Oilpressure

Well, that was fun! Sometimes the NTT IndyCar Series can stage a street race that you almost feel obligated to watch, because you fear that it may be sleep inducing. Then out of the blue comes a track like Markham. It sounds like a cliché, but yesterday’s Ontario Honda Dealer’s Indy at Markham had it all. I wouldn’t want the type of randomness we saw Sunday for every race, but a little chaos is good once or twice a year.

It had its lull at the first. Except for the yellow caused by Mick Schumacher hitting the wall in Turn Four, the first thirty laps were mostly uneventful and processional. But when Sting Ray Robb spun Marcus Armstrong in the Turn Five hairpin – the complexion of the entire race changed. That in itself wasn’t that crazy, but when Armstrong did not follow the instructions of the AMR Safety Team and tried (unsuccessfully) to stay in front of the pace car, but stalled in the process – that’s when things got really crazy.

From Lap 31 to Lap 61, there were five caution periods for seventeen laps of caution. Restarts were an adventure, to say the least – especially in the hairpin. Race strategy was an adventure as well. Pole-sitter Louis Foster drove away from the field at the start, but his team waited too long to pit him and he got caught out by the yellow for Armstrong. But he fought his way back to the front and tried passing eventual race-winner for third. He clipped the inside corner and drove head-on into the Turn Three wall, resulting in a very hard hit. Townsend Bell said at the time that Foster threw away a guaranteed win. That was a little presumptuous considering the race was not even half over. Yes Foster had a fast car, but if he had not made that mistake, who is to say he wouldn’t have made another one. Even when he was driving away from the field in the early stages, did anyone truly think that Foster would be standing on the top step of the podium at the end of the race?

The big story leading into the race was that points leader Alex Palou had crashed in practice and was not overly impressive in the morning warmup. We’ve all seen that movie before and we know how it usually ends. I don’t think anyone was sucked into believing that Palou was going to finish mid-pack. He started eleventh and was holding his on in the Top-Ten. But in the latter stages of the race, here he came. Suddenly Alex Palou had moved up to second and was chasing down Romain Grosjean with about twenty laps to go.

This was perhaps the most entertaining twenty lap stretch we have seen all season. Andretti Global’s Will Power and Marcus Ericsson were moving up through the field. With twenty to go, Will Power was sixth and Marcus Ericsson was seventh. The two carved their way up and passed Rinus VeeKay, David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin. Power thought he had the speed to catch Palou, but Ericsson had the speed to catch Grosjean. Ericsson passed Power in the hairpin and went after both. With seven laps to go, Ericsson passed Palou with a brilliant move in the hairpin. Then two and a half llaps ater – Ericsson caught Grosjean heading into Turn Six. By the time Ericsson took the checkered flag, he had opened up a seven-second lead over second-place Grosjean. Meanwhile, Power had passed Palou for third to give Andretti Global two spots on the podium. Who says you can’t pass on street courses.

With all of the mess that happened on Friday (that I’ll address a little later), this event needed a shot in the arm. They got it in the form of one of the best street races I have ever seen – and I’ve been watching this sport a long time.

TV Coverage:  A few fans were complaining on social media how the first thirty minutes of qualifying was shown exclusively on FOX One, the streaming platform for FOX. It wasn’t ideal, but what was FOX to do? They were given less than twenty-four hours-notice to re-do their Saturday schedule, sometimes more than once. Qualifying suddenly found itself in the 6:30 pm EDT slot, with no place to put it. FOX did their best. With delays and red flags, we only missed Group One of the first session. I listened to that lost session over the IndyCar Radio Network  through IndyCar.com. I have to say, Mark Jaynes and company do a phenomenal job.

Given the mess they were handed on Friday, I commend FOX for adjusting on the fly.

I have to admit I got more than a chuckle from the booth guys chastising the Andretti Global strategists for not pitting when they thought they should. They were all so certain they had blown the chance for a win. Even when Ericsson was turning the fastest laps of the race to widen the gap before finally pitting on Lap 70, they were saying it was too late. Then with less than ten to go, they finally conceded that maybe they might have been wrong. When Ericsson took the white flag, they finally admitted (to their credit) that they had blown that call.

