The series continued to use the Dallara DW12 which was introduced in 2012 to replace the Dallara IR5. The philosophy behind a spec car was to control costs ($349,000/chassis). The DW12 also incorporated many new safety features – most obvious was the bodywork surrounding the rear tires. The DW designation was in honour of the late Dan Wheldon, who had performed much of the testing on the new car.

There were two manufacturers providing engines for the season – Chevrolet (Chevy IndyCar V6) and Honda (Honda HI14TT Indy-V6). The 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines produced approximately the same horsepower – 550-700-hp depending on the turbo boost. The engine lease contracts ended prior to the 2014 season and as a result, some teams switched manufacturers.

As usual, drivers played the game of ‘musical chairs’ but the biggest news was the return of Juan Pablo Montoya to open wheel racing. After a thirteen-year absence, Montoya joined Team Penske.

Races thirteen and fourteen of the 2014 season were held at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. The event was titled, ‘2 IN T.O.’ and the two races were originally scheduled to be eighty-five laps around the 1.755-mile temporary street circuit. This was the twenty-eighth edition of the event.

What made the event memorable was the heavy downpour that forced Saturday’s race to be rescheduled. After four failed starts, three accidents, two red flags and thirteen-laps, Saturday’s race was postponed to Sunday morning at 10:30 am – even the pace car, driven by Arie Luyendyk, tagged the wall. Starting positions for race-one were determined by qualifying times but the cars would line-up based on driver’s points for the final event. Race-one was six-five laps and the second race became a timed race after a number of full-course caution periods – 56-laps were completed.