| Race Title: | Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto |
| Series Long: | NTT IndyCar Series |
| Series Short: | ICS |
| Location: | Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Sponsor: | Ontario Honda Dealers |
| First Race: | 1986 |
| First Series Race: | 2009 |
| Laps: | 90 |
| Previous Names: | Molson Indy Toronto (1986–2005) Molson Grand Prix of Toronto (2006) Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto (2007) Honda Indy Toronto (2009-2023) |
| Most Wins Driver: | Michael Andretti (7) |
| Most Wins Team: | Newman/Haas Racing (7) |
| Most Wins Manufacturer: | Chassis: Dallara (15) Engine: Chevrolet (13) |
| Surface: | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Length Km: | 2.874 |
| Turns: | 11 |
| Record Time: | 0:58.806 |
| Record Driver: |  Cristiano da Matta |
| Record Car: | Lola B02/00 |
| Record Year: | 2002 |
| Record Class: | CART |
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 to 2007. After a one-year hiatus, it has been part of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule since 2009. The race takes place on a 2.874km (01.786miles), 11 turn, temporary street circuit through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard. Toronto is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.[1]
It is IndyCar's second-longest running street race, only behind the Grand Prix of Long Beach[2] and is the third oldest race on the current schedule (tied with the Mid-Ohio 200) in terms of number of races run.[3] The Toronto Indy is one of seven Canadian circuits to have held an IndyCar race, the others being Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Mont-Tremblant, Sanair, Montreal, Vancouver, and Edmonton.
See also: Molson Diamond Indy. Motorsport and automobile demonstrations has a history at Exhibition Place going back over 100 years.[4] [5] Automotive shows, displays, races and driving demonstrations have taken place on the grounds since the invention of the automobile, including the first appearance of an indy car, the 1916 Indianapolis 500 winning Peugeot during the 1918 Canadian National Exhibition.[6] From 1952 until 1966 the grandstand hosted stock car racing on a paved quarter mile circuit on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons, hosting crowds upwards of 20,000 often broadcast live on CBC in Toronto.[7] [8] In 1958 the venue hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race, the Jim Mideon 500. The race was the first of Richard Petty's 1,184 starts in NASCAR and was won by his father Lee Petty.
Following the 1977 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, Labatt, the sponsor who held the rights to F1 racing in Canada at the time, as well as the owners of Mosport Park revived the proposal to move the race to Exhibition Place after the FIA deemed Mosport as an unsuitable host facility going forward.[9] Toronto city council turned down the proposal by a margin of two votes and within a few hours, Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau had negotiated with Labatt to move the race permanently to Montreal.[10] [11] [12]
In 1984, Molson Breweries in-house promotional division, Molstar Sports & Entertainment acquired the rights to CART sanctioned IndyCar races in Canada and ran the first Molson Indy at the Sanair Speedway outside Montreal. The tight tri-oval was unpopular with the CART teams in part due to a severe injury to Rick Mears during the first event.[13] In the spring of 1985, Molson revived the idea of a street circuit through Exhibition Place in Toronto for a third time. Toronto City Council approved the race by two votes in July 1985 for the race to be held the following year.[14]
The first Molson Indy Toronto was won by Bobby Rahal on July 20, 1986. The event quickly became Canada's second largest annual sporting event, eclipsed only by the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, with three-day attendance figures routinely around 170,000 people.[15] In the 1996 race, American driver Jeff Krosnoff was killed in a crash with 4 laps remaining. In that same crash, volunteer corner marshal Gary Avrin was killed, and marshal Barbara Johnston also received injuries in the crash; she was treated and released that evening. Adrián Fernández won the race.
The name of the race was changed in 2006 from the Molson Indy Toronto to the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto after it was purchased by the Champ Car World Series from Molstar Sports and Entertainment. The name was also changed to distance Champ Car from the rival Indy Racing League (IRL), which had gained the exclusive right to use the "Indy" name after 2002. In 2007, after Molson dropped their title sponsorship to the race, Steelback Brewery signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal to become the event's title sponsor, renaming it the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto. This marked the first title sponsorship change since the event started in 1986.
