Tuesday
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Indy Toronto Advance Notes
Press Release
Race:
Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday, July 18 (12:30 PM ET, ABC)Track: Streets of Toronto (1.721-mile street circuit)
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NOTES / NEWS
Team Target at Toronto: In 15 races through the streets of Toronto, Team Target has claimed three wins (1994, 1998, 2009), two poles, 11 top-fives, 17 top-10s with 186 laps led.
Managing Director Mike Hull on Toronto: “What makes Toronto special is that it’s held in the downtown streets of one of the greatest cities in the world, supported by some of the most passionate Indy car racing fans on the face of the planet. Our Target Team loves to compete in Big Sporting Events – Toronto is in that category. Dario’s win in 2009 follows two other great Target drivers, Michael Andretti & Alex Zanardi – who have won the Indy event for our organization. All three possess the combination of an aggressive style with the unique technical ability to dissect each of the corners to find maximum grip and passing zones to get to the front. Both Dixon and Franchitti make that work, so we’re excited to spend the weekend in Canada.”
Dario Franchitti and the No. 10 Air Wick Team
Air Wick: Toronto marks the second time that Air Wicks’ logos will be featured on a TCGR entry. The first time was on Franchitti’s car in St. Petersburg, Fla. in the first race of the 2009 season. Franchitti started fifth and led three laps en route to a fourth-place finish.
This week at the ESPY’s: Franchitti is one of five champion racers nominated for Best Driver at the 2010 ESPY Awards. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner is joined by NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday and NHRA top fuel champion Tony Schumacher in the category, which will be awarded July 14 in Los Angeles. The 18th Annual ESPY Awards ceremony will air on ESPN live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 9PM ET.
Dario at Toronto: Franchitti returns to the Toronto street circuit as the reigning Honda Indy Toronto champion. He has earned two wins (1999, 2009) and three poles (1997, 1998, 2009). Franchitti has led 216 laps at the track.
Return to the site: Franchitti will return to the track where he scored his first career pole in 1997 while driving in the CART series. Since then, Franchitti has scored 23 additional poles (11 CART, 13 IndyCar). He also ranks second in average starting position at Toronto among active drivers (Justin Wilson, 3.0) with a 3.14 average.
Points: With a third-place finish at Watkins Glen International, Franchitti moved up one position in the championship standings – sitting second now (-32 to Will Power) with 295 points.
Watkins Glen Recap: Franchitti lined-up fourth and ran in the top-five throughout most of the race leading one lap. Following the final round of pit stops, Franchitti ran second position during the final stint but ultimately finished the event in third position.
Scott Dixon and the No. 9 Target Team
History at Toronto: In three starts at Toronto, Dixon has not finished outside of the top-five, with a best finish of fourth in 2009. He has also never qualified outside the top-10.
Points: With his eighth-place finish at Watkins Glen, Dixon fell one position to his teammate in the championship standings. He currently sits third – 40 points out of the top spot.
Watkins Glen Recap: Dixon lined-up second on the grid and ran in the top-five throughout the race, leading 21 laps. After contact in the pits during the early stages, he sustained front end damage, but climbed back to a sixth-place finish, his seventh top-10 of the season.
History on the Streets: Dixon is one of only nine drivers to have completed laps in both the CART and IZOD IndyCar Series races at Toronto. He is one of two active drivers in the field to have completed 100% of the laps at Toronto between both series (Will Power is the other). He has the second highest average finish of 4.6 behind Power’s 3.7 amongst the nine drivers.
About Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR)
Target Chip Ganassi Racing is the reigning Indianapolis 500 Winner and two-time reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion. Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with sponsor, Target. Today, Target Chip Ganassi Racing includes two entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2008/2003 Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner Scott Dixon, and 2009/2007 Champion and 2010/2007 Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti. Target Chip Ganassi Racing has collected seven Championships and 76 wins since 1994 and operates out of a state-of-the-art race shop facility in Indianapolis, with a corporate office in Pittsburgh.
- Target Chip Ganassi Racing Press Release
Article Tags: Alex Zanardi, CART, Dario Franchitti, ESPY Awards, Honda Indy Toronto, IZOD IndyCar® Series, Jimmie Johnson, Justin Wilson, Kyle Busch, Michael Andretti, Mike Hull, No. 10 Air Wick Dallara / Honda, No. 9 Target Honda / Dallara / Firestone, Ron Hornaday, Scott Dixon, Streets of Toronto, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, TCGR, Tony Schumacher, Watkins Glen International, Will Power
