We all know that numbers come easily to millionaire Dragons' Den co-host, Robert Herjavec, but who knew that proficiency translates into speed and skill on the racetrack?!
This year, the serious and focused investor has decided to channel his energy through racecar driving. He's racing in the Ferrari 458 Challenge Series, which for the first time ever hit the streets of Toronto at the recent Honda Indy Toronto and garnered Robert Herjavec a sixth place finish overall. His beautiful 458 Challenge car boasts a 4.5-litre V-8 engine, producing 562 horsepower. Harnessing that power, especially as a newcomer to the race this year, takes an amazing amount of skill and commitment to the sport. But, Robert does it with ease and humility.
Since we know not everyone in Canada is able to attend the IndyCar race in Toronto, we thought we'd put together a little recap of the events on Sunday to give you a taste of what it is like both on and off the track. Enjoy!
Pace car leads most laps during Toronto IndyCar race...
By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos
... or nearly so. The field spent more time under yellow during the latter half of the race than under green. I suppose Honda can't complain because we saw more than enough of its all-new Civic Si that served as the pace car.
The Indy race in Toronto is always a street fight thanks to tight walls, over-aggressive drivers and recent attempts to 'manage' the show. Requiring drivers to move over a lane when diving into a corner rather than 'blocking' the inside, and double-file restarts are just two ways that IndyCar officials have tried to spice up the mix. But the question now becomes has it gotten too hot?
Getting more than a lap of clean racing was miraculous, and none of the Canadian drivers escaped unscathed. In fact, Alex Tagliani nearly went over the wall at one point. You can see his car nearly vertical in the main shot above...
I pity Graham Rahal, who had kept his nose clean through most of the race only to get tagged in the closing minutes by Ryan Hunter-Reay, which relegated him deep into double digits.
Seems like the days of running fast and clean are long gone. Nearly everyone has to gripe, whine and campaign for themselves...
"3" seems to be Dario Franchitti's lucky number lately. After starting out as the third car off the grid, Franchitti not only survived a miriad of bumps and race stops and starts, but also lead his Target Chip Ganassi Racing car to its third Honda Indy Toronto victory, and earned his 30th career win. Oh, and he lead for 30 laps of the race. If he keeps up his current pace, there's a good chance that Franchitti will also win his third career IndyCar Series championship. Someone should tell him to buy a lottery ticket! He claims skill and a great team contributed to these wins, with a bit of help from lady luck.
The final standings for the Honda Indy Toronto are: 1) Dario Franchitti (01:56:32.1501), #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing; 2) Scott Dixon (01:56:32.8846), #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing; and, 3) Ryan Hunter-Reay (01:56:38.1645), #28 Andretti Autosport.
Sunday's race was full of chaos for almost every driver, with nine collisions causing yellow-flagged caution laps. Franchitti overtook Graham Rahal in Lap 71 and then found his solid lead after leaving behind a multi-car crash in turn one, during Lap 76. He held onto his lead for the remaining laps and hit the checkered flag with a time of 01:56:32.1501
"This, to me, is one of the most challenging places we race," said Franchitti about Toronto's IndyCar track in a post-win press conference
In a moment of post-race emotion, Will Power told broadcaster Versus in an interview that Franchitti plays dirty and should be penalized for the collision between the two of them in Lap 56 at Turn 3. When asked for his response during his post-win press conference, Franchitti said he too would be frustrated if he were knocked down during the race as Power was, but suggested that Power review the recording of the crash to see that the contact was unintentional on both sides. There are conflicting reports whether Race Control did indeed intend to give Franchitti a penalty for the contact.
Watch the post-race press conference with Dario Franchitti:
Reviewing both drivers' Twitter feeds, it's clear that this is a debate that will not be settled easily.
"Hey @12WillPower check out the replay then give me a yell..." -- @DarioFranchitti via Twitter "@dariofranchitti I did watch it and could not have raced you any cleaner..." -- @12WillPower via Twitter
Maybe if they watch the replay three times, that'll settle the debate. Gotta love the soap opera that is auto racing!
Every year, it seems there is increasingly more to see and experience at the Honda Indy in Toronto.
New for this year is a grand stand at Turn 9, one of the most exciting turns that was lacking a fan vantage point in previous years, and the fact that Dan Aykroyd will be the Grand Marshal for the 2011 Honda Indy Toronto!
"I'm delighted to be a part of an event with so much history," said Aykroyd in a recent Honda Indy press release. "I'm a long-time race fan and very proud to be Canadian. It'll be nice to come home and take in a spectacular day of racing."
