The familiar roar of IndyCar engines returned to Exhibition Place Friday as Kyle Kirkwood posted the fastest practice lap at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, signaling his intentions for the weekend ahead.
Kirkwood, piloting the vibrant blue and yellow Andretti Global machine, clocked a blistering 59.3267 seconds around the demanding 11-turn, 2.874-km temporary street circuit. The 27-year-old Florida native looked completely at home navigating the bumpy concrete surfaces and tight corners that make Toronto’s layout one of the most technically challenging on the IndyCar calendar.
“Toronto has always clicked with my driving style,” Kirkwood told me during a brief pause between practice sessions. “The combination of slow, technical sections and those concrete transitions rewards precision and aggression in equal measure. We rolled off the truck with a fantastic setup today.”
The practice session featured the typical Toronto drama fans have come to expect. Several drivers, including championship contender Pato O’Ward, found themselves exploring the circuit’s unforgiving concrete barriers. Exhibition Place’s unique surface combinations – transitioning between smooth asphalt and jarring concrete sections – created significant challenges as teams worked to find optimal suspension settings.
Canadian drivers faced mixed fortunes on home soil. Devlin DeFrancesco, the Toronto native competing in his fourth IndyCar season, finished an encouraging eighth fastest with a time just six-tenths behind Kirkwood. Fellow Ontarian Dalton Kellett struggled with brake issues throughout the session, ending 21st on the timesheet.
“Racing at home brings its own kind of pressure,” DeFrancesco explained after climbing from his car. “You want to perform for the hometown crowd, but you can’t force it around a street circuit like this. We’ve got good pace, but we’re still hunting for that perfect balance between the concrete and asphalt sections.”
Weather could play a significant factor this weekend, with Environment Canada forecasting scattered thunderstorms for Saturday’s qualifying session. Several team engineers I spoke with expressed concern about the potential for rapidly changing conditions, particularly with Toronto’s notorious lake-effect weather patterns that can transform conditions in minutes.
The temporary circuit at Exhibition Place has undergone subtle but significant changes since last year’s event. Track officials addressed concerns about the bumpy surface heading into Turn 1, with fresh asphalt creating a smoother entry to the critical first braking zone. Additionally, several curbing sections were modified following driver feedback from previous years.
“They’ve made some smart improvements,” noted veteran driver Scott Dixon, who finished fourth in practice. “The Turn 1 approach is much more predictable now, which should help with overtaking opportunities on Sunday. This place is always evolving.”
The practice session revealed intriguing technical stories developing throughout the paddock. Several teams, including Kirkwood’s Andretti Global squad, were experimenting with dramatically different rear wing configurations – some opting for higher downforce setups to manage Toronto’s bumpy surface, while others sacrificed cornering stability for straight-line speed.
Toronto’s unique characteristics demand compromise from engineers. The Exhibition Place circuit features the second-slowest corner in the entire IndyCar series at Turn 3, a brutally tight hairpin where cars barely exceed 45 km/h, while also containing several high-speed sections where drivers approach 290 km/h.
Local fans braved unseasonably warm temperatures to witness the first day of action, with grandstands showing strong attendance for a practice session. The passionate Canadian crowd, starved of open-wheel racing during the pandemic years when the event was canceled, appeared eager to make up for lost time.
“There’s something special about Canadian race fans,” Kirkwood observed. “They really understand the sport and appreciate good driving. That knowledge creates an atmosphere you don’t find at many other events.”
For Toronto businesses, the return of IndyCar represents a significant economic boost. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy typically generates approximately $45 million in economic impact for the region, according to Tourism Toronto figures released earlier this month. Local restaurants and hotels around Exhibition Place reported surge bookings throughout the weekend.
Saturday’s qualifying session will determine the starting grid for Sunday’s 85-lap race, with both sessions expected to draw substantial crowds. Race organizers have expanded fan amenities this year, including an enhanced Thunder Alley featuring interactive displays and driver autograph sessions.
Kirkwood’s impressive practice performance puts him in a strong position heading into qualifying, though Toronto’s notoriously unpredictable nature means Sunday’s race remains wide open. With seven different winners already this season, IndyCar’s competitive balance suggests fans could be in for another thrilling contest on the shores of Lake Ontario.
As the sun set over Exhibition Place and teams packed up their equipment, the paddock buzzed with anticipation for the battles ahead. In a season where consistency has proven elusive for most competitors, Toronto’s challenging circuit might just provide the stage for championship momentum to shift dramatically once again.
