QUALIFYING REPORT: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

• Taking on qualifying on the Streets of Toronto for the fifth time after finishing P1 in the morning practice session, defending race winner Colton Herta looked to capitalize on the pace that put him atop the scoring pylon this morning.
• Building on his past success including one victory, two poles, 98 laps led and no finishes outside the top seven in his four starts on the Streets of Toronto, Herta advanced through both rounds of qualifying to earn his third Firestone Fast Six appearance at the Canadian circuit.
• Set to lead the field to green for the third time on the Streets of Toronto, Herta will look to capture his 10th career victory tomorrow.

“We’ve got a great car here in Toronto. You can see it in what Marcus, Kyle and I have been able to do in the car. I’d love to say it’s because we’re just better than everyone else, but truthfully, the Gainbridge Honda is that strong and it’s making us look good. I’m really happy with how the team is performing. This race is always a challenge. It’s long, physical and they’ve added five more laps this year which will make it even tougher. It’s great to get the pole, but the goal is to get that first win of the season tomorrow.”

• After topping yesterday’s practice leaderboard and clocking the second-fastest lap this morning, Kyle Kirkwood entered qualifying this afternoon aiming to secure a strong starting spot for tomorrow’s final street race of the season.
• Maintaining strong pace as the first Andretti INDYCAR driver to qualify, Kirkwood advanced to Round 2  before earning his seventh Firestone Fast Six appearance on a street course.
• Once the green flag waved for the Firestone Fast Six, the No. 27 Silver Gold Bull Honda unfortunately bottomed out, and while Kirkwood managed to get a few laps in the session, he ultimately took the checkered in sixth.
• With street course wins in Long Beach and Detroit this season, Kirkwood will look to add his sixth career victory on a circuit where he’s previously finished a career-best second.

“Today’s qualifying was disappointing. The Silver Gold Bull Honda has been quick all weekend, but unfortunately the car bottomed out during the Firestone Fast Six which limited the laps we could put in. It’s frustrating, but we’ve had a lot of success on street circuits this year, and I’m confident we can still go after a strong result tomorrow.”

• After facing brake issues as Marcus Ericsson rolled out for qualifying, the No. 28 was towed back for quick repairs with the crew getting it ready just in time for the Swede to join the Segment 1, Group 2 of qualifying. 
• After clocking the fourth-fastest lap in Round 1, Ericsson advanced to the second round alongside his teammates. Unfortunately, the Swede got caught in traffic in Round 2 and was unable to move on to the Firestone Fast Six.
• Despite not advancing to the Firestone Fast Six, today’s result marks Ericsson’s second-best start on the Streets of Toronto. 
• With both a top-five and a top-10 finish at the Canadian street circuit, the Swede will look to claim his second career street course victory tomorrow.
  
  
  

“I think it was a good recovery today. We had some brake issues before qualifying and realized something wasn’t right. The No. 28 crew did a great job making a last-minute change to the brakes and got the car out just in time. Segment 1 went well, but in Segment 2, I got held up by No. 45 car going really slow, which hurt my ability to get temperature in the tires. Overall, it was still a decent day and we’ll look to go after a strong result tomorrow.”

“It was a great qualifying effort to get three cars in the top eight and two into the Firestone Fast Six. I’m very happy for Colton to get the pole after facing some challenges recently. It’s a really good way to get our focus back on track. We’re excited for the race tomorrow, and now the goal is to get all three cars on the podium.”