And, the most exciting addition to this year's Honda Indy Toronto roster is a the Ferrari Challenge racing series. The Ferrari Challenge is actually the longest-running racing series of its kind in North America, but for the first time ever the race's Ferrari 458 Challenge cars have raced on the streets of Toronto. If you own a Ferrari and want to find out how the breed performs on the track, this is the series to be in. Ferrari owners are given the opportunity to compete against each other on North American soil. Since we don't have an Autobahn in Canada, racing in this series is the next best thing. Just ask Robert Herjevec of Dragons' Den, who we've been watching closely this season. Stay tuned for more on Herjevec's racing in upcoming entries!
Also new this year, Thunder Alley (the zone for fans who need a break from the grand stands) is reorganized to have more food options and interactive exhibits. If you plan to attend the show, be sure to drop by the Schick Hydro booth, which offers a misting of water you can walk through, as the temperature is going to be quite high on Sunday.
The food at the Indy is worth calling out this year, as often your choices are pizza, hotdogs and nachos at events like this. Now there are many options, like jerk chicken, 100% Kobe Beef hotdogs sold at a Japanese food stand, pulled pork sandwiches, ribs and ice-cream at almost every turn. My favourite is the crepe stand inside the Direct Energy Centre, which is right beside both pizza and sushi stands.
In addition to the IndyCar Series, the racing events that keep fans coming back each year are the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the Firestone Indy Lights and the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship - all worth watching in their own right.
Taking the pole position for Sunday's race is driver #12 of Team Penske, Will Power, after successful qualifying rounds Saturday. Leading the top six fastest drivers from qualifying, Power will be the first off the grid and burn rubber around Toronto's challenging street course.
"This is such a physical track," said Power after qualifying. "It's a real driver's track with all the different surfaces and all the bumps, you really need to wring its neck out there and that's what I love about it."
Under blue skies and blistering heat, the 26 IndyCar drivers competing in this weekend's Honda Indy Toronto are doing their best to keep cool. Among the roster of drivers are three Canadians, Alex Tagliani, Paul Tracy and newcomer James Hinchcliffe, along with a multitude of skilled racecar drivers from around the globe that will take over Toronto's downtown core all weekend.
We were able to steal a few minutes of Tracy's time leading up to this weekend's race. As always, this hometown race puts a smile on his face. Tracy is in 29th place for the season coming into this weekend and is going to push hard to make his fans proud. Look for Tracy's #8 Make-a-Wish racecar lapping the track with a sense of urgency this weekend, as this could be one of his last seasons racing.
11 things you don't know about Robert Herjavec - the racecar driver
By MSN Autos
Robert Herjavec, business mogul and star of CBC’s Dragons’ Den and ABC's Shark Tank, will take to the streets of Toronto this weekend in the Ferrari Challenge series. The series offers Ferrari owners a chance to take specially prepared cars to the track in a friendly but competitive race environment.
Following a race at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal last month, Robert will race his Ferrari 458 Challenge car on the streets of Canada’s biggest city. Not only does this event mark the first time the Ferrari Challenge has taken place in Toronto, it’s also the first time it’s taking place on an urban, street-based course.
Earlier this week, we had a chance to talk to Robert about his love of cars and racing.
Canadian scores Indy 500 pole, two others join strong field
By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos
The strongest Indy 500 field in years will be led to the green flag by a Canadian for the first time ever. Veteran open-wheel driver Alex Tagliani put on an impressive display of speed this past Saturday to put his Sam Schmidt Racing car on pole, ahead of entries from Target Chip Ganassi, Penske Racing and others. That Tagliani's team has but a fraction of the funding compared to the colossus one-two of Ganassi and Penske makes it even more impressive.
He'll be joined by Scott Dixon and Oriol Servia on the front row for the 100th anniversary race on May 29.
Other Canadian successes include rookie James Hinchcliffe starting 13th, and the raucus Paul Tracy back in 25th. Tracy was forced to qualify on Bump Day this past Sunday after rain delayed his shot at the field the day before. Considering he didn't make the race in 2010, this has to be a very special feeling.
A fourth Canadian, Patick Carpentier looked like he might make the field as a substitite driver for the really quite terrible American Scott Speed, but Carpentier tagged the wall after only a few laps, and retured for the day.
Reportedly, the first word to come out of his mouth was "car," and since then it's evolved into a life-long passion. Justin is a fan of passionately engineered vehicles, but in general, loves the industry as much as the cars it produces.
