The lone Canadian IndyCar series race is moving from Toronto, Ontario to Markham, Ontario for the 2026 IndyCar season according to Tyson Lautenschlager of CBC News on Wednesday. The race will be in Markham for the next five years through to 2030.
This particular race has been in Toronto since 1986. Bobby Rahal of the United States was the first champion. Paul Tracy of Scarborough, Ontario is the only Canadian champion as he won in 1993 and 2003. There was no race in 2008 due to the reunification of the Champ Car Circuit and Indy Racing League. As a result, the entire open wheel auto racing season was cancelled. There was no race in Toronto either in 2020 or 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
In 2025, Pato O’Ward of Mexico was the Toronto IndyCar champion. It was one of two IndyCar wins for O’Ward this season as he also won in Iowa on July 12. O’Ward finished second in the 2025 Indy Car standings behind Alex Palou of Spain.
The only Canadian on the IndyCar circuit in 2025 was Devlin DeFrancesco of Toronto, Ontario, who finished in 26th place. DeFrancesco represents Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. One reason why the 2025 IndyCar season ended in August is because of the television agreement with FOX Sports. The American television network is committed to the National Football League starting in September.
