SONOMA, Calif.  – Simon Pagenaud wasn’t about to let up, even with a generous lead in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship heading into the last race of 2016, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Simon Pagenaud celebrates on pit lane after winning the pole for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway — Photo by: Chris Jone

The Team Penske driver continued his qualifying mastery and will start from pole position in Sunday’s season finale, winning the Verizon P1 Award today at Sonoma Raceway. Pagenaud’s lap of 1 minute, 16.2565 seconds (112.594 mph) in the Firestone Fast Six – the third and final round of knockout qualifying – earned the Frenchman his seventh pole of the season and extended his points lead to 44 over teammate Will Power.

CLICK HERE: GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma qualifying results

With Sunday’s 85-lap race on the 2.385-mile, 11-turn permanent road course paying double points, Pagenaud needs to finish fifth or better in the No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet to clinch his first career championship.

“Today I just think we just, again, showed strength,” Pagenaud said. “That’s what it was all about, to show if we are to win the championship, we deserved it on many points.”

Pagenaud, who broke Power’s 2015 track record in Segment 1 of qualifying with a lap of 1:16.2530 (112.599 mph), led a Team Penske sweep of the top four qualifying positions. It provided a bookend to the season since the Penske foursome accomplished the same feat in qualifying at the season opener, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

“(Qualifying) was about preparing the car for the red Firestone tires,” Pagenaud said, “which we know I’m always more comfortable on those tires so I can always extract a little bit more from myself.

“We had good balance on the car. The first lap we put the red Firestone tires on, I went on the radio and said, ‘Wow, this is going to be good.’ We were able to replicate the lap time every time. Unbelievable that we could actually replicate the lap time in the Fast Six with used tires.”

Helio Castroneves, the 2008 Sonoma winner, will start second in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet after logging a lap of 1:16.4134 (112.362 mph) in the Firestone Fast Six. Juan Pablo Montoya will start third in the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet (1:16.5400, 112.177 mph).

Power, a three-time Sonoma race winner and five-time pole sitter at the track, was fourth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet (1:16.6659, 111.992 mph). The 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion is the only driver who could overtake Pagenaud, but knows the task became more difficult today.

“That’s all I could do in qualifying, that was everything I had and the car had,” Power said. “It’s a long race. I think it’s going to be a race of degradation. It’s going to be really interesting the way the tires go.

“Last thing we need now is a straightforward race because Simon will be tough to beat if that’s the case. Honestly, I need to win the race to win the championship, and he has to have a bad day.”

The pole position is the 245th in Indy car history for Team Penske, celebrating its 50th anniversary this season. Pagenaud’s seven pole positions are the most in a season in the era of the current Dallara IR-12 chassis and most since Power collected eight poles in 2011.

Graham Rahal was the top non-Penske qualifier, fifth in the No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1:16.7149, 111.921 mph). Ryan Hunter-Reay was sixth in the No. 28 DHL Honda for Andretti Autosport (1:16.9132, 111.632 mph).

Scott Dixon, the two-time defending Sonoma winner and reigning series champion, barely missed reaching the Firestone Fast Six and will start seventh in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

A final 30-minute warmup practice is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday (streamed live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com). Coverage of the 16th and final race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season to determine who will be presented the Astor Cup and earn a $1 million prize begins at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.

Menards extends sponsorship with Penske to 10 races in 2017

Team Penske and Menards announced an extension that will keep the Midwest-based home improvement store chain as a primary sponsor on Simon Pagenaud’s Verizon IndyCar Series entry for 10 races in 2017. Team owner Roger Penske, Menards owner and founder John Menard and Pagenaud were on hand to discuss details of the deal this morning at Sonoma Raceway.

The Penske-Menards partnership began this year with what was originally announced as a three-race deal. It included the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis that Pagenaud won and the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, and was eventually extended to five races in 2016. That number will double next season.

“Today, as you know from a sponsorship perspective, to find the right sponsors who have the right integrity, want to support the sport, it’s difficult,” Penske said. “I think that we’re very fortunate to have someone that understands it. (Menard) understands we don’t win every weekend. Hopefully we have a record that is meaningful as we go forward.”

Menard explained that Pagenaud is a great fit for the brand because his family ran a similar business in his native France.

“The stuff he’s done with our suppliers and our customers and our team members, I mean, he’s great,” Menard said. “He’s warm, he’s gracious. People just like him and that’s what we’re looking for in a spokesperson and that’s what we’re looking for in 2017.”

Pagenaud was proud to be able to continue in the bright yellow car in 2017.

“For me, being able to be part of this incredible livery is very special,” he said. “I feel very honored to be that driver. Luckily we got a win out of the way right away at Indianapolis (in the grand prix), which was very important to John, very important to Roger and the whole team as well. It was an incredible start of a great relationship.”

Chip Ganassi Racing faces busiest weekend in six racing series

Chip Ganassi Racing is the busiest of all race teams this weekend. A total of 14 CGR cars and 18 drivers are entered in races across six diverse series: the Verizon IndyCar Series at Sonoma Raceway, the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series at Chicagoland Speedway, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and Red Bull Global Rallycross in Seattle.

It is the first time that CGR will have all of its operations competing on the same weekend. For a company that competes in four vastly different racing disciplines, it takes a well-coordinated effort to make everything come together. Mike Hull, the team’s managing director, says that the people working in each entity are the key.

“The logistics to be able to run multiple entries in multiple series is all about the people that manage and operate within the sphere of each of these programs,” Hull said. “Each one has to be self-reliant and it’s a matter of having really good people in every position and having the people operate as one group of people.”

The team has already had an impressive season, scoring 10 wins across the disciplines including a monumental class win with the Ford GT at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The most recent CGR victory came with four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen presented by Hitachi on Sept. 4.

