After a year away, Toronto's Devlin DeFrancesco brings hometown hope to Honda Indy

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FILE - Devlin DeFrancesco, of Canada, sits in a cart as he waits for is turn during qualification for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
TORONTO — A year away from the IndyCar Series gave Toronto's Devlin DeFrancesco time to reflect — and grow, both as a driver and as a person. Now the 25-year-old is literally back in the driver's seat and will be behind the wheel at his hometown course.
DeFrancesco is the only Canadian in the field at this weekend's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after a season in sports cars. Although DeFrancesco was disappointed to be cut loose by Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport at the end of 2023, he says it was ultimately for the best.
'I think it did me good in the long term, obviously, didn't feel like that at the time, but I think it was good for me,' said DeFrancesco in a recent phone interview. 'We've shown promise, and we've had a strong pace everywhere we've gone this year. We need to focus on that.
'That result's going to come. This team's building. The momentum we have is positive.'
DeFrancesco is ranked 25th on the IndyCar points list with 115 heading into Sunday's race around Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto. His best finish this year was 11th at the famed Indianapolis 500, a race that he led for 17 laps after he started 16th on the grid.
But competing in his hometown, at a course where he has some of his most cherished memories as a fan and a driver, with his family and friends in attendance, will be a different experience.
'Both my grandmothers still live in Toronto, my aunt, my cousins, so yeah, I'm looking forward to connecting with family,' said DeFrancesco. 'There are a lot of them that will be coming out to the race to watch.
'To be able to have their support in person. I think it's important and nice to have, as well as all the home fans. Being the only Canadian on the grid is quite rewarding, so I'm looking forward to it.'
Toronto's Paul Tracy is the only Canadian to win the race since its inception in 1986, claiming the checkered flag twice in 1993 and 2003. The road course winds through Exhibition Place and along Lake Shore Boulevard, the southern edge of the fairgrounds, and challenges drivers with its mixed and uneven road surfaces.
Denmark's Christian Lundgaard was the champion in 2023, but he insisted at a news conference on Thursday that his win was unexpected. He said that the real luck came when his team was able to take advantage of heavy rainfall during that year's qualifying.
'I don't necessarily think we had pure pace to put the car on pole without any inconvenient weather, which we had, and we ended up doing the job on Saturday and getting pole in very tricky conditions,' said Lundgaard, noting that this week's weather forecast is predicting similar conditions.
'I think that's just a recipe for shaking the field up at the end of the day. If we have a qualifying where the weather can be tricky, you can have cars up front that potentially shouldn't be there, and vice versa.'
Colton Herta of the United States is the reigning champion, and he agreed with Lundgaard that earning pole position in Saturday's qualifying was the key to his success.
'Starting on pole is a huge help here,' said Herta. 'If you're that second car, it's hard to overtake the leader. I think further back, it gets easier.
But starting on pole, being able to control the field, it just makes your life a lot easier. It's a tough race. There's a lot of places where yellows can come out and it can flip up the field."
There's a total of nine races throughout the weekend, from five series and representing different classes of cars. Toronto's Mac Clark, who will race in the two USF Pro 2000 races on Saturday and Sunday, said he loves the challenge of driving in his hometown.
'Any driver that says they don't feel pressure at their home race is just lying to you,' said Clark. 'Being at home in front of friends, family, sponsors, supporters, it's a lot, but at the same time, you have to embrace it.
'I'm looking forward to it, and I think I'm going to try to feed off the energy of everyone around me this week.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press