Sunday 4:48 p.m.- Thanks for keeping up with the live blog this weekend. Can’t wait for Edmonton! Here are some victory lane photos for you, see the rest here.
Will Power #1 at Hondy Indy Toronto
Top 3 with lots of confetti!
Sunday 3:25 p.m.- After going through the predictions on both Facebook and Twitter we have two winners from the “Pick the Top Three Trifecta Contest.” Congratulations to both Michael Hannowsky and @ACDonahue for guessing the top three drivers in the right order: Will Power, Dario Franchitti and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Sunday 2:47p.m.- WE HAVE A WINNER- Will Power to Victory Lane! Highlight video and tons of pictures from throughout the race to come!
Will Power wins at Honda Indy Toronto
Sunday 2:34 p.m.- Sixth full course yellow of the race- Last year there were only 5! Alex Tagliani and Tomas Scheckter connect in the corner. Justin Wilson spins out and Scott Dixon loses his front suspension. All in one lap!
Sunday 2:23 p.m.- Check out the pictures we snapped during pre-race activity on our Flickr set: here. Especially with Grand Marshall Greg Kinnear-Academy Award nominee and star of such films as Flash of Genius, As Good As It Gets, Little Miss Sunshine and the upcoming series, The Kennedy’s.
The Kinnear's with Dario Pre-race
Sunday 1:57 p.m.- Yellow flag galore! Who’s out? Takuma Sato, Milka Duno, Alex Lloyd, Helio Castroneves and Mario Romancini.
Sunday 1:00 p.m.- GREEN! Race time people! Watch on Race Control: LIVE STREAM
Sunday 12:43 p.m.- Drivers to your cars!
Sunday 11:29 a.m.- Firestone Indy Lights on the Streets of Toronto just ended, with Toronto native James Hinchcliffe having an unfortunate accident in the last lap. J.K. Vernay placed first. While the Indy Lights race finished up, our celebrity guests have been arriving. People we’ve seen so far: Greg Kinnear, Jon Cassar, Barry Pepper, Allie McDonald and James Thomas.
Greg and Helen Kinnear
SUNDAY (RACE DAY) 7:20 a.m- Finally its race day at Honday Indy Toronto! Yesterday we attended another Tweet Up and gifted a Hot Wheels prize pack full of signed Alex Tagliani gear to a luck Twitter follower. Shout out to @dombarbaro! Today we have a GoDaddy prize bag to give-away so stay tuned on how to win. In the mean time here are some highlights from yesterday’s qualification. Enjoy!
Saturday 3:16p.m.- We just uploaded a bunch of qualifying photos to the Honda Indy Toronto Flickr Set. See what’s been going on here.
Cool pics like this one- We call it "Super Power"
Saturday 2:56p.m.- Congratulations to Pole Winner: Justin Wilson! He also set a new IZOD IndyCar Series track record. This was the first pole win for Wilson. It was also Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s second overall pole win, their last pole win was in 2002 with driver Sarah Fisher.
Justin Wilson Pole Winner
Saturday 12:57 p.m.- Firestone Indy Lights Qualifications are over with J.K. Vernay winning the pole position. The IZOD IndyCar Qualifications are now underway!! Tune into Race Control now- for real timing and scoring and driver cameras, so you can ride along with your favorite driver. If you had yet to click the links I’ve been posting on the blog you are missing out! Here is one: Race Control
Saturday 11:10 a.m.- Have questions about the new car strategy? Now is your chance to ask them! IZOD Indy Car Series CEO Randy Bernard will be answering questions regarding Wednesday’s 2012 IndyCar Strategy announcement today during Honda Indy Toronto qualifications (12:50-2:20 ET). Randy will be joining IMS Radio Network personality Mike King during the IndyCar qualifying broadcast. Live coverage of qualifying for the Honda Indy Toronto can be heard in the U.S. on XM IndyCar 145, Sirius 212 and IndyCar.com. Canadian fans can catch qualifying on XM IndyCar 145 and IndyCar.com.
- Submit your fan questions for Randy Bernard at askmike@brickyard.com
- Click Here to go to IndyCar Radio
Saturday 10:21 a.m.- Top 5 Driver results from Practice #2:
- Ryan Hunter-Reay: 01:02.1433
- Justin Wilson: 01:02.1839
- Helio Castroneves: 01:02.2550
- Will Power: 01:02.3439
- Raphael Matos: 01:02.3894
See all the IZOD IndyCar Series driver results from Practice #2 here.
Saturday 10:02 a.m.- Erica Hill adjusts the firesuit with the “The Early Show” emblazoned on the front and pulls on the helmet branded IZOD PerformX before gingerly climbing into the Indy Racing Experience two-seater. Davey Hamilton is waiting behind the wheel to give the CBS anchor/reporter “a nice morning spin around the circuit.”
Erica Hill Chatting with Davey Hamilton
That he did – at about 95 mph on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn street circuit at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
“That was incredible,” she says after being unhooked from microphones and unbelted from the back seat of the stretched Dallara chassis. “I thought it was going to be a lot faster, then I realized you were just warming up. That second lap, oh my goodness. That was a big difference.”
Hamilton explains that though the tires weren’t up to temp on the two laps, “you could still feel how fast it is and how you’re moved around.”
Erica Hill from CBS Early Morning Show
That was Part 1. Three hours later, after waves of instruction and encouragement from Hamilton, Panther Racing’s Dan Wheldon, Andretti Autosport’s Tony Kanaan and IZOD IndyCar Series points leader Will Power, she is strapped into the cockpit of a single-seat IndyCar (minus a few horsepower from the IZOD IndyCar Series cars) for a lap of the physically demanding course.
