The Verizon IndyCar series is racing north of the border this weekend – not once, but twice.

The Honda Indy Toronto is the third and final double-header event on the 2014 IndyCar schedule, and the weather is being very cooperative. There were two practice sessions in advance of tomorrow’s busy day of activities. There were some minor adjustments to the layout of the course, most noticeably a more narrow pit lane exit, but it is essentially the same challenging 11-turn, 1.75 mile street circuit. Scott Dixon is the defending race winner, after sweeping both races last season.

Josef Newgarden led the field during the first practice session, with a best lap of 1:00.2385 seconds. Things went smoothly, aside from some light brushes with the wall in the closing minutes. The afternoon practice session saw a couple of hiccups with Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe. Both were stopped on the course, with Helio’s battery issue being the larger issue during the session. Things started well for the Brazilian, as he finished fourth and second in the Friday practice sessions before the battery issue ended his day.

The afternoon session was paced by Simon Pagenaud, who had a blistering lap of 1:00.0084 seconds. Times picked up considerably in the second practice for most of the field. After ten cars recorded a lap in less than 61 seconds in the first session, there were twenty cars that did so in the afternoon practice session. Will Power was second quick in the morning, and fourth fastest in the afternoon. Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe was third and fifth fastest in the two Friday sessions. Qualifying for Saturday’s race begins at 10 AM ET, and race coverage starts at 3 PM ET on NBC SN.

Below are highlights from today, courtesy of IndyCar.