The Mess:  Of course, you cannot have a discussion about this weekend’s race at Markham, without mentioning the mess leading up to the weekend. There has been no shortage of opinions on who was responsible for what happened…or in this case, what did not happen with the track build at Markham. It probably won’t surprise you that I have an opinion as well. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion. I am entitled to one just like everyone else on social media, no matter how stupid and misinformed some seem to be.

The indisputable fact is that the track was not ready for track activity by Friday morning, when it was supposed to be. I have a couple of friends that were up there in official capacities, but they will remain nameless for obvious reasons. They both texted me within ten minutes of each other on Thursday morning, telling me how much work still needed to be done. They both indicated that they saw no way that Friday could not be impacted. Neither of these people are prone for dramatics or exaggeration. If they both said that some of Friday’s track activity could be affected – I took it to heart.

The first reports I saw of this on Twitter came from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. He is another one who tends to understate things. If he said Friday’s track activity was in jeopardy. I believed him. Then more and more, we all started seeing the same reports coming out of Markham. By Friday morning, it all was true. All activity before the 3:00 pm IndyCar practice had been scrubbed. IndyCar would be the first series to take the track on Friday. But just before the scheduled practice was to commence, it had moved to 6:00 pm local time. As I tuned in to the rescheduled practice, Will Buxton told us to come back on Saturday.

That left Friday night to be a battle of words. Fans were angry, but the new narrative was now in play among the media – remind fans that teething problems and growing pains are nothing new for a new event. We were pointed to a new Champ Car event in San Jose over twenty years ago in 2005. I had stopped following Champ Car by then, so I have no recollection of what happened. More recently, there were man-hole covers not welded down and a railroad crossing that sent cars flying in Baltimore. In 2021, a nearly sold-out grandstand had not been completed, the result of a first-time promoter underestimating the correct timeline.

Some placed the blame of the Markham fiasco squarely on the shoulders of IndyCar. Those that did so clearly do not understand the role of the race promoter.

The best analogy I saw this weekend came from a small Canadian publication. I’d like to take credit for it, but I cannot find it to give them credit or to quote it – so I am paraphrasing here. Look at this weekend’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham as a three-day music festival. The promoter is responsible for the different acts arranging the schedule of the bands and various acts. Some will need to be paid, others may play for free while some may even pay the promoter for the privilege of performing before a large audience. Let’s assume that the headliner for the last day of the festival is Paul McCartney, who will require the largest sum of money to perform. It is the responsibility of the promoter to obviously promote the festival and sell tickets. The promoter will also arrange for concessions and all of the logistics within the grounds. Now let’s say that the weekend arrives and the stage has not been constructed. Is it Paul McCartney’s fault that there is no stage?

While that is a simple explanation of the role of the race promoter, IndyCar’s role is a bit more involved than Paul McCartney showing up to play a gig.

Green Savoree Racing Promotions are the promoters for the race weekend at Markham. Not only have they been the promoter for years when the race was at Exhibition Place in Toronto, they are also the longtime promoters for St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio and Portland. This is not their first rodeo.

Kim Green and Kevin Savoree were the other two partners with Michael Andretti in the original Andretti Green Racing, before Michael bought them out prior to the 2010 season. IndyCar is blaming Green Savoree for dropping the ball and not having the track ready on-time. While I think that is correct, and if you can only blame one entity – it’s the promoter. Green Savoree did not help their cause when they released a statement Friday night, telling fans how they appreciated them coming out Friday and updating the new Saturday schedule. But not once were the words apology, apologize or sorry ever used.

But what is IndyCar’s responsibility in all this? While they may not have a legal obligation to make sure the promoter is adhering to the timeline, do they not owe it to their stakeholders, i.e. fans, teams and partners, to provide enough oversight to make sure things are getting done in a timely manner. I know IndyCar cannot be expected to have a team on-sight throughout the entire track build. That’s why they have the promoter. But were phone calls made in the weeks leading up to the race? Did the promoter give false information on the progress of the track build? I don’t know the answers to these questions and I suspect most of us never will. If I had to assign blame, I’d put the vast majority of it on Green Savoree.

