Aggressive drivers fighting bumpy roads as they try to keep from slamming into concrete walls or running into each other.
Sound like a usual Toronto commute down the Don Valley Parkway? Well, not exactly.
This bump-and-grind action will happen at speeds of more than 270 kilometres an hour on the streets of Exhibition Place as the IndyCar drivers get on track Friday in two practice sessions in preparation for Sunday's Honda Indy.
"You have to be aggressive because you can't afford to leave anything on the table, but if you get too aggressive, a small mistake becomes a big mistake," said Canadian veteran Paul Tracy. "That's the tricky part of street racing.
"The Toronto course has multiple different surfaces - tarmac, concrete, curbing and sidewalks you have to go over. With all kinds of corners and pavement, you are never going to get your car to work perfectly. You just have to pretty much manhandle it and stay within the walls."
A part-time driver for KV Racing for the second consecutive season, the series' active wins leader is back in Toronto looking for glory on the 11-turn, 2.84-kilometre temporary street course after a tough race last year. In 2009, Tracy looked to be in contention until a late battle with Penske driver Helio Castroneves knocked him into one of those ever-present concrete walls.
But his ability to step into an IndyCar and drive its wheels off has the rest of the field making a mental note to beware of the Thrill from West Hill. And with the carnage that usually fills the 85-lap race at Exhibition Place, they'll begin to sweat if Tracy is close when the inevitable caution flag flies with a handful of laps to go.
"I think if you're leading towards the end when a yellow comes out and you have Paul Tracy behind you, you want to make sure you get a good restart because he'll be coming," said championship points leader Will Power of the Penske team. "Toronto is always a tough race because there's heaps of action going on at that track, with people getting taken out and lots of yellows. It's usually a bit of a mixed-up race, which is great for the fans, and, as a driver, you just have to survive it."
That approach worked well for Power, who raced in Toronto last season as a part-time driver before getting a full-time spot with Penske in 2010. He finished third in the Honda Indy and then went on to score his maiden IndyCar Series win two weeks later in Edmonton, the hometown of his maternal grandmother.
Based on his performance this year, odds are that Power will be a good bet to take the checkered flag Sunday. The Australian has scored three wins in IndyCar's five road-course races this season, with his worst performance coming in April at Long Beach where he finished fourth. It's been a different story on ovals, where Power has only two top-10s in four tries, although he's steadily improved this season. Going into the 10th race of the 18-stop IndyCar schedule, he leads the championship with 327 points, 32 better than Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti, who won in Toronto last year. Drivers get 50 points for a win.
Along with Franchitti, other drivers who are a threat to win include his teammate Scott Dixon and the two other Penske drivers, Ryan Briscoe and Castroneves. Wildcards in Toronto include Tracy, Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., driving for the FAZZT team, former Formula One driver Justin Wilson of Dreyer & Reinbold, and Andretti Green's Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Jeff Pappone
Jeff Pappone