James Hinchcliffe came extremely close to claiming the Honda Indy Toronto crown on Sunday, but Josef Newgarden was five seconds faster, winning the race for the second time in three years. Hinchcliffe would finish in third place, just behind Alexander Rossi.
All three drivers were beneficiaries of a perfectly-timed caution flag on the 23rd lap after Tony Kanaan hit a tire barrier. Newgarden, Hinchliffe and Rossi got an early entry into the pits while a good portion of the field was behind on the nearly two-mile course. For the day, Newgarden led 58 of the 85 laps.
Celebration dance! Hometown boy @Hinchtown is pretty happy with his P3! #indyTO #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/5mTcpy0gEj
— Schmidt Peterson (@SPMIndyCar) July 16, 2017
Growing up in Oakville and as the lone Canadian in the race, Hinchcliffe relishes competing in the July event.
“I look forward to it every year,” he told Sportsnet after taking third for the third straight year. “But every year when I come here for this day, it just gets me much more amped.”
In terms of IndyCar Series standings, Hinchcliffe still has a lot of climbing to do with a handful of races left. He's in 10th place with 297 points, two ahead of Max Chilton. The next race on the Indy Car Series schedule is the Honda Indy 200 in Lexington, Ohio.