2016 Honda Indy Toronto Driver Reaction

2016 Honda Indy Toronto winner Will Power and other drivers react to Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series results.

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The 2016 Honda Indy Toronto was another rough outing for Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who was already working from behind after shunting his car during Friday practice.

Sunday wasn’t any more kind to the Columbian, who was involved in multiple incidents during the race, including when he rear-ended Josef Newgarden just six laps in.

Speaking after the Honda Indy Toronto, Montoya said the issues have just seemed to compile each week, and he’s growing rather impatient.

“In the morning yesterday we had a misfire with the engine and didn’t do any laps before qualifying,” he said of the No. 2 DeVilbiss Team Penske Chevrolet. “We knew we had a good race car though. It seems like every weekend there is something, and it’s getting really old really fast.”

Teammate Helio Castroneves had a much different fortune on Sunday — he finished in second place at the Honda Indy Toronto despite an early puncture which dropped him out of the top three.

From that point on Castroneves and company switched to their alternative pit strategy, which was surely aided by the amount of cautions Sunday’s race saw.

“I’m smiling because I know we didn’t win, but the Pennzoil Chevrolet car was really strong,” Castroneves commented. “It was very difficult to get the tires going but Roger and the entire Pennzoil Chevrolet guys, man, I’m so proud to be part of this team. These guys are never giving up.”

After the Honda Indy Toronto the Brazilian currently sits third in the IndyCar points standings, just behind race winner Power.

Early on the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto appeared to be polesitter Scott Dixon‘s to lose. He showcased a dominant first half of the race, which culminated after he had built a near eight-second lead ahead the rest of the pack after the first pit phase.

However, Dixon’s race day was sabotaged after Newgarden clobbered the curbs at Turn 5 on lap 59, launching himself into the wall. This brought the majority of the field into the pits, including Dixon.

The No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet peeled out of the pits outside the Top 10, and ultimately finished eighth.

“Obviously not the result that we wanted today for Team Target after starting on pole and leading all those laps in the first few stints,” Dixon said afterward. “It was looking like it was going to be our race all afternoon but the timing of how everything worked out just took it away from us. It was just about as frustrating of a race as you can have.”

Hometown driver James Hinchcliffe ended the Honda Indy Toronto in third position, the first podium finish for the Canadian at the Toronto race, as well as his best career result there. His previous high had been finishing eighth on two separate occasions.

The final caution of the race provided just the boost that the No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda needed to sneak onto the podium after a ferocious stint of fuel-saving.

“As we’re coming out of that last restart, I saw everybody in the last section get to their feet and I was just hoping I didn’t screw it up,” Hinchcliffe explained.

Hinchcliffe fully admitted to receiving a sort of home field advantage, saying that his car didn’t have a podium pace on Sunday.

“It was obviously a great day to have a good day and for once we caught a lucky break in Toronto. I’m not going to lie and sit here say we had third-place pace,” he said. “We really struggled on blacks in the middle stint. But as the cloud cover came out in that last stint, the track really kind of came to us so we had to save fuel. The car was there.”

For Power, who now sits second in the IndyCar championship points standings, the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto was a statement victory.

“The Verizon Chevrolet team has been doing a great job. Obviously we have been playing catch-up all year, but every race they are executing,” he reflected. “We are getting great strategies, great cars. We just have to keep chipping away, chipping away at this and see if we can have a shot at this.”