A new event in the suburbs of Toronto is the 14th stop for the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series as they head up north to Canada for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham.
The new circuit is a replacement for the long-time Exhibition Place layout that was a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar. Due to construction and World Cup commitments, the series signed a new deal with the small suburb community outside of Toronto.
The 2.19-mile track will feature 12 turns and a double-sided pit lane similar to Detroit.
Markham will be one of two straight first-time street courses for IndyCar, as they head to Washington, D.C. in one week.Â
Pato O’Ward won what was possibly the last Toronto Indy in 2025, and with this a first-time event, its doubtful anything from a year ago will transfer to the circuit in the burbs.
Will They Race?
At the time of this writing, the outlook for the new circuit and race doesn’t look good. All track activity on Friday (Aug. 14) was cancelled because the promoter still hadn’t finished installing the necessary barriers and such to begin operation. That’s not a good look.
The promoter, Green Savoree Promotions, is an experienced partner with IndyCar. Besides the Toronto/Markham race, they run the Portland and St. Petersburg races, as well as owning Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.Â
But whatever the reasons preventing the schedule to kick off on time, not being ready on time is a big stain for the series. After a poor viewership number at Portland and the rain-delayed Nashville race after the World Cup Final, IndyCar didn’t need this as they head into the last leg of their season.Â
Kirkwood Still Street King
At the last brand new street circuit IndyCar visited, the Arlington Grand Prix, the ace of the concrete jungle Kyle Kirkwood won. It was his sixth victory, five of which are on circuits like Markham. He and his Andretti Global team are phenomenal when it comes to the setups needed to handle the bumpy surfaces mixed with the variable grip on asphalt and concrete patches.Â
Kirkwood sits second in points behind championship leader Alex Palou, but it’s not that close. The gap is 110, and even a dominant win, with max points and a last place for Palou doesn’t even cut that margin in half.Â
If there is any stretch left in the season for Kirkwood to make any challenge in this title fight, it’s over the next two races. So he better maximize Sunday.
Palou in Cruise Mode
Palou doesn’t need to worry about the championship right now. Oh, that’s terrible to write about, as the stories and competition is what drives viewers to the television to watch. But after last weekend’s dominate win at Portland, Palou has a bigger lead now then he did at this point last year.
It seems his consistent ability to kick the competitions tail might impact the viewership, as the Portland race was down in the ratings compared to what IndyCar has pulled throughout the year.
Palou ran well at Arlington in the spring, but Kirkwood beat him to the finish, one of the few times anyone has performed better than the defending champ. Expect him to do well Sunday, while Kirkwood is seen as the king of the streets, the No. 10 pulled into victory lane at the other two temporary circuits, winning at St. Petersburg and Long Beach this year.
On A Good Run
The last two races have been good for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist. An eight place at Nashville isn’t fantastic, but for a man sitting in the top 10 of points, its necessary to string consistent runs near the front to climb the points ladder. At Portland he won his second pole of the year, and followed that up with a runner-up to Palou. That was déjà vu for Rosenqvist, as he did the same thing at Long Beach, earning the pole but losing out to the Chip Ganassi Racing driver. He’s not alone though, everyone is losing out to Palou.
He sits sixth in the points, the same place he finished in 2025. With just five more races with Meyer Shank Racing before he jumps back over to Arrow McClaren, can he put them in victory lane one more time? The recent success on street circuits suggests it’s possible.
Quiet Perseverance
Josef Newgarden has two wins on the season, but its his recent run on the road and street circuits that has shown his competitive spirit. Since Indianapolis in May, he has driven with a healing foot, which was reported to be good to go at Portland. In that timeframe, he has relied heavily on strategy to offset his lack of aggressiveness caused by the challenge in attacking the pedals with his foot.
If not for a penalty that dropped him to the back of the running order at Road America, Newgarden was on track to grab top 10s in every road and street circuit during that time. The talk will always be about his lack of wins on the twisty tracks, but the summer stretch has shown that he and his No. 2 Team Penske crew were focused on getting what they could out of those races.
Now healed, Newgarden sits seventh in points, much improved over his 12th a year before. While the circuit is different, the American hopes to find the luck that put him in victory lane two previous times in Canada.
What Else?
Rinus VeeKay continues to look strong in the Juncos Hollinger Racing ride. His fourth at Portland was his third of the year, tying his season best, and kept him in the top 10 of points. Street courses haven’t been stellar for him though, a ninth at St. Pete his best.
Christian Rasmussen has had a terrible year, and hopefully things turn around for him at Markham. With his 24th at Portland, it was his seventh finish of 22nd or worse this season. He needs his engine and hybrid to hold together this weekend, so he can at least try to salvage a good result.
Fronstretch Predictions
Who am I taking for the win? Palou of course. I thought Christian Lundgaard would give him a fight last weekend, and it didn’t happen. This time, I was going to say Kirkwood was going to best him like he did at Arlington, but I haven’t been drinking enough rum and coke today to lock in on that.Â
So, I’m going Palou. Kirkwood does finish second, and Rosenqvist third.
- Palou
- Kirkwood
- Rosenqvist
The IndyCar Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, in Markham, Ontario gets underway on Sunday (Aug. 16) at noon ET on FOX.
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and frequent editions of Inside IndyCar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.