There will be a couple of familiar faces in the grid’s front row when the green flag drops at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on Sunday.

Defending champion Colton Herta earned pole position in the only IndyCar Series race outside of the United States. Alex Palou, who has a comfortable lead atop the open-wheel circuit’s points list, will be right beside Herta at the starting line at Exhibition Place.

Herta held pole position in three of the past four races in Toronto, but only won in 2024.

“I think it’s just what this team is capable of around here for the street courses,” said Herta on Andretti Global’s reputation for strong showings on street courses like Toronto. “We continue to be a dominant force in the league for that style of racing.

“It was a stressful one, though. Really close to being knocked out in the first round.”

Herta clocked the 11-turn, 2.874-kilometre course around Toronto’s fairgrounds — also home to the CFL’s Argonauts, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, the American Hockey League’s Marlies, the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Sceptres, and starting in 2026, the WNBA’s Tempo — in 59.8320 seconds.

It was Herta’s first pole of the season and he’s winless so far, although he does have three top-five finishes.

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“We want to do well. We’re striving to do better every weekend,” said Herta as his news conference wound down and Palou walked in to the media centre to do his. “It’s a tough sport, so any little thing that we drop the ball on, it creates a big impact.

“Just need to be heads-up on Sunday and not give this (expletive) a win.”

Palou chuckled before getting to the microphone.

He has dominated IndyCar this season with seven wins, four poles, 10 top fives and 11 top 10s, leading for a total of 442 laps. He has 515 points to put him well ahead of No. 2 Pato O’Ward’s 386.

Despite the quality of his season, Palou said that starting second would be a tough assignment Sunday.

“It’s never easy to start second,” said Palou, whose best qualifying lap was 0.2758 seconds behind Herta’s. “If the person in third is awake, they’re usually able to pass the person on the outside.

“We’ll see what we can do. It’s not easy to be around the outside in Turn 1. Honestly, it’s still great. As long as we’re in the top four or five by Lap 1, it’s where we want to be. We can race from there.”

Marcus Armstrong and Will Power were third and fourth, respectively.

Scott Dixon, a four-time champion in Toronto, was 11th in qualifying but IndyCar announced Friday that he’d earned a six-position starting grid penalty for an unapproved engine change following last week’s race at Iowa Speedway.

Dixon is second only to all-time great Michael Andretti’s seven wins around Exhibition Place.

Toronto’s Devlin DeFrancesco, the only Canadian on the grid, was 26th.

Several drivers complained after Friday’s practice about a large bump on Lake Shore Boulevard, just before the braking zone heading into Turn 3. Race officials repaved the area overnight with mixed reviews from Herta and Palou.

“It’s much better. Yeah, it was pretty brutal yesterday,” said Herta. “I didn’t really mind it because I think it adds character and whatnot. But it was on the limit. It was very aggressive.

“I thought IndyCar did a good job. I think there’s no problems at all with it.”

Palou was less positive.

“(The patch) didn’t really make any difference for us. I guess they tried hard,” he said. “The good thing is we brake past that, so it’s just uncomfortable when you drive through there.

“But it was not any smoother. You were still hitting very, very hard.”

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Paramjit Dhillon will never forget the moment he first met Fauja Singh.

It was in 2003 when Dhillon was introduced to Singh through Alan Brookes, the race director of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Brookes had invited Singh – a celebrity in the United Kingdom for having just run a marathon at the age of 92 – to the then-unestablished event, unsure if he’d be willing to make the trip.

Singh was up for it, but with no knowledge of English, he needed a guide.

“We initially said no, he’s a celebrity in the U.K., you should put him with a bigger charity,” Dhillon, a member of the volunteer-run Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation (GGSCF) in the Scarborough area of Toronto, told Global News.

“But Alan said he wants to be with people he can talk to, have a laugh with and feel like he’s not away from home.”

So the two connected, and what would unfold in the days, weeks, months and years afterwards would lead to Singh becoming the oldest man to run a full marathon during the 2011 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Nicknamed the “Turban Torpedo,” the 114-year-old Singh died Monday after being hit by a car while crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab.

Local media in India reported that Singh sustained severe head injuries in the hit-and-run collision. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Though his 2011 run was not recognized by Guinness World Records because he did not have a birth certificate, his accomplishment cemented his status as a running icon – and helped build a connection with Toronto that goes far beyond that moment of glory.

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At the GGSCF, Singh would regularly speak to youth, which at one point included Parminder Flora – a self-described casual jogger-turned-avid runner thanks to Singh’s motivation.

“He inspired so many of us to take up and continue running,” Flora said.

“He showed us that there’s really no limits and that we can do a lot if we believe in ourselves. It can be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.”

Each time Singh came to Toronto, his bond deepened with the GGSCF. When he reached 100 and decided to go for the record, Toronto – not his adopted hometown of London – was where he chose to make history.

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His coach, Harmander Singh, and the foundation were ready to help make it happen.

“His age is none of my business. I wanted him to fulfil his dream,” Harmander said.

On one occasion, this meant banning Singh from taking vacations after his race times started slipping. On this stricter training plan, his times improved.

On race day – Oct. 16, 2011 – Dhillon ran a portion of the marathon alongside Singh before taking over as his hydration expert.

He said he made sure hot tea – never water – was ready for him at refreshment stations.