While many seemed to be instructed to downplay the fact that the track wasn’t ready and an entire day was shaved off of a three-day weekend – I thought it was completely unacceptable. I personally know many people who spent their own money on a night in a hotel they didn’t need and burned vacation time to sit at a track without seeing a single car on track. It’s fortunate that admission was free on Friday, so no one was out any money for that, but I’m sure a lot of the Canadian fans also burned vacation time to just sit and wait.

Marshall Pruett said it best in a tweet on Saturday morning – the most well-known rule within Penske Entertainment and IndyCar was broken. You don’t embarrass Roger Penske. As I said Friday…What a mess!

Pure Speed:  What I liked the most about Ericsson’s win on Sunday was that he did it the old-fashioned way – he drove faster than anyone else. While the booth was mocking Andretti Global for not pitting Power and Ericsson on Lap 56, when many others did – they stayed out, Power ended up pitting on Lap 61, but Ericsson stopped under green on Lap 70. Consequently, his stop was shorter because he did not need a full load of fuel. He also had a much fresher set of sticker Firestone reds. With fifteen laps to go, Ericsson was in seventh-place. Along with the fact he had no fuel worries and fresh tires, he did a masterful job of driving as he dispatched every car in front of him.

It was so refreshing to watch a driver use every bit of speed at his or her disposal, instead of having to use the throttle carefully in order to hit a fuel number for each lap.

It may pay to be boring:  As usual, we have seen a lot of good-looking liveries this season. One of my favorites is the Kyffin Simpson Sunoco branding on his car. I’m also partial to the Sonsio livery that Scott McLaughlin carried on his car at Portland last week. I also liked all of the throwback liveries we’ve seen from Team Penske this season.

To me, the two most exciting races we’ve seen this season have been the Indianapolis 500 and the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. Felix Rosenqvist won the Indianapolis 500 in a very plain and boring beige car. On Sunday, Marcus Ericsson treated us to a very flashy drive in another boring looking car. It may have been black & white, or it could have been charcoal and very light gray. Whatever it was, it wasn’t as ugly as the Rosenqvist car – it was just boring. But I’d rather be fast in a boring looking car, than slow in the best-looking car on the grid.

A Popular Win:  I am guessing that this will be a popular win in the IndyCar community. Marcus Ericsson is well thought of in the IndyCar paddock. I was happy to see that he was given a contract extension a couple of weeks ago. His first two years at Andretti Global were a struggle, and I was afraid they may not bring him back after the season was over. Once they did, he didn’t relax. He had a good weekend at Portland and then arguably the drive of his life on Sunday. He is a good driver, a good guy and someone who is very easy to root for.

Drive of the Day:  Perhaps for the first time ever, I have a tie. I am the only one voting on this cherished honor, but I am torn between two drivers who happen to be teammates – Will Power and Marcus Ericsson.

I was leaning toward Power because he put himself on the podium after starting dead last. But Marcus Ericsson put himself in contention, not with taking the checkered flag, but in then flawless manner in which he distanced himself from the field just before his final pit stop. That was a thing of beauty and it ended up being the difference in winning the race.

Since it’s my site, I made the executive decision to give it to both of them. I’m sure they are both thrilled.

All in All:  We have probably not heard the end of the fallout from what happened on Friday. But after such a shaky debut, Markham redeemed itself on Saturday with a very interesting track layout. The race we witnessed on Sunday already makes the lost day on Friday seem like a distant memory. This is what all street races should aspire to be.

Sometimes the bar gets set too high after a successful debut, ad subsequent efforts can’t match up to the first year. Assuming they get the track built in time for next year, can Markham live up to the kind of race they produced on Sunday? Probably not, but if it can be half as entertaining as Sunday was, that’ll be good enough for me.

This entry was posted on August 17, 2026 at 4:05 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.