The race is the competitive series’ final event of the 2016 season.
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CAROLINA NATIONALSSite: Concord, North Carolina Schedule: Sunday, finals, 5 p.m., FS1. The race will be shown for your viewing pleasure on the NBC Sports Network.
Another year, another championship bid that fell short.
The Frenchman won his first career IndyCar title in his sophomore season driving for Penske.
SONOMA, Calif. (AP) – To call the 2015 season a disappointment for Team Penske would be an understatement. That was significant because the bonus point he collected allowed him to finish in the top five regardless of what Power did. Castroneves delivered a strong final run but Pagenaud’s was better.
There will be double points on the line in the GoPro Grand Prix. He started third and ninth, respectively, the past two years. It was the 14th series title for Penske, which also managed the first 1-2-3 sweep of the standings since another group of Penske drivers did it in 1994.
“I’ve raced him for 10 years and I’m happy to see him win a championship”, Power said, “even though I finished second to him”. “Obviously it’s a double points race at the end of the year, so as we saw last year it’s the most important race of the year”. Furthermore, there is a lot of elevation change. It’s going to be really interesting the way the tyres go. Power has won the pole five of the last six years and is a three time victor in Sonoma, claiming victory in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Furthermore, he has sped his way to five pole positions over the last six campaigns.
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. Graham Rahal was second ahead of Juan Montoya.
“[Qualifying] was about preparing the auto for the red Firestone tyres”, Pagenaud explained, “We know I’m always more comfortable on those tyres, so I can always extract a little bit more from myself. I thought at one point it was best I salvage a second place rather than do something stupid”. He made hard contact with Charlie Kimball. “We have a realistic shot this weekend”.
During his examination, Power passed both the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) and Vestibular/Ocular-Motor Screening (VOMS) exams.
There is no chance at another collapse on Sunday, and the title will go to Pagenaud with any finish of sixth or higher.
Although, there is an interesting scenario that could take place in the feisty drivers final race. Mario Andretti was the runner-up and Al Unser finished third.
“We’re just not quite on the pace, and I can’t really put my finger on why”, Power said. “We need it, we also want it and I think we can get it”. We should be very strong, based on our testing.
“Pagenaud went out and took it this weekend”, Team Penske president Tim Cindric said.
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“I think it was a fair fight”.
