Team Penske driver and Indycar championship leader Simon Pagenaud of France celebrates after qualifying in pole position for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at the Sonoma raceway in northern California Saturday.
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As the season shaped up, and in qualifying times this week, Sunday’s race looked to be a showdown between Pagenaud and his Penske teammate Power, who were 1-2 in individual standings.
El piloto francés Simon Pagenaud saluda durante las presenctaciones antes del inicio de la carrera del serial IndyCar en Sonoma, California, el domingo 18 de septiembre de 2016.
Pagenaud’s powerful season was the ultimate validation for team owner Roger Penske’s decision to add a fourth vehicle to his team, when plenty of detractors thought it would sap resources from the current trio of Power, Helio Castroneves and Juan Manuel Montoya. Pagenaud won the 2006 Formula Atlantic title for Walker Racing, graduated with Derrick Walker’s team to Champ Car in 2007 and finshed eighth in the championship.
Pagenaud only needed a smooth race to put a wrap on this breakthrough season.
Pagenaud entered the weekend 43 points ahead of teammate Will Power as the Penske drivers were the only two mathematically eligible to win the championship.
Power’s problems probably would not have mattered as Pagenaud went on to win the race and his first championship.
With a 44-point cushion over Power to start the race, it was going to take something going drastically wrong for Pagenaud to miss out on his first IndyCar title. You’ve got to make that chemistry make sure the chemistry would be the best, and it took us a while to get used to what we could and could not do. Roger Penske’s organization claimed its 14 such title and its second in three years (Power won in ’14).
Power must finish in the top five to have any hope of overtaking Pagenaud.
Power finished second in the standings and Helio Castroneves was third. Castroneves edged Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden (who many observers tip to join the Penske team next year, replacing Montoya) for third place in the points chase.
But nothing went as planned at Sonoma Raceway, where Team Penske choked away the title to Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing. “We got it together, though, and being in a position to win the championship is awesome”.
Andretti, who last won a race in 2011, has been under a spotlight recently for his lack of success on the track.
But he had radio issues, had to change his helmet during a caution, and finished 17th.
Montoya finished third at Sonoma to bookend the year with podium finishes. They sit fifth and sixth respectively in the standings heading into the final round and if one or both can move up, it most certainly benefits them in negotiations.
The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season – a total of 17 races with all the same venues as this year with the addition of Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis – kicks off March 12 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 for a huge bright spot on a season he otherwise believes failed to live up to expectations. Hunter-Reay and sponsor DHL renewed their deal with the Michael Andretti-run team just a few hours before the race, while coveted Indianapolis 500 victor Rossi’s assumed-by-many return to the team is rumored to be just one of his many options for 2017.
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When it was clear Power was out of the race and out of contention for the title, he said he tried to stay calm.
