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2023 marked the twenty-eighth season of the NTT IndyCar Series.
Seventeen rounds would be contested to determine titles for teams and drivers.
There are some newsworthy items for the 2023 season:
All teams used the Dallara IR-18 chassis, which is an IR-12 with an IR-18 aero kit. The carbon fiber/Kevlar monocoque is fitted to a Honda or Chevrolet engine, which attaches to an XTRAC transmission with six forward gears and a paddle shift. To stop the Dallara PFC CR90 aluminum calipers are used with PFC carbon brake pads and rotors. Tires used in the series are Firestone Firehawks mounted on 15-inch diameter X 10-inch wide wheels on the front and the rears are 15-inch diameter X 14-inch wide wheels. The entire package weighs approximately 1,700 lbs. Two engine options are available – Chevrolet and Honda. Both the Chevrolet (Chevy IndyCar V6) and Honda (Honda HI18TT Indy-V6) were manufactured to the same rules. The series called for a 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 power plant, which revs to a maximum of 12,000 rpm and produces 550-700 horsepower depending on the turbo boost. The seventeen race schedule begins in early March and ends in September:
Round ten of the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series was held on the eleven-turn, 1.755-mile temporary street circuit at Toronto's Exhibition Place. The Honda Indy Toronto event would be the thirty-seventh visit for Indy Cars to Toronto.
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Grabbing his second pole position of the season was Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Christian Lundgaard. The Dane was also the fastest qualifier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. However, it was more challenging in Toronto as the No. 45 Dallara IR-18 driver had to contend with inconsistent track conditions. Lundgaard would lead fifty-eight-laps on the way to his first series victory. |
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The points leader entering round ten at Toronto was the series 2021 champion, Alex Palou. Palou was looking for his fourth consecutive victory and fifth win in six races. Unfortunately, his plans took a big hit in qualifying when the best he could manage was the fifteenth fastest time. At the drop of the green flag, Palou began his march forward. An excellent race strategy, including fuel conservation, allowed him to finish second. |
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Colton Herta was having a dismal season driving the No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara IR-18. His best result to date was fourth place at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Herta qualified on the pole in the previous two rounds but could not capitalize on his starting position. It looked bleak in Toronto when he qualified fourteenth. Like Alex Palou, a superior race strategy and foregoing the final fuel stop was rewarded with a third place. |
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The series' six-time champion, Scott Dixon, has gone winless in 2023. The highlight of his season is a runner-up result at the Mid-Ohio. At the opposite end of the scale was a mechanical issue at Long Beach which caused the No. 9 PNC Bank Dallara IR-18 to retire. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver qualified sixth at Toronto. He moved up the order late in the contest when others had to stop for fuel and finished in the fourth spot. |
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The engine used by Chevrolet teams is developed and manufactured by Ilmor Engineering. In keeping with IndyCar rules, the aluminum block V6 twin-turbocharged engine is limited to a displacement of 2.2-liters (134 cu.in.). The twin-turbochargers are BorgWarner's EFR7163 model. The double-overhead camshaft Chevrolet has four valves per cylinder. Depending on the boost, the motor will produce 575 to 675 horsepower. |
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The No. 2 Snap-On sponsored Dallara IR-18 was piloted by Josef Newgarden. The Penske driver was third in the points chase and led his teammates, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin. To date, Newgarden had three podium finishes, two of which were victories at Fort Worth and the Indianapolis 500. In Toronto, he was gridded eleventh. Despite a pit-stop error, he salvaged a fifth-place finish. |
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The third member of Team Penske is Scott McLaughlin, who drives the No. 3 Gallagher Insurance Dallara IR-18. In qualifying, McLaughlin was 0.3223-seconds slower than the pole-sitter, Christian Lundgaard and started second in the eighty-five-lap at Toronto's Exhibition Place. During the race, he led a total of twenty-eight laps. After the final stop, McLaughlin was in fourteenth but moved forward to finish sixth. |
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New Zealander Marcus Armstrong joined Chip Ganassi Racing this season and is only competing on the road courses. For the last three years, Armstrong has been racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He has collected a pair of eighth-place results for Ganassi. In Toronto, Armstrong drove the Ridgeline Lubricants Dallara and was the highest-placed rookie, finishing in the seventh spot. |
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Honda-supported IndyCar teams use the company's Honda HI18TT. The 2.2-liter V6 engine uses twin-turbochargers and weighs approximately 250 pounds. The turbochargers are BorgWarner's EFR 7163. Maximum boost is determined by the track type and ranges from 1300 mbar to 1500 mbar. Using a rev limiter supplied by IndyCar, the motors are limited to 12,000 rpm. The Honda produces 550-700 horsepower. |
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| POS | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Christian Lundgaard | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 85 | - |
| 2 | 15 | Alex Palou | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | - |
| 3 | 14 | Colton Herta | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Andretti Autosport/Curb-Agajanian | 85 | - |
| 4 | 7 | Scott Dixon | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | - |
| 5 | 11 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Team Penske | 85 | - |
| 6 | 2 | Scott McLaughlin | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Team Penske | 85 | - |
| 7 | 10 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | - |
| 8 | 3 | Pato O'Ward | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Arrow McLaren SP | 85 | - |
| 9 | 27 | Graham Rahal | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 85 | - |
| 10 | 5 | Felix Rosenqvist | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Arrow McLaren SP | 85 | - |
| 11 | 4 | Marcus Ericsson | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | - |
| 12 | 18 | Agustin Canapino | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 85 | - |
| 13 | 12 | Rinus VeeKay | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Ed Carpenter Racing | 85 | - |
| 14 | 6 | Will Power | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Team Penske | 85 | - |
| 15 | 8 | Kyle Kirkwood | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Andretti Autosport | 85 | - |
| 16 | 26 | Alexander Rossi | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Arrow McLaren SP | 84 | - |
| 17 | 24 | Santino Ferrucci | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 82 | - |
| 18 | 16 | Callum Ilott | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Juncos Hollinger Racin | 81 | Contact |
| 19 | 23 | Sting Ray Robb | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Dale Coyne w/Rick Ware | 81 | - |
| 20 | 17 | David Malukas | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing / HMD | 69 | Contact |
| 21 | 13 | Helio Castroneves | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Meyer Shank Racing | 85 | Contact |
| 22 | 9 | Romain Grosjean | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 85 | Contact |
| 23 | 22 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | 85 | Mechanical |
| 24 | 19 | Jack Harvey | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 0 | Contact |
| 25 | 20 | Tom Blomqvist | Dallara IR-18 / Honda | Meyer Shank Racing | 0 | Contact |
| 26 | 21 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | Ed Carpenter Racing | 0 | Contact |
| 27 | 25 | Benjamin Pedersen | Dallara IR-18 / Chevrolet | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 0 | Contact |
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