IndyCar 2016 – The Final Act

The 2016 IndyCar season is rapidly drawing to a close, and it could reach a thrilling conclusion. What looked like a walk in the park for Simon Pagenaud all year long has now turned into an inter-Penske duel between himself and his teammate Will Power. Both drivers have four wins apiece, with Power fighting after missing the first race of the year. Heading into the penultimate round of the championship, the gap between them is twenty eight points. Before Pocono, it was over fifty. But a hefty crash for Pagenaud and a stunning victory for Power greatly reduced that gap. Pagenaud clawed back eight points in the Texas 600, but it is all to play for as the season draws to a close.

Both drivers have been incredibly impressive all season. Pagenaud dominated the early part of the season, taking three victories in a row and bouncing back perfectly from a disappointing 2015. And whenever he didn’t win a race, he was more often than not scoring a big haul of points. This was while his rivals like Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya were having rather difficult seasons, despite the latter winning the season opener. Pagenaud’s cause was also helped with Power missing the first race of the year due to suffering the ill effects of a practice crash.

But as the season has gone on, Power has fought back magnificently. He won the second race in Detorit and then made it back to back victories, winning the next race at Road America. Another win followed in Toronto, and then another at Pocono.  It was there where Pagenuad suffered his first DNF of the season, allowing Power to close right in on him in the standings.  It came on a rare day of inconsistency for Pagenaud, who was never in contention before his accident.

It has also been a season of Penske dominance. They have won eight of the seasons sixteen races, and have taken all bar three of the 14 pole positions so far. It is an incredible achievement in what is a very close and competitive series.

Heading into Watkins Glen this weekend, Power is twenty eight points behind his title rival. It is a decent gap for Pagenaud, but Power is unlikely to give up, and the championship is surely going to go down to the wire at Sonoma. What complicates it further, is that the race there, is worth double points…

Stay tuned…this battle is far from over!