TORONTO 鈥� It all seems lined up for Colton Herta to win his first NTT IndyCar Series event in over two years.
Herta claimed pole position in qualifying at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on Saturday at Exhibition Place, posting a fastest lap time of 59.5431 seconds.
Better yet, Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood will join him in the front row of Sunday鈥檚 race after placing second at 59.6375, allowing the team to employ some mutually beneficial strategy.
But Herta, who dropped to second overall from pole in Toronto in 2022 and placed third after starting 14th last year, knows the 85-lap street course can still present plenty of twists.
鈥淚 think it should be a fun and exciting race for everybody," Herta said. "This race has giant windows, two-stopper, so a lot of strategy comes into play, which if you鈥檙e starting up front you don鈥檛 want, but it鈥檚 how this race is.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always exciting, so hopefully it鈥檚 another exciting one and we can capitalize on the opportunities and have a win tomorrow.鈥�
Herta has come close to ending his win drought with a handful of top-five finishes and eight top-10's to date this season.
The 24-year-old American also claimed two prior pole positions but failed to finish in the top 10 either time.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the bad thing about getting poles, right? You can only break even. You can鈥檛 go further up. But it鈥檚 something that I want really bad,鈥� Herta said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e putting ourselves in the positions that we have to to win. It just hasn鈥檛 fallen our way.鈥�
Kirkwood, a 25-year-old American, is pursuing his third career win.
鈥淕lad that we got the front-row lockout. That鈥檚 huge for Andretti Global," Kirkwood said. "Of course I want the pole, but if I鈥檓 not to get it obviously a teammate鈥檚 the next best thing."
Meyer Shank鈥檚 Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden finished third (59.8252). He鈥檒l be joined in the second row by Scott McLaughlin, the New Zealander of Team Penske (59.9082).
A notable group including current championship leader Alex Palou, defending champion Christian Lundgaard, four-time champion Scott Dixon and third-ranked Pato O鈥橶ard were among those that did not advance past the first round of qualifying.
Palou was penalized for interference and will start 18th as a result. Last year, the Spaniard of Chip Ganassi Racing started 15th but rallied to finish second.
鈥淚 do not agree, but it is what it is,鈥� Palou said in a trackside interview. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 help for sure. As long as we have a fast car with me tomorrow, it鈥檚 frustrating, but it is what it is.鈥�
Australia鈥檚 Will Power, who won the most recent race last week in Iowa, was eliminated in the second round.
Meanwhile, Theo Pourchaire needed to race just to make it in time for qualifying. And he barely beat the clock.
Pourchaire said he was out for dinner with his girlfriend back home in France on Friday night when he received a call from Arrow McLaren special adviser Tony Kanaan asking if he could replace Alexander Rossi, who broke his thumb in Friday鈥檚 practice session.
It was an immediate yes from Pourchaire, who remains under contract with the team even after he was replaced on the grid a few weeks ago.
The call sparked a whirlwind. Pourchaire said he stayed up all night reviewing film of the Toronto track on which he鈥檚 never driven previously. He arrived at the airport at 5 a.m. without any sleep, caught some shut-eye on the flight, landed in Toronto at 12:50 p.m., hopped on the Union Pearson Express and made it to qualifying with about an hour to spare.
鈥淚鈥檓 not gonna refuse racing," Pourchaire said. "I love IndyCar, it鈥檚 a great championship. And I was home, waiting for four, five weeks, so right now I鈥檓 super happy to drive. It feels like a dream."
Pourchaire, the reigning Formula 2 champion, will start his sixth race of the season second-from-last in 26th after his lap time of 1:01.6071.
He was able to sneak in nine laps during his 10 minutes on the course, where he was charged with acclimating both to Rossi鈥檚 No. 7 car and the hybrid powertrain technology that鈥檚 been implemented since his last appearance.
After it was all said and done, Pourchaire knew what he needed next.
鈥淚 just want one thing right now 鈥� a bed with an air conditioner.鈥�
The McLaren team is racing with heavy hearts this weekend after the death of spotter Bob Jeffrey, who was battling cancer. The team placed stickers on its cars and equipment in memory of its longtime 鈥榚ye in the sky.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2024.
Myles Dichter, The Canadian Press
