Chastain Motorsports Sees Victory on Toronto’s Streets
Toronto, ONT – Backing up his VIR win in June, Brandon Newey drove to a race two victory in the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship on the streets of Toronto last weekend during the IndyCar event. Teammate Sam Chastain logged a pair of top ten finishes with a sixth and a fourth, making it a successful weekend for the two-car Mygale/Honda Chastain Motorsports team.
“It was a competitive field, a great atmosphere in Toronto and a good experience for us," said team co-owner Tom Chastain. “It was a thrill to be part of a big weekend like that, especially for the kids.”
It marked Newey’s second victory of the year in the No. 29 Mygale/Honda, although in a different series this time with the Canadian-based Toyo Tires Championship. Newey had prior experience on the Toronto circuit and is mainly competing in Pro Mazda events in 2014.
Meanwhile, teammate Chastain got his first laps on a street circuit on Toronto’s twisting 11-turn course.
The team rolled a pair of nearly-perfectly setup Mygale/Hondas off the trailer prior to Friday’s practice and qualifying – with both cars requiring few changes throughout the weekend.
Previous to the event the team managed to schedule a quick test at Putnam Park to get acclimated to the new rubber, Toyo Tires, as opposed to the usual Hoosiers run in the U.S. F1600 Championship Series.
Practice didn’t go to plan, with Chastain taking a corner off his No. 27 Mygale/Honda when a car spun in front of him. That forced the team to put on new treaded Toyos, learning that the new tires were actually a bit slower than heat-cycled tires, leaving the No. 27 in 17th place for race one, while Newey missed pole by less than two tenths of a second, and would line up on the outside of the front row.
As the green flag fell on the 28-car field, Newey was locked in a lead battle with dominant series driver Tristan DeGrand. With the race unfolding against Toronto’s concrete canyons, DeGrand and Newey would have a moment, with Newey pulling off to retire from the race. His teammate would fare better, however, as Chastain put on a show, charging his Mygale from 17th to a fourth place finish in 18 laps.
Race two, which ran right after the IndyCars on Sunday, would see the field set based on race one lap times, with Newey and Chastain fourth and sixth on the grid, respectively.
At the conclusion of lap one, they came around in second and third and honed in on the race lead, eventually going one-two. Both cars would log laps in the lead.
But tires would again come into play, with the No. 27 experiencing overheating rubber than would drop Chastain to a sixth place finish while Newey cruised to a win on the streets.
Next up for Chastain Motorsports is a visit to Pittsburgh International Race Complex with the F1600 Formula F Championship Series, August 1-3.