Herta takes pole at Honda Indy Toronto as big names falter in qualifying

TORONTO — 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’s 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.

“I 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’re starting up front you don’t want, but it’s how this race is.

“It’s always exciting, so hopefully it’s another exciting one and we can capitalize on the opportunities and have a win tomorrow.”

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.

“That’s the bad thing about getting poles, right? You can only break even. You can’t go further up. But it’s something that I want really bad,” Herta said. “We’re putting ourselves in the positions that we have to to win. It just hasn’t fallen our way.”

Kirkwood, a 25-year-old American, is pursuing his third career win.

“Glad that we got the front-row lockout. That’s huge for Andretti Global," Kirkwood said. "Of course I want the pole, but if I’m not to get it obviously a teammate’s the next best thing."

Meyer Shank’s Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden finished third (59.8252). He’ll 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’Ward 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.

“I do not agree, but it is what it is,” Palou said in a trackside interview. “It doesn’t help for sure. As long as we have a fast car with me tomorrow, it’s frustrating, but it is what it is.”

Australia’s 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’s 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’s 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.

“I’m not gonna refuse racing," Pourchaire said. "I love IndyCar, it’s a great championship. And I was home, waiting for four, five weeks, so right now I’m 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’s No. 7 car and the hybrid powertrain technology that’s been implemented since his last appearance.

After it was all said and done, Pourchaire knew what he needed next.

“I just want one thing right now — a bed with an air conditioner.”

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 ‘eye in the sky.’

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2024.