very narrow.
It could work as IndyCar would run parallel to the tracks and not over them at speed like in San Jose and Baltimore, but it would still be unideal. Next!
Layout #2: 1.31 Miles
Pros: Turn three remains unchanged. Longer main straightaway. Circuit remains in the general area. Avoids light rail tracks. It would add an oval to the IndyCar schedule. More laps.
Cons: The shortest street circuit in IndyCar would become even short. It looks like crap. There would be two great passing areas and a 125-lap race sounds appealing, but this isn't good enough.
Can we have something bigger?
Layout #3: 2.18 Miles
Pros: Turn three remains unchanged. Longer main straightaway. The circuit would be lengthened and expand into the city.
Cons: It would run along the light rail line. It would spill out of the Exhibition Place area and cause more traffic disruptions. It would be rather tight around the Coronation Park section before it turns back onto Lake Shore Boulevard.
Ok. What else can we do? The truth is the current turn three section, the best part of the circuit, would limit any new configurations. Using the current turn three, no matter what, means the circuit would need to make a right onto Princes' Blvd to get to the pit entry.
Let's throw out the restrictions. What is the best circuit we can construct while keeping the circuit confined to the Exhibition Place area?
Layout #4: 2.27 Miles
Pros: Larger circuit. Long main straightaway. A one-mile back straightaway. Confined to Exhibition Place... mostly. It is really using all of the Exhibition Place area.
Cons: This is ambitious. I am not sure IndyCar, Green Savoree Promotions and the city of Toronto could agree to terms on this. It would be more expensive as more fencing would be needed. Those roads currently not used for the circuit would likely need some work before race cars could use them, although looking at the current Toronto track layout, they couldn't be any worse than what IndyCar raced on yesterday. And a straightaway over a mile in length poses some safety concerns.
But damn it! Doesn't Toronto need something like this? It needs a 21st century identity. IndyCar needs something spectacular, especially for such a historic venue. The current Toronto layout was made in the 1980s, a time when IndyCars were rather unsophisticated and unsafe. The current car might be heavy, but it provides some stellar street course racing, arguably the best we have ever seen in IndyCar while also being as safe as ever.
Toronto has been on the ropes for a decade. It has been looking woozy for the last five years and we have been waiting for the towel to be toss in the ring.
In 2026, BMO Field will host a few games in the FIFA World Cup, a tournament that will likely run between mid-June and mid-July. FIFA isn't going to allow a street circuit to be constructed outside one of its venues when matches are taking place. If IndyCar is lucky, maybe we could have a Toronto race in late-August that year. There is a good chance 2025 could be the last year we have a Toronto race unless IndyCar does something spectacular to bring the race back to the level it once had in the late 1990s and early 21st century.
Canada has been a great supporter of IndyCar for nearly four decades, but this current relationship is in the middle of its roughest patch yet, and any future together will require some work and a realization it is time to make some changes.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Scott Dixon, but did you know...
Nick Cassidy and António Félix da Costa split the Brooklyn ePrix races.
Louis Foster swept the Indy Pro 2000 races. Myles Rowe and Jace Denmark split the U.S. F2000 races.
Christopher Bell won the NASCAR Cup race from Loudon, the 14th different winner through the first 20 Cup races. Justin Allgaier won the Grand National Series race, his third victory of the season.
The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche of Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet won the IMSA race from Lime Rock Park. The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow won in GTD.
Ukyo Sasahara won the Super Formula race from Fuji, his first career victory.
Toprak Razgatlioglu swept the three World Superbike races from Donington Park. Dominique Aegerter swept the World Supersport races and he has now won nine consecutive races through ten races this season.
Kalle Rovanperä won Rally Estonia, his fifth victory of the season.
Tony Stewart won the SRX race from I-55 Speedway.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar's return to Iowa with a doubleheader.
While the Tour de France wraps up in Paris, Formula One roars around Circuit Paul Ricard.
NASCAR's only trip to Pocono.
GT World Challenge America visits Watkins Glen.
SRX closes its season at Sharon Speedway in Ohio.
