The 2016 edition of the race moved back to its traditional mid-July date, after being held in June of 2015 to avoid conflicting with 2015 Pan American Games.[3] The Exhibition Place circuit also featured changes to its layout, which represent the third modification to the layout since its inaugural race in 1986. Pitlane moved to the north side of the track, starting at Turn 9 and extending back onto Princes' Boulevard past Turn 11 before the start-finish line in order to accommodate the newly constructed Hotel X Toronto, opposite the Enercare Centre.[4]
Qualifying for the event took place on Saturday, July 16. Scott Dixon qualified on pole for the event with a time of 59.9073 at an average speed of 106 mph (170 km/h)- the slowest qualifying average speed of the year, and making only the second time on the 2016 season that a Team Penske driver had not started from first. It also marked Dixon's 24th pole position, tying him with Johnny Rutherford for 12th in all-time IndyCar poles. Penske cars, however, did take the next three positions, with Hélio Castroneves second, points leader Simon Pagenaud third, and Will Power fourth. Defending race winner Josef Newgarden qualified eighth.[7]
The race began with Dixon jumping into the lead ahead of Castroneves and Pagenaud, while the rest of the field battled out behind them. The first lap was nearly completed cleanly, but in turn eight, Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball made contact, sending Kimball into a spin and collecting Ryan Hunter-Reay, bringing out the day's first caution. All three drivers continued, but needed repairs for damage. The restart came on lap 5, where the lead order remained largely the same. Caution would wave again only one lap later, though, after Juan Pablo Montoya clipped the rear bumper-pod on Josef Newgarden's car, ripping the pod off and causing it to land on track between turns two and three. Newgarden was forced to pit to repair the damage, sending him to the back of the running order. The race restarted again on lap nine, and the race finally was allowed to get going. Dixon and Castroneves were able to pull out from their competitors behind, but on lap 25, the left front tire on Castroneves's car went flat, forcing him to pit and dropping him well down the order. This, in turn, allowed Dixon to hold a commanding lead.
The field was bunched up again for the third caution of the day on lap 45, when IndyCar officials were forced to do a track inspection in turn five after reports of the curbing be torn up and thrown across the race track. During this caution, some drivers, including James Hinchcliffe and Conor Daly, elected to go on an alternate strategy by pitting. The race restarted on lap 51, with Dixon and Pagenaud in the lead. Shortly after the restart, green flag pit stops began. This proved to be the pivotal moment of the race. On lap 58, Josef Newgarden, who was experiencing high fatigue in his right hand due to his injury from the Firestone 600 plus the bumps of the Toronto Circuit, crashed in turn five. The pit lane closed due to incident, but Will Power had been able to just make it into the pits before they were closed, giving him a huge advantage of Dixon and Pagenaud, who had not yet stopped. As those who had not stopped yet stopped pitted, Tony Kanaan, who was on an alternate strategy, inherited the lead.
The race restarted on lap 64. Kanaan pulled away from Power, but with a pit stop still ahead for him, Power was set for the lead. Kanaan finally pitted on lap 76, officially giving the lead to Power. Hélio Castroneves, meanwhile, had managed to recover from his early race puncture and moved into second place after passing James Hinchcliffe and Kanaan on the same lap. However, he appeared not to have enough time to be able to catch his teammate Power. That changed on lap 81, however, when Jack Hawksworth crashed into the wall in turn five. Shortly after his impact, Juan Pablo Montoya joined him in the same barrier. Montoya was able to continue on, but the damage to Hawksworth's car too much. This brought out the race's fifth caution. By the time Hawksworth's car was removed from turn five, only one lap of racing would remain at the restart. In a situation similar to the Kohler Grand Prix,
Power was able to pull away easily from Castroneves using his saved push to passes. By the end of the final lap, Power had pulled out 1.5 seconds over his teammate to take victory. For Power, the victory was his third win in the last four races and moved him into second place in the championship standings, marking him the biggest threat to his teammate Simon Pagenaud's point lead. Hometown favorite James Hinchcliffe was able to hold on for a third-place finish due to his alternate pit strategy and the late race caution period. Scott Dixon, who had been so dominant until the ill-timed caution, was only able to recover to eighth, while Pagenaud finished directly behind him in ninth. Rookie drivers struggled heavily in the race, with Conor Daly's 15th place being the highest of all rookies in the race.[8][9]
1 Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.
