J.R Hildebrand from Sausalito, CA is coming off an exciting 4th place finish in Iowa two weeks ago and now finds himself in 9th place in the points standings. Here is a release from his team about the upcoming race in Toronto, Canada.
TORONTO, Ontario (July 7, 2011) – The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to Canada this weekend for the third Honda Indy Toronto race on the streets of downtown Toronto. Historically, races on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn street course have hosted some of the most exciting non-oval races in the series, and this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series field is one of the most talented and evenly matched in league history.
“Toronto is a tough track, for sure,” Hildebrand admitted. “This is one of those places that looking at the schedule before the season you know is going to be a tough place for everybody. It’s a rough track and it’s difficult to set the car up to be good all the way around the place, and there are a couple sections specifically where you can make up a lot of time.”
At the midway point in the season National Guard Panther Racing rookie JR Hildebrand is in ninth place in the IZOD IndyCar Series Points Standings after a thrilling fourth-place finish at the Iowa Corn 250. After a break in the action over the Fourth of July holiday, Panther and Hildebrand are looking forward to the upcoming race weekend and hope to keep their momentum going through the streets of Toronto.
In the team’s two previous starts in Toronto, former driver Dan Wheldon finished 10th in 2010 and 14th in 2009.
“We had a little bit of a rough start on the road and street circuits but we’ve done some development and are excited to get back on these types of tracks,” JR continued. “We take a lot of pride in this and we know we’re all good at it and that’s why we’re excited about getting back to the road courses.”
Though this will be his first IndyCar race in Toronto, Hildebrand has raced the circuit in a Firestone Indy Lights car; finishing second in the Toronto 100 in 2009. Hildebrand, the Indy 500 runner-up and Rookie of the Year, is the top rookie in the IZOD IndyCar Series, leading Toronto hometown favorite James Hinchcliffe by a total of 27 points.
The Honda Indy Toronto race will be broadcast Sunday on VERSUS at 2pm (ET) with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.
www.JRHildebrandRacing.com – www.pantherracing.com – www.NationalGuard.com