“I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face the whole time,” Hill says after the adventure in which she hit 85 mph. “I was sitting in the car waiting to go and then it hit me I was actually driving an IndyCar and it was incredible. The adrenaline rush is just unbelievable.”
Mission accomplished, Hill departs pit lane with souvenir helmet in hand, a great story to bring to viewers and a duffle bag full of memories. The segment will be broadcast on “The Early Show” in the next week.
“I was told it would be good to go above 70 (mph), so it made me feel pretty good I hit 85,” she says. “All the drivers were very generous with their time and very welcoming to talk abou twhat they do. My dream job is their everyday job.”
(Story covered by blogger Dave Lewandowski)
Saturday 9:40 a.m.- Second Practice for IZOD IndyCar is underway, Rafa Matos is the only crash so far and currently Ryan Briscoe is fastest. Stay tuned to see who places in the top 5.
Saturday 8:10 a.m.- Firestone Indy Lights drivers are up for practice early today! Watch it all live on Race Control…you know the drill: Click here.
James Hinchcliffe, fastest in Firestone Indy Lights practice Friday & Toronto local
Saturday 7:09 a.m.- The IndyCar team is here early at the track today and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful day- 75 degrees and blue skies!
Friday 6:54 p.m.- Just got back from the Alex Tagliani and the FAZZT Team’s Tweet Up at the Hyatt Regency Hotel! Tagliani hosted the Tweet Up cocktail party for his fans in the hotel bar (follow @Tagliani and @FAZZT77) We even gave away a Hot Wheels prize bag to a lucky fan! Thanks to all the fans who came! Here are a few photos from the Tweet Up:
Tags talking to Twitter Followers
@FAZZT77 Tweet Up at the Hyatt
Hot Wheels Car outside the Hyatt
Friday 3:45 p.m.- After round one of practice Graham Rahal did a Vblog from Race Control check out what he had to say:
Friday 3:28 p.m.- Highlights from Round 1 of practicing:
Friday 1:50 p.m.- IZOD IndyCar Practice is back on Race Control! This practice will last from 1:50-2:50. How are you liking this street course fans?
Friday 12:50 p.m.- Results from the IZOD IndyCar practice:
- 1- Scott Dixon (01:03.9149)
- 2- Justin Wilson (01:03.9804)
- 3- Alex Tagliani (01:04.0220)
- 4- Helio Castroneves (01:04.0355)
- 5- Dario Franchitti (01:04.3344)
Lined up in Toronto ready for Practice
Friday 11:18 a.m.- Firestone Indy Lights Practice is underway! Want to watch? Check out the action on Race Control: here.
Friday 10:49 a.m.- We’re adding images to Flickr throughout the day and we always love the images that show all the work that goes into making these cars run with speed and beauty.
Hard at work
Friday 9:47 a.m.- Let the track action begin! IZOD IndyCar Practice begins soon…9:55-10:55. Race Control will be live at 9:55 a.m. with Track Feed in Turn 1, Turn 3, Turn 7, and Turn 9. Click here to watch. A view from one of our turn cameras:
Baguette via Race Control Cam
Friday 8:49 a.m.- Danica Patrick held a press conference this morning in the Media Center. She talked about how strategically different it is to drive a street course and how this track has its challenges. She was confident in her preparation for the race. Here is a photo we snapped:
Press Conference with Danica
Thursday 11:03 p.m.- Whoa, we have been uploading and tagging pictures for what seems like forever. Check out the Flickr set here containing all the pictures from IZOD Race to the Party Toronto and the after party. Here is a red carpet shot from the after party:
Alex Lloyd, Marco Andretti, IZOD Trophy Girl, E.J Viso, Ryan Hunter-Reay
Thursday 7:58 p.m- The after party is heading over to Dolce Social Club. The drivers are headed over there now to walk the red carpet and have a few sociables. Hope you are following us on Twitter for even more updates @IndyCarNation.
Thursday 7:34 p.m.- Yep, and just like that it’s over! It’s all about speed and “Tag” aka Alex Tagliani wins the Pit Stop Challenge. Although Paul Tracy did win 2/3, Tagliani won the last round for all the glory.
Thursday 7:30 p.m.- PIT STOP CHALLENGE TIME! The hosts for IZOD Race to the Party, Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy face off!
Pit Stop Challenge Clock Ready
Ready, Set, GO!
Thursday 7:01 p.m.- We are at IZOD Race to the Party, Rival Sons are rocking out here on John Street. The sun hasn’t set yet and it’s HOT out! The drivers are all here hanging out next to Jack Astor’s Bar and Grill. We are snapping photos like crazy, so sit tight and we will upload to Flickr and post our favorites here as quick as we can!
Paul Tracy signs for Fans
Thursday 3:23 p.m.- Guess what?! We have decided to live blog the entire Honda Indy Toronto race weekend! That means from Thursday (set-up day) until the end of the race on Sunday we will be supplying you with everything and anything IZOD IndyCar Series. We are taking you to all the parties: IZOD Race to the Party hosted by Canada’s Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy tonight, Budweiser’s Driver Party tomorrow and of course we will always be letting you know what is going on at the track. For instance, right now the Pace Car Team is giving Hot Lap rides until 4:30.
Pace Car- Hot Laps in TO
So stay tuned as the content comes pouring out onto the live blog and give us some feedback in the comment section. Anything in particular you want to see? How about some Set-up Day pictures we posted to Flickr to wet your appetite: here. (Beth)
…..I’m sorry. Doesn’t your IZOD girl have a name?? How rude!!!!
She does have a name it’s Cameron Haven however her title is officially the “IZOD Trophy Girl”
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