Notes & Quotes: Honda Indy Toronto
Toronto’s Exhibition Place hosts the second-longest operating street course race in the Verizon IndyCar Series. With the inaugural race run in 1986, this year’s race will be the 32nd straight IndyCar race, except for the one-year hiatus in 2008. Only the Long Beach, Calif. street course has hosted more IndyCar races—35 consecutive—starting with the 1984 Grand Prix.
TONY KANAAN on Toronto: “Toronto is always a fun track to go to—it’s a really fast
street course. I love the venue, it’s one of the most fun races of the year. I know we have a good street course car so I’m looking forward to maybe getting a podium for A.J. and cheer him up a bit. The fans in Toronto support IndyCar bigtime there, and the city’s a lot of fun. We always take the kids. There are a lot of things to do and a lot of great places to go to dinner. We go to the aquarium all the time—they have a beautiful one downtown. Usually we go on Saturdays because we finish up early at the track. We take the kids there and to the CN Tower. Toronto is definitely a fun place to go and not just to race but also because you can take your family and have fun too.”
MATHEUS ‘MATT’ LEIST on Toronto: “I’m excited to be racing at Toronto again, it’s a pretty cool track. It’s a street course which are tracks that I love so we’ll try to have a great car so we can finish up front. The city is a pretty cool place in itself. I’ve only been there once, which was last year when I raced Indy Lights. It was good fun and I had a great time so I’m looking forward to going back.”
294 and counting: Tony Kanaan will be making his 295th consecutive start in the Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend, a streak which started with the Portland, Ore. race in 2001. It will be his 355th IndyCar start overall.
Last Race: At Iowa Speedway, Kanaan started 13th and finished 17th. Leist started 22nd and finished 22nd citing handling issues.
Past Performance at Toronto: Tony Kanaan’s best start is fourth (twice: 2001 with Mo Nunn Racing and 2013 with KV Technology). His best finish is second in 2014 (Race 2) with Ganassi Racing. Matheus Leist will be making his first IndyCar start at Toronto. Last year in the Mazda Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Series, Leist’s best start was second in Race 1 and his best finish was fifth in Race 2. The ABC Supply team’s best start is eighth with Takuma Sato in 2015; their best finish is third with Mike Conway in 2012. The team’s record shows better finishes than starts: they have four top-5s and two more top-10s.
ABC Supply is in its 14th season as primary sponsor of A.J. Foyt’s IndyCar team, making it the longest running team sponsor in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The company was founded in 1982 by Ken and Diane Hendricks with just three stores. The company now has over 700 stores and topped $9 billion in sales in 2017. ABC Supply began sponsoring the AJ Foyt Racing team with the 2005 Indianapolis 500. The company has leveraged its involvement by entertaining over 92,000 associates and customers over the past 13 racing seasons.
L&W account Mandon Building Systems, based in Lancaster, N.Y., will be featured on the engine cover of the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet. Guests will receive the VIP treatment this weekend along with a Meet and Greet with Tony Kanaan.
L&W account Associated Finish Systems, based in Fairview, Pa., won the ‘Your Name Here’ contest. The company name will be on the engine cover of the No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet. Guests will receive the VIP treatment plus a Meet and Greet with Matheus “Matt” Leist.
The Honda Indy Toronto will be televised live on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) on Sunday, July 15, starting at 3:00 pm ET. Qualifying will be broadcast tape-delayed Saturday, July 14 at 5:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
For more information on the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing program, please check our web site: ajfoytracing.com. To follow us on Twitter: @AJFoytRacing, @TonyKanaan, @MatheusLeist, @LarryFoyt14. On Instagram, @AJFoytRacing, @tkanaan, @matheusleist, @larryfoyt14. On facebook, we have the AJ Foyt Racing fan page.
