Toronto, Ontario (20 July 2024) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) ended a two-year drought today in sunny Toronto, putting both of its NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars in the Firestone Fast Six for the first time since June of 2022, and the 31st time since 2017 qualifying third and sixth for Sunday’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
Both Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) and David Malukas (No. 66 SiriusXM Honda) had three solid qualifying runs around the tight 1.786-mile Toronto street course to advance to the Firestone Fast Six. The top-six results are the tenth and eleventh for the team this year in the year’s 13 races.
Rosenqvist and Malukas finished fourth and fifth in the opening qualifying session, but the second one was a little more dramatic. Rosenqvist ran his best lap of the day on his last trip around Toronto’s Exhibition Place, stopping the clocks at 59.5960-seconds to advance into the Fast 6. Malukas was in danger of not advancing with four minutes to go, as he spun in Turn 8 but was able to continue.
The spin and resulting brief yellow flag cost Malukas his best lap of the session to that point, but undaunted, the Chicago resident carried his Tragically Hip-themed SiriusXM car around the layout in 59.8606-seconds on his last lap to move into the Firestone Fast Six.
The final session was less dramatic, but equally successful for MSR as Rosenqvist earned the starting spot on the inside of the second row, while Malukas will start on the outside of Row 3. The results keep Rosenqvist’s qualifying streak alive as he has now started eighth or better in each of his four Toronto starts.
The grid is now set for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, which takes place on the streets of the Canadian city on Sunday. The race broadcast is set for 1 p.m. on Peacock. The races, along with all other INDYCAR action can be heard live on Sirius XM Radio, Channel 218.
Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:
Felix Rosenqvist: “I was really happy with my car. We kept making it better and better all weekend and we put ourselves in a good spot for tomorrow. I think that ever since (David) came on to the team, things have been better and more competitive. He’s been fast everywhere and I like having the competitiveness in the team, it helps keep everybody on their toes.”
David Malukas: “We just finished up qualifying there and man, that was very, very tough. I had to be on the limit to get to the Fast 6, but both of our cars made it. I made a mistake in Q2 and went off and had to get going again. I had to do one lap and I locked up that front right and was dealing with a vibration the whole run, but managed to still make it in the Fast 6. So that set (of Firestones) was pretty gone by the first run in the Fast 6, so that’s why we solidified P6 there. It’s a good spot for the Tragically Hip car and we’ll have at it in the race tomorrow.”