Dario's struck a special chord with Canadian fans -- his latest win in Toronto only added to the many memories he has at the track. (LAT)
Toronto was a good weekend!!
That pole wasn’t looking like an option on Friday -- I really didn't do a great job driving the car. There's a rhythm that you get into in Toronto and I wasn't getting into that rhythm. Overnight we made changes and the Target car was really good out-of-the-box on Saturday and I was driving better too.
I was definitely in that rhythm from the first lap in qualifying because it mostly rained in practice, where I managed to do a nice 360 on my out lap, I’d love to tell you it was all down to skill but..... I’m not sure Chip knows about that one so lets keep it to ourselves, shall we?
So from the first lap in qualifying it felt really good. I did my fastest lap of the first session on Firestone Blacks, didn’t go any quicker on the Reds but in the second session did my best lap on new Reds. In the top six we had to use used Reds, I managed to pull a good lap out, totally committed and balls to the wall; a lap I was really proud of.
I came in, said “That's it,” and got out of the car. I got the best out of the tires and said to myself, “That's as good a lap as I've got! Let them have at that.” With the chance of running in three sessions with at least three or four new tire runs qualifying is really physical, but man is it fun with all that grip.
It was a great feeling, having got my first pole way back at Toronto in ’97. It was good to prove that even with a couple more gray hairs I can get it done!
Looking at the race, I’m proud that we got the most from our package and had the fastest car. I did use my reds a little hard in the first stint which I didn’t need to do but I’ll put that down to experience. I spoke to the guys afterwards about the slight miscue we had on the left rear wheel during a pit stop, the second stop was very good though and it just proves how competitive this series has become.
Even a tiny delay can move you pretty far back in the running order and for us, and we spent the middle portion of the race trying to get back where we had been running before. I was also stuck behind Moraes which was entertaining, if not a big bit frustrating!
I think other people maybe were more content to lead the midpoint in the race, and we just focused on setting ourselves up for track position for the final segment of the race. All of that worked out perfectly – we got into the lead having passed Helio.
We were definitely better in getting up to speed than Helio. I could see that he had to save fuel, whereas I could go flat out to the finish. He was on Reds so I knew I probably had a bit of an advantage as he had used them up. I just started pressuring him out on the back of the track through the turn 5, 6, 7 and 8 complex and sure enough he started locking wheels into 8 so I got really close.
Then we got into turn 1 -- I was sort of in the slipstream -- and I went to have a look on the inside and just as I was thinking of braking, he kept going so I said, “Okay, good luck…” Sure enough, he missed the corner and that was it. It’s always fun when you can get out and pass someone for the lead on the track, but not so much fun when you’re the one being passed!
From that point on really I could control the pace; we were pulling out a good bit on starts and restarts where the car was really strong -- about 1.5 to 1.7 seconds on the first lap on each restart -- and that really allowed me some breathing space. The track was very, very quick at the end; it would have been nice to have had a go at the fastest lap but I had no need to push that hard and I would've looked really stupid if I had made a mistake pushing for fastest lap! We did what we had to do at the end and got the result.
There was some controversy about the yellow flag and the blend line issue -- a fairly big misunderstanding there. I heard certain owners saying I wasn't in the pits when it went yellow. Well, I think I was actually alongside one of those owner’s pit stall when it went yellow and I was almost half way into pit lane when the yellow flag came out, so I was entitled to make my stop.
When I left, there is a blend line, one of which crosses the track and one of which crosses the exit of pit lane -- whoever gets to that first blends in. Well, Helio crossed it, I crossed it a tenth of a second later, Paul crossed it, and Paul was going at a much higher speed than me because I was coming out of pit lane but I crossed the blend line before he did, which the timing data and video evidence bears out. The rule has been the same for a long time, and believe me, it has screwed me more than it’s helped, but Sunday it went my way.
So as much as I love PT…I was ahead there so nothing was gifted to me in that situation. Dixie was a bit further back at that point so I was hoping that PT and I could do the same as we did there in ‘99 and finish 1-2, but it wasn’t to be for Paul…I think Helio was lucky to get out of Canada in one piece!
Toronto is a place with many special memories for me, so this win means a lot. And honestly, winning never gets old. It's a funny thing. Now, I appreciate every one I get more than ever. Every pole, every win – they’re all special.
I think that's because I had a really terrible season in 2006, but then in 2007 we had a good season and won a lot of races and the championship. When I left for NASCAR I really thought that was it, that was my time in IndyCar was over. So to be back again this year and I've already put three races in the win column, the poles and everything, it's something I never expected. It's all a bonus!
When I left the track Sunday night it was a feeling of real satisfaction. It was kind of a reflective win because in the 10 years since my last win at Toronto, a lot of incredible things have happened in my career and my personal life in that time.
Racing in Canada also has special meaning to me as it’s the home of my mate Greg Moore. He's never far from my thoughts when I’m there. And when I see guys like Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy and Jimmy Vasser – all buddies of his and mine, it just reminds me even more about him.
For some reason, I don't know what it is, but when I first went to Toronto I connected in a special way with the fans, I think because there is a lot of Scottish and Italian immigrants there. There’s some kind of bond I felt and it continues to this day. Canadian fans are unbelievably knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about racing, but for me it goes beyond that. I really feel at home and have a lot of support when I go north of the border.
We’re headed back, up to Edmonton, and it’s kind of an unknown for me because I haven’t been there. I’ve got all the Target data here from 2008 my engineer Chris Simmons has given me to pour over that and see if I can try to understand the track a little bit. I’ll get into Edmonton nice and early and learn the track. But as far as the championship and the next race – I'm not looking any further than Edmonton right now.
