Christian Lundgaard of Denmark became a first-time IndyCar Series winner when he took the checkered flag at the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday afternoon.
Lundgaard, driving the No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Honda, started from pole position and cruised through the streets of Toronto to an 11.7893-second victory over second-place driver Alex Palou of Spain.
“I said it before the race, we had a car that was fast enough to win, and we pulled it off,” Lundgaard, 21, said in his post-race interview. “… This team, they do deserve this, because if we look at where we were earlier this season and even last year at this point, we were nowhere near this.
“I’m just extremely happy for everybody right now.”
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Lundgaard gave his team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, its first IndyCar win since Japan’s Takuma Sato captured the Indianapolis 500 title in 2020.
After Palou, Colton Herta, Scott Dixon of New Zealand and Josef Newgarden rounded out the top five.
Palou will retain first place in the championship standings. He entered the weekend with a 110-point advantage over Dixon in second place.
IndyCar legend Helio Castroneves of Brazil was among those who were unable to finish the race. Kyle Kirkwood tapped him from behind during Lap 46.
–Field Level Media