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It was a very unique situation today with two Indy car races not just on the same weekend but on the same day. Since the race was cancelled yesterday, Honda Indy honoured tickets from Saturday and crowds were pouring in today.
Yesterday the crowd was maybe a quarter of what it was today. And early on, the sun was out for the biggest annual sporting event in Ontario.
“I love it. I come for the environment, the smells of the cars. It’s really a great spectacle,” said one race fan.
And that spectacle is much more than just one race.
“We are looking forward to the super trucks, actually. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said another visitor.
Jumping over large ramps on the streets of Toronto, the trucks can really fly. Exhibition place was full of unique games that promoted other sports Canadians love.
The event isn’t just great for fans. It brings in a lot of money for the city.
“It’s a $50 million economic impact just this weekend alone. All the hotels, restaurant bills, taxi cabs, broadcast … We are broadcast live to 200 countries,” said Charlie Johnstone, president of Honda Indy Toronto.
Around Honda World, donation boxes were set up for Make a Wish Foundation, the official charity of Honda Indy Toronto. For Fan Friday, people attending were asked to give a donation and Honda Canada paid for their admission.
“On Friday we raised $25,000 and, of course, Honda Canada is matching that,” said Jerry Chenkin, the president and CEO of Honda Canada.
The event wraps up today but the organizing committee says by Labour Day they will start planning for next year. The event will still run in full force along with the Pan Am Games.
“We’ve been working with Pan Am Games for the last couple of years with Indy Dar and we’ll be making an announcement, but we absolutely have plans to be racing in the streets of Toronto in 2015,” said Johnstone.
