Simon Pagenaud wins first IndyCar championship as Power coasts to halt
Simon Pagenaud won his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship on Sunday with a win at the season finale at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. It was Pagenaud's fifth win of the season.
To win the championship, Pagenaud had to hold off his Team Penske teammate Will Power. Even after qualifying, things were looking good for the 32-year-old French racing driver, as he had picked up an extra point over Power by securing pole position.
Pagenaud went into Sunday's GoPro Grand Prix at Sonoma with a 44-point lead over Power, but was still wary as the IndyCar season finale pays double points. Additionally, the tires were degrading rapidly, and Pagenaud knew that Power could leapfrog him in the pits on strategy.
However, Power never had the opportunity to do so, as his No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet coasted to a halt with an apparent transmission issue on Lap 36.
A Full Course Yellow was flown but, despite that, Power was still 8 laps down by the time he rejoined the race, essentially extinguishing any hopes he had of winning his second championship.
Graham Rahal kept Pagenaud honest in the closing stages of the race as the Frenchman attempted to conserve fuel, but he was unable to make a move on him, and Pagenaud led Rahal and Montoya home across the line. Ryan Hunter-Reay placed fourth while Alexander Rossi salvaged a fifth-place finish despite running out of fuel on the last lap.
"It's unbelievable," said Pagenaud after he got out of his car. "I think I will realize more tomorrow. What a race! So much emotion right now to be honest, it's hard to find the words. For an athlete, I think when you can perform 100 percent under pressure like this is amazing. It's such a great feeling. Obviously, it's me winning, but my whole team."
"If I hadn't won a championship, it would have been a pretty bad day," confessed Power, who won the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2014. "But it's been a great year... I am happy seeing [Pagenaud] win a championship."
Unofficial race results:
1. Simon Pagenaud
2. Graham Rahal
3. Juan Pablo Montoya
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay
5. Alexander Rossi
6. Josef Newgarden
7. Helio Castroneves
8. Marco Andretti
9. Charlie Kimball
10. Sebastien Bourdais
11. Mikhail Aleshin
12. James Hinchcliffe
13. Tony Kanaan
14. Takuma Sato
15. Carlos Munoz
16. Max Chilton
17. Scott Dixon
18. Jack Hawksworth
19. RC Enerson
20. Will Power
21. Conor Daly (DNF)
22. Spencer Pigot (DNF)
The 2017 IndyCar Series kicks off on March 12 on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
