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Notes & Quotes: Honda Indy Toronto

Takuma Sato: No. 14 ABC Supply Honda

Jack Hawksworth: No. 41 ABC Supply Honda

Takuma Sato On:

• Toronto circuit: “Toronto is one of the most unique street courses and I enjoy the venue a lot. It has got a great atmosphere as fans are very enthusiastic and there is quite a large Japanese community there too. I also enjoy the great restaurants in downtown. But most importantly, I think we will be competitive so I look forward to it very much.”
• Revised pit lane (how will it affect the race):  “I haven’t seen it so I don’t know how it may affect the race, but I believe there will be no difference for the race. If anything, it should be better for the team for working as there will be easier access from the paddock to pit-lane and possibly more space.”
• The trickiest part of the Toronto circuit: “Most of Toronto’s corners are very tricky. There are several concrete patches at almost every corner which means the surface changes a lot during cornering. So the car is never settled because of the different levels of grip plus it is bumpy!”
• The key to our success this year: “Because of these very bumpy and tricky turns, making the car as consistent and stable as possible is a key. We have been generally strong in street courses and we are making good progress on the 2016 package, plus we had a good performance last year, so I think it will be good one for us.” 

Jack Hawksworth On:

• Toronto: “Toronto is a fantastic place to race. It's extremely technical and there is a great atmosphere. The city embraces the race and the people of Toronto love their motorsport.” 
• Why it is his favorite circuit: “It's incredibly challenging and has an old school feel too it. The circuit has a wide selection of corners for a street circuit and it requires precision and commitment. It's a track that I always look forward to driving on.” 
• Revised pit lane (how will it affect the race): “I honestly have no idea. Perhaps it will make it a little more difficult to defend positions into Turn 1 after a pit stop due to the fact that we'll be exiting pit lane from the outside of Turn 1 rather than the inside as in years past. Other than that I imagine it will be pretty similar.”
• Importance of Track Walk: “Street circuits, due to their temporary nature, tend to change a little from year to year. This means the track walk at this kind of track is a little more important as it gives everybody a chance to see what changes have been made to the curbing, surface and temporary barriers.” 
• His favorite activity in Toronto: “Toronto is a great city and there is plenty to do but we are usually pretty flat out at the track and don't arrive back at the hotel until late. There are a few great Italian places I like to eat at in the evening!”

Past Performance at Toronto: Last year, Takuma Sato started eighth for a career best here and finished 10^th. His career best finish is fifth (2014-Race 2). Jack Hawksworth posted his career best start of 14^th last year, while his career best finish is sixth (2014 – Race 2). The ABC Supply team’s record shows better finishes than starts: 2009 Ryan Hunter-Reay started 12th, finished seventh; in 2010, Vitor Meira started 26th, finished 11th, in 2011, Meira started 14th and finished fifth and in 2012, Mike Conway started 11th and finished third.

The ABC Supply team will be busy this month and next: Following last weekend’s race in Iowa, the team pepped the cars in Iowa for the Honda Indy Toronto race this weekend. After the Toronto race, the crew will test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 21, return to Houston, then fly back to Mid-Ohio the next week for the Honda Indy 200 July 29-31. After which, they will prep the superspeedway cars for their test at Pocono Raceway on August 4. They will then return to their Indianapolis shop where they will prep the road course cars for a test August 11 at Watkins Glen International (the last time INDYCAR raced at WGI was in 2010). Following that test, the crew returns to Houston where the superspeedway cars will be prepped for the ABC Supply 500 in Mt. Pocono, Pa. Aug. 19-21 and the postponed race at Texas Motor Speedway, which takes place Saturday, Aug. 27.  Following the completion of the Firestone 600 at TMS, the team will do a final prep on the road course cars before heading to Watkins Glen, N.Y. for the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen on Labor Day weekend. By the time they return to Texas, they will have logged over 14,500 miles on the road…and over 12,000 Frequent Flier miles. Whew!

ABC Supply Co. enters its 12th season as marketing partner of AJ Foyt Racing: ABC Supply began sponsoring the AJ Foyt Racing team with the 2005 Indianapolis 500, and is the second longest active team sponsor in the Verizon IndyCar Series. With this season, the company ties U.S. Tobacco’s Copenhagen brand in length of sponsorship of Foyt’s team.  ABC Supply has leveraged its involvement by sponsoring races at Milwaukee and now at Pocono with the ABC Supply 500, and by entertaining over 75,000 associates and customers during the past 11 racing seasons.

Headquartered in Beloit, Wis., ABC Supply was founded by Ken and Diane Hendricks in 1982. The company has more than 600 branches in 49 states and is dedicated exclusively to serving professional contractors.  ABC Supply has distinguished itself by following a simple guiding principle – take care of contractors better than any other distributor.  It remains an “employee-first” company that treats its associates with respect and gives them the tools they need to succeed.  As a 10-time winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, which recognizes the best-performing workforces in the world, ABC Supply is one of only three companies in the world to have earned this honor every year since its inception in 2007.  More information is available at www.abcsupply.com. 

The Honda Indy Toronto will be broadcast live on CNBC Sunday, July 17 starting at 2:30pm ET. Qualifying for the race will be broadcast live Saturday on the NBC Sports Network starting at 1:30pm ET.

For more information on the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing program, please check our web site: www.foytracing.com. To follow us on Twitter: @AJFoytRacing, @TakumaSatoRacer, @JackHawk41, @LarryFoyt14. On Facebook, we have the AJ Foyt Racing fan page.