The unification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League was announced on February 22, 2008, and the Grand Prix of Toronto's future was left in doubt. After attempts were made to preserve the race for 2008, it was confirmed on March 5, 2008, that the race had been cancelled. On May 15, 2008, Andretti Green Racing (co-owned by Michael Andretti) purchased the assets of the former Grand Prix of Toronto.[16] On July 30, 2008, it was confirmed that the race would return to Toronto on July 12, 2009.[17] On September 18, 2008, Andretti Green Racing announced that it had signed a multi-year agreement with Honda Canada Inc. for the title sponsorship of the race, henceforth named from 2009 onward as the Honda Indy Toronto.[18] In 2013, the race weekend was changed to a 2 race format with one race Saturday and one race Sunday. The Saturday race would feature a standing start while the Sunday race would be a rolling start. After an aborted standing start Saturday leading to a rolling start, teams and officials agreed to try the standing start again Sunday. The Sunday standing start was successful on its first attempt and was the first successful standing start in unified IndyCar series history (the Champ Car World Series had used standing starts late in its history shortly before unification). In 2014, weather forced both races to be run Sunday, exposing the difficulty in logistics of running two races in an already packed schedule. By 2015, both standing starts and the two race format were abandoned.
In 2016, the track layout was modified to accommodate the newly constructed Hotel X Toronto. Under the new layout, the pit lane was moved to the opposite side of the race course, starting at the outside of turn 9 and exiting just after turn 11. This, in turn, made turn 11 a sharper turn than it had been in the previous configuration.[19]
Michael Andretti is the all-time race win leader with seven victories.
The 2020 and 2021 editions of the event were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, marking the second gap in the race's history. This came due to the restrictions that were in place barring non-essential travel at the Canada–United States border (as most IndyCar Series races are within the United States) and after Mayor John Tory announced that all mass public gatherings were banned throughout the summers of 2020 and 2021 respectively in response to the pandemic.[20] [21]
Following the cancellation of the 2020 race, a new three-year agreement was reached in September 2020 between Exhibition Place and Green Savoree Toronto to host the event through 2023.[22]
On March 14, 2024 it was announced that the new title partner of the race would be the Ontario Honda Dealers, changing the name to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.[23]
| Star Mazda Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Date | Winning driver |
| 2007 | July 7 |  Dane Cameron |
| 2008 | Not held | |
| 2009 | Not held | |
| 2010 | Not held | |
| 2011 | Not held | |
| 2012 | July 7 |  Jack Hawksworth |
| July 8 | Jack Hawksworth | |
| Pro Mazda Championship | ||
| 2013 | July 13 |  Matthew Brabham |
| July 14 | Matthew Brabham | |
| 2014 | Not held | |
| 2015 | June 13 |  Florian Latorre |
| June 14 |  Garett Grist | |
| 2016 | July 16 | Aaron Telitz |
| July 17 | Aaron Telitz | |
| 2017 | Not held | |
| 2018 | July 14 |  Rinus VeeKay |
| July 15 | Rinus VeeKay | |
| Indy Pro 2000 Championship | ||
| 2019 | July 13 | Danial Frost |
| July 14 | Kyle Kirkwood | |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |
| 2021 | ||
| 2022 | July 16 | Louis Foster |
| July 17 | Louis Foster | |
| USF Pro 2000 Championship | ||
| 2023 | July 15 | Michael d'Orlando |
| July 16 | Myles Rowe | |
| 2024 | July 20 | Simon Sikes |
| July 21 | Lochie Hughes | |
| Formula Ford 2000 Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Date | Winning driver |
| 2006 | July 8 | J. R. Hildebrand |
| July 9 | J. R. Hildebrand | |
| 2007 to 2009, No series, not held | ||
| U.S. F2000 National Championship | ||
| 2010 | Not held | |
| 2011 | Not held | |
| 2012 | Not held | |
| 2013 | July 13 | Neil Alberico |
| July 14 | Danilo Estrela | |
| 2014 | July 20 | Jake Eidson |
| Florian Latorre | ||
| 2015 | June 13 | Jake Eidson |
| June 14 | Nico Jamin | |
| 2016 | July 16 | Victor Franzoni |
| July 17 | Parker Thompson | |
| 2017 | July 15 | Parker Thompson |
| July 16 | Parker Thompson | |
| 2018 | July 14 | Kyle Kirkwood |
| July 15 | Kyle Kirkwood | |
| 2019 | July 13 | Darren Keane |
| July 14 |  Christian Rasmussen | |
| 2020 | Moved to Road America - COVID-19 pandemic. | |
| 2021 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic | |
| 2022 | July 16 | Myles Rowe |
| July 17 | Jace Denmark | |
| 2023 | July 15 | Simon Sikes |
| July 16 | Nico Christodoulou | |
| 2024 | July 20 | Sam Corry |
| July 21 | Evagoras Papasavvas | |
| Atlantic Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Winning driver | |
| 1990 | Freddy Rhemrev | |
| 1991 | Stuart Crow | |
| 1992 | David Empringham | |
| 1993 | Claude Bourbonnais | |
| 1994 | Richie Hearn | |
| 1995 | Richie Hearn | |
| 1996 | Patrick Carpentier | |
| 1997 | Memo Gidley | |
| 1998 | Alex Tagliani | |
| 1999 | Not held | |
| 2000 | Andrew Bordin | |
| 2001 | David Rutledge | |
| 2002 | Michael Valiante | |
| 2003 | A. J. Allmendinger | |
| 2004 | Jon Fogarty | |
| 2005 | Antoine Bessette | |
| 2006 | Robbie Pecorari | |
| 2007 | Franck Perera | |
| Year | Winning driver | Car | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Scott Sharp | Chevrolet Camaro | [24] | |
| 1994 | Tommy Kendall | Ford Mustang | [25] | |
| 2004 |  Jorge Diaz, Jr. | Jaguar XKR | [26] | |
| 2005 | Paul Gentilozzi | Jaguar XKR | [27] | |
| 2010 |  R. J. Lopez | Chevrolet Corvette | [28] |
| Season | Winning driver | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Randy Pobst | Porsche 911 GT3 |
| 2010 | Randy Pobst (GT) Peter Cunningham (GTS) | Volvo S60 Acura TSX |
| 2013 | Johnny O'Connell (GT) Lawson Aschenbach (GTS) | Cadillac CTS-V Chevrolet Camaro |
| 2014 | Race 1 | |
| Nick Tandy (GT) Marcelo Hahn (GTA) Dean Martin (GTS) | Porsche 911 GT3 R Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Ford Mustang Boss 302S | |
| Race 2 | ||
| Kuno Wittmer (GT) Michael Mills (GTA) Mark Wilkins (GTS) | Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R Porsche 911 GT3 R Kia Optima | |
| Season | Winning driver | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Peter Cunningham | Acura |
| 2010 | Nick Wittmer | Honda Civic Si |
| 2013 | Race 1 | |
| Michael Cooper (TC) Joel Lipperini (TCB) | Mazdaspeed 3 Honda Fit | |
| Race 2 | ||
| Michael Cooper (TC) Ernie Francis Jr. (TCB) | Mazdaspeed 3 Mazda 2 | |
| Year | Race name | Winner | Car | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Miller Lite 100 | Robin Buck | Pontiac | [29] | |
| 2000 | Exide 99 | Kevin Dowler | Ford | [30] | |
| 2001 | Robin Buck | Pontiac | [31] | ||
| 2002 | CASCAR Toronto Indy, presented by NAPA | Kevin Dowler | Ford | [32] | |
| 2003 | Avenue ACDelco 100 | Jeff Lapcevich | Chevrolet | [33] | |
| 2004 | CASCAR Toronto Indy 100 | Jeff Lapcevich | Chevrolet | [34] | |
| 2005 | ATTO 100 | Kerry Micks | Ford | [35] |
The Indy Toronto circuit is based around Exhibition Place, but the heritage of NASCAR and Exhibition Place dates considerably earlier than the 2010 Canadian Tire Series round at Indy Toronto. In 1958, the 31st round of NASCAR's Grand National (now Cup Series) championship was held at the third Exhibition Stadium (located on the site of BMO Field). That race marked the Cup debut of Richard Petty.
| Year | Race name | Winner | Car | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jumpstart 100 | Andrew Ranger | Dodge | [36] | |
| 2011 | Streets of Toronto 100 | Andrew Ranger | Dodge | [37] | |
| 2016 | Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto | Alex Tagliani | Chevrolet | [38] | |
| 2017 | Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto | Kevin Lacroix | Dodge | [39] | |
| 2018 | Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto | Andrew Ranger | Dodge | [40] | |
| 2019 | Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto | Alex Tagliani | Chevrolet | [41] | |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||
| 2021 | |||||
| 2022 | Grand Prix of Toronto | Kevin Lacroix | Dodge | [42] | |
| 2023 | Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto | Alex Tagliani | Chevrolet | [43] | |
| Year | Winner | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Justin Lofton | [44] | |
| Sheldon Creed | |||
| 2014 | Sheldon Creed | [45] | |
| Sheldon Creed | |||
| 2015 | Scotty Steele | [46] | |
| Keegan Kincaid | [47] | ||
| 2016 | Matthew Brabham | [48] | |
| Sheldon Creed | |||
| 2019 | Cole Potts | [49] | |
| Gavin Harlien | |||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||
As of July 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Grand Prix of Toronto (Exhibition Place) are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Grand Prix Circuit: 2.824 km (1996–present)[50] | ||||
| 0:58.806[51] | 2002 Molson Indy Toronto | |||
| 0:59.7140[52] | 2018 Honda Indy Toronto | |||
| 1:04.0124[53] | 2011 Toronto 100 | |||
| 1:05.487[54] | 2006 Toronto Formula Atlantic round | |||
| 1:07.0213[55] | 2019 Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Toronto | |||
| 1:10.9853[56] | 2018 US F2000 Grand Prix of Toronto | |||
| 1:11.501[57] | 2022 Toronto Porsche Carrera Cup North America round | |||
| 1:12.149[58] | ||||
| 1:14.042[59] | 2023 Toronto Radical Cup North America round | |||
| 1:15.599[60] | 1996 Toronto NATCC round | |||
| 1:16.730[61] | 2022 Toronto Sports Car Championship Canada round | |||
| 1:17.473[62] | 2023 Toronto Sports Car Championship Canada round | |||
| 1:18.440[63] | 1998 Toronto Canadian F1600 round | |||
| 1:24.7092[64] | 2017 Toronto Mazda MX-5 Cup round | |||
| Original Grand Prix Circuit: 2.871 km (1986–1995) | ||||
| 0:58.830[65] | ||||
| 1:03.799[66] | 1995 Toronto Indy Lights round | |||
| 1:10.553[67] | ||||
Besides the main event, Honda Indy Toronto also holds races of lower levels before. These are known as support series. A variety of racing series have previously run as support series on the race weekend. These include:[68]
During the tenure of Molson's original race ownership, the Molson Indy Festival Foundation hosted various fundraising events in the city in the week leading up to the race week. As of 2004 the foundation had donated $5.6 million towards community groups and charitable organizations.[69]
In 2010 the race introduced the annual Fan Fridays to the race weekend. In lieu of paid admission, attendees are encouraged to make a contribution to the Make-A-Wish Foundation upon entering the grounds.[70] The initiative has raised $820,000 as of 2019 for the organization dedicated to granting wishes for children with critical illnesses.[71] [72]
| Year | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 60,000 | |
| 1987 | 64,000 | |
| 1988 | 59,155 | |
| 1989 | 61,156 | |
| 1990 | 64,245 | |
| 1991 | 61,264 | |
| 1992 | 65,094 | |
| 1993 | 66,225 | |
| 1994 | 66,503 | |
| 1995 | 68,238 | |
| 2000 | 72,976 | |
| 2001 | 73,628 | |
| 2002 | 73,160 | |
| 2003 | 73,255[73] | |
| 2004 | 72,561 | |
| 2005 | 73,155 | |
| 2006 | ||
| 2007 | ||
| 2008 | Not held | |
| 2009 | 15,000 est.[74] | |
| 2010 | ||
| 2011 | 25,000 est[75] |