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Man who became world’s oldest marathon runner at Toronto race dies in hit-and-run

Singh ran the 2003 London marathon in under six hours, but age had slowed his pace. He was also dealing with public pressure, with thousands of people watching to see if he could break the record.

“He was struggling,” Harmander said. “People were pushing him faster than he needed to go.”

Supporters were running alongside him, but at that point, he had to lock in.

“He snapped back and said, ‘You’ve had your fun, now I’m going to listen to my coach,’” Harmander said, adding that he remembers fondly a phrase Singh told him.

“The first 30 kilometres, it’s like a fun fair, you enjoy the ride. After that, you’re talking to God.”

Event organizers made sure there was a celebration that matched the moment when Singh made it to the finish line.

“Our course limit with the city was six-and-a-half hours, but the police and the ambulance at the end of the race wouldn’t leave,” Brookes said.

“It was just a tremendous, joyous celebration.”

After logging 42.195 kilometres in just over eight hours, Singh became the oldest person ever to complete an official marathon.

Waiting for Singh at the finish line were 8,000 chapatis and samosas made by members of the GGSCF for him and his supporters to enjoy.

“It got dark because it took him so long,” Dhillon said. “When he turned the corner, everything went totally out of control. It was a magical moment; it was history.”

Damanpreet Jaiswal was a toddler when Singh crossed the line in 2011, but she’s heard all the stories.

She’s one of Singh’s devotees from the GGSCF, following in his footsteps with a love for running that he would be proud of.

“I’m on my school’s varsity track team and I also run cross-country,” she said.

“I really understand how running meant so much to him because it means so much to me, it gave me health and happiness.”

Jaiswal still volunteers at the GGSCF, where stories about Singh are still regularly told.

“What I’ve learned is that Fauja Singh’s legacy isn’t really about running,” she said.

“It’s about how there’s really no limit to what we can do.”

Flora, who has a six-year-old daughter of her own now, is also still involved with the foundation.

“There have been children’s books written about him and my daughter has read them,” she said. “I think it’s really important to keep these stories alive.”

Beyond individual converts to the religion of running like Jaiswal, another of Singh’s enduring impacts on the Greater Toronto Area is Inspirational Steps. Inspired by Singh, it was launched in 2013 and was an event that saw runners race from gurdwara to gurdwara, sometimes covering 50 kilometres between temples in Scarborough and Mississauga.

It evolved over time and eventually became the Brampton Half Marathon, which benefits the GGSCF and five other GTA charities.

With Singh’s death still fresh, every organization he touched is still trying to figure out how best to honour his legacy. Dhillon said there are plans in motion to do a memorial run for Singh.

Brookes said the next running of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon will feature memorials and celebrations for its most famous finisher. London is also remembering his achievements, with the Sikhs in the City running club planning to build the Fauja Singh Clubhouse.

“Fauja was an absolute inspiration,” Brookes said.

“He was a leader, a real gentleman, a role model, and we owe him an inestimable debt for what he brought to us.”

TORONTO – Chris Bassitt doesn’t mind leaving his comfort zone.

So for the third season in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays veteran pitcher volunteered to start in the first game back from the All-Star break.

Bassitt (10-4) came through with 6 1/3 shutout innings to lift the Blue Jays to a series-opening 4-0 win against the San Francisco Giants on Friday.

The 36-year-old Bassitt’s last start was on July 8, and he even came out of the bullpen against the Athletics last Sunday to pitch an inning and help an overburdened relief corps.

“Chris does weird well,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I think coming out of the pen in Sacramento was not easy to do.

“We trusted him to do his thing over the break, and he didn’t miss a beat.”

Bassitt became the first pitcher in Blue Jays’ history to yield 10 hits and earn a shutout. But he didn’t issue a walk and struck out five in his 97-pitch outing. He reached the 10-win mark for the fifth straight season.

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“I’ve done it (started the first game out of the break) the last two years, so I’m confident in doing it,” Bassitt said. “I understand the routine we need to do at home to be sharp out of the break.

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“I wasn’t the sharpest, but overall it was OK.”

While some of his teammates vacationed in exotic locales, Bassitt spent the break at home with his wife and children.

“It makes me happy just seeing them in their element rather than mine,” he said. “I just enjoy time with them.”

The Blue Jays hit the break with a two-game losing streak, but in occupancy of the top spot in the American League East.

Toronto’s 55 wins were a club record win total before the break, and for only the sixth time in team history, they have the division lead after the league’s mid-season showcase.

But after back-to-back losses to the Athletics heading into the pause in action, the Blue Jays didn’t know how they would emerge.

“You never really know how it’s gonna go,” Schneider said. “But I thought the guys did a good job of coming in (Thursday) to shake the rust off a little bit. But it starts in the mound, and Chris was outstanding.”

Third-baseman Will Wagner also enjoyed a sound first game after the break with his two-run double in a four-run second inning that took some pressure off Bassitt.

The Blue Jays sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning to make life rough for 42-year-old Giants starter Justin Verlander (0-8).

“It was kind of weird,” Wagner said. “We want the break, but we’re playing so well that you don’t want to take the break at the same time.

“I think everyone was just excited to get back and keep going with what we were doing before the break.”

At 33-16, the Blue Jays have the best home record in the American League.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.

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