Dario Franchitti, now a retired driver serving as a driving coach with CGR’s Verizon IndyCar Series program, won three of his four Indy car championships and two of his three Indianapolis 500s with Ganassi. He also won sports car races and drove in NASCAR for the team.

“When you look back to where Chip’s business all started back in 1990 with a one-car Indy car operation, it’s very impressive to see the racing empire he’s built,” Franchitti said. “Running 14 cars in six series across the globe doesn’t just happen overnight. You have to have strong partners and first-class team personnel supporting you along the way. Decent drivers don’t hurt, either.

“It’s one thing to just field that many cars, but I think Chip would be most proud of the fact that he’s won this season in each of those series. That is no easy feat, by any means.”

Firestone Racing donates $20,000 to four charities dear to INDYCAR

Firestone Racing announced that it is making season-ending donations to four charities closely related to INDYCAR.

The Verizon IndyCar Series’ official tire supplier is making donations of $5,000 each to: the Wilson Children’s Fund that supports the family of the late Justin Wilson; the Indy Family Foundation, which helps members of the racing community in need; the USAC Benevolent Fund in memory of short-track star and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson; and the Dan Wheldon Foundation that supports the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Championship weekend is a perfect time to reflect upon and celebrate everything that has happened over the past season,” said Lisa Boggs, director of Bridgestone Americas Motorsports. “The motorsports community is one big family and it’s a privilege to be a part of it. We wanted to take the opportunity afforded by this weekend to honor those individuals who embodied the spirit of racing and their legacies that live on through all of the great work these organizations do to help others.”

What They’re Saying

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “It was a good run for our hum by Verizon car. We had a really good day today and we knew we had a shot at it. I could just put the gas down in a couple of corners because the car had a little oversteer, especially in (Turn 7). But overall I am happy with it. It’s nice to see Penske sweep the front two rows. I know we did it in St. Pete, but didn’t start that way after Will couldn’t race. It’s neat to be a part of.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “Man, that was so close. The Hitachi Chevy has been fast all weekend and we showed it again today in qualifying. We felt good with our approach and the car was really consistent. I made just a little mistake and that probably cost us in the end because Simon (Pagenaud) was so fast, especially on red tires. Congratulations to Simon – that is good for him in the championship – and what a great job by Team Penske to qualify 1-2-3-4. It just shows how well we are working together. It’s still good to start P2, but I’d rather be on top tomorrow instead of today, so we need to focus and try to finish the year strong with a win.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): “This morning in the press conference, I predicted that qualifying was going to be a bit of a lottery. It was literally one lap, if that, before the tires became a factor and it’s just very tricky for the drivers and for the teams to set up. I had a lap that was going to be enough to transfer up until Turn 7, but for whatever reason, I got to Turn 7 and the car just didn’t turn at all. I don’t know why and it doesn’t make any sense. It was fine in Turn 11, so it’s just frustrating when you have a situation where it’s impossible to predict what the car is going to do, and to try and plan for that is just disappointing. The Arrow Electronics car has been fast this season and we should be starting higher than this, but we didn’t get the job done today so I’m going to work on it tomorrow.”

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Honda): “I think the team has made some good progress this weekend. Compared to what we had with the SMP Racing car during practice, we’ve made some improvements. The team did a fantastic job and we’re moving in the right direction. We have one more step to take tomorrow in the race because we’re starting in the middle of the pack but the race is long, so it’s all good.”

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “It’s a very challenging circuit and it’s such a great part of the world to come here and race in. I gave it 100 percent and all I had out there. I really wanted to qualify well here and finish the season on a high note. We had a great qualifying effort last race making the Firestone Fast Six and I wanted to do that again here. This track is similar to The Glen but a bit smaller. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow but it’s a tough and physical race and we’ll be up for the challenge tomorrow.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, 2015 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma winner): “We had some major vibrations on the qualifying run with the black tires, and then when we switched to the red tires it got even worse. I was actually surprised we were able to get through to (Segment 2). Overall we’ve been struggling with overall grip. The times are just so close. The Verizon IndyCar Series is just so close and cut throat these days. You can miss by just a little and be on the outside looking in.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet): “We’re not very happy with our qualifying run today. I think we’re just struggling to find the right setup for the No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet and everyone is still trying to find more grip. The back half of the field isn’t where we want to be starting tomorrow, but I’m confident we can close the gap for tomorrow and find the speed we need to contend at the front.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team Hydroxycut-KVSH Racing Chevrolet): “A pretty good bounce back for the Plantronics – KVSH Racing Team. It has been a tough weekend. Like I’ve said, we didn’t test here and didn’t have a good baseline from last year when we struggled quite a bit, but, for once the car got stronger on reds (alternate tires) where we have been struggling here on blacks (primary tires) to generate grip. So, overall I was pretty happy with qualifying. I put a good lap in during (Segment 1) which put use solidly in for (Segment 2). Then in (Segment 2), I put a solid lap in again, unfortunately they sent Scott (Dixon) a little bit too late and we got within a second and a half behind him, which looks like it should not influence you, but there is so much downforce on the cars and so much turbulence behind, the slightest lack of downforce just kills your lap. So, the two, two and a half seconds I gained early in the lap, I lost in the last sector because I couldn’t stop the car. Frustrating, but overall pretty satisfied with the work that the team has done because Olivier (engineer Olivier Boisson) had to scratch his head and come up with ideas and solutions to try and get the car faster and he sure did that. So now we will see what kind of tire life we’ve got and what kind of pace we’ve got in the race because that is another question mark. Hopefully, we can get a good start tomorrow, get in the right train and see what we can get out the last race of the season.”

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “We just really pretty much didn’t have it all in qualifying. Just thereabouts. I think we’ve been like that in practice, as well. Just hