Simon Pagenaud holds off Scott Dixon in Toronto thriller

The NTT IndyCar Series made its annual trip north of the border to the picturesque city of Toronto for the 11th round of the 2019 season, the Honda Indy Toronto. Simon Pagenaud scored the pole Saturday, and looked to get the monkey off his back by scoring his first win at Toronto. 

This edition of the Honda Indy was special as it marked the on track return of Robert Wickens. In a special deal with Arrow Electronics, Wickens piloted a special Acura NSX sportscar fitted with hand controls. Wickens accompanied by fiance Karli Woods, paced the field ahead of the green flag. 

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Having swept the month of May, winning both the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500, Pagenaud's last four races have been solid, but nowhere near the pace he had showed that month. The Montmorillion, France native came into Toronto third in points, 61 back. Pagenaud's game plan was simple: dominate and win.

With New Zealander Scott Dixon starting to his outside, Pagenaud made himself heard early by clearing the No. 9 Honda into turn one. As the field fanned out, Alexander Rossi made moves trying to close his own points gap to Josef Newgarden. On the first lap, the carnage began. Will Power, who had qualified 15th, made a dive bomb move into turn eight. The contact sent Power and Graham Rahal into the barrier and Marco Andretti spinning. Matheus Leist, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marcus Ericsson all piled in, with Ericsson getting the worst of it.

On the ensuing restart, Pagenaud took the lead as more drama occurred behind him. Andretti and Colton Herta made contact while fighting for position, luckily both drivers were able to keep on going. A few laps later the two Ed Carpenter Racing teammates of Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones would collide resulting in significant cosmetic damage on the No.21. Pigot expressed his adamant displeasure towards Jones. 

Following green flag pit stops it was youngster Zach Veach who gambled on pit strategy to lead four laps on the afternoon. That marked the most amount laps lead by Veach in a single race and first laps lead since Gateway in 2018. The joy was short lived as once the Stockdale, Ohio driver pitted he was assessed a post race fine by the IndyCar car officials for striking a competitors equipment on pit lane. 

Pagenaud was able to leap frog Veach on Lap 23 and it appeared to be smooth sailing for the Frenchman. Gapping second place Scott Dixon by over eight seconds, nobody seemed to have anything for Pagenaud. Following the final set of green flag pit stops Rossi would pit a few laps earlier than Dixon and Pagenaud in hopes to gain an edge should a yellow fly. 

Trouble would strike the No.22 team after catching lapped traffic. A few laps stuck behind Tony Kanaan helped Dixon go from eight seconds back to less than a second. The two then partook in an intense piece of driving, following nose to tail for over 20 laps. 

Late in the race, a few drivers would encounter problems. Sebastian Bourdais would go off track in turn three, but the car was intact enough to continue on. However, on lap 69, Takuma Sato's No. 30 entry would burst into flames following an apparent engine failure. Pigot also collided with barrier in turn three as well. 

As the laps ticked away, Pagenaud was not only holding off Dixon, but conserving fuel as well. With Dixon in striking distance and Rossi closing in, Pagenaud did all he could at the front to keep P1. When the white flag went in the air, Dixon started to slip back after being held up in lapped traffic. Before he could do anything, Pagenaud's teammate Power crashed hard into the turn eight, with a yellow flag ending the race early. 

Pagenaud was able to hold off Dixon and take his first career victory on the streets of Toronto under yellow. This also marked Pagenaud's 14 series win.

"The beginning was pretty delicate and we took off with the car on the red tires" Pagenaud said. "We were able to match a few numbers very well and in the end, we were able to pass some backmarkers and hold off Scott for the win." 

Dixon, the defending race winner, was able to hold on for second place – Rossi was able to once again finish ahead of points rival Newgarden, finishing third. Despite bouncing off the wall late in the race, Newgarden was able rebound and finish fourth. Felix Rosenqvist, the top finishing rookie, rounded out the top five finishers. 

Canadian James Hinchcliffe finished sixth in his hometown race, followed by rookie Colton Herta. Sebastian Bourdais, Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti all recovered from incidents to complete the top 10. 

Following the Honda Indy Toronto, Rossi moves within four points of points leader Newgarden. With the win, Pagenaud moved withing 39 points of his teammate back in third. The NTT IndyCar Series will transition from road courses to ovals as they head to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa 300, with Hinchcliffe entering as the defending winner.