Toronto Friday Notebook

You win just one little race and the entire world suddenly wants to know your name. At least, that's how life is in the Dale Coyne pits this weekend. Last week, before Justin Wilson won the Camping World 200 at Watkins Glen, the press barely noticed the Coynes. (However, both AutoRacing1.com reporters were there, talking with Dale before the race!) This weekend, ESPN and other news outlets were definitely paying attention. Before the second round of practice, Justin told AutoRacing1, "We have just a little bit more to do." Obviously they did it, and Justin is a real threat for the pole tomorrow…………The weather for Canada is always an iffy proposition. Earlier weather reports have only a 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms for tomorrow, but local residents are calling for rain tomorrow……………….Danica Patrick's not having a good weekend — she and most of the AGR team are at the bottom of the speed charts. However, she did pause to sign autographs in an impromptu session behind her hauler. IRL fans know that Danica never wants to sign autographs. Within minutes the sight was very crowded, and Danica really could've used some help with crowd control……………….You know you're in Canada when Alex Tagliani draws a crowd! Alex was busy doing an interview with local TV reporters, and by the time he was done the crowd wanting to meet Alex was very large……………CART/Champ Car records are supposed to be honored by the IRL. At least, that was one of the terms of the merger. It will be interesting to see if Justin Wilson, or Paul Tracy, or Will Power, or even Dario Franchitti wins the race that ABC will label them the winner of the inaugural event, or if they will announce them as the 2-time winner of the event. For the record, this is the 23rd running of the event as a street course race (USAC did 4 events at Mosport)………The IRL silly season is upon us! AutoRacing1 will soon feature our annual silly season page, including the latest rumors heard in Toronto. One thing is for sure… a change by Danica will cause a whole cascade of moves…………His Imperial Majesty, Akihito, the Emperor of Japan, was in Toronto today along with Empress Michiko but they have since departed for Vancouver and Victoria. Tim Wohlford reporting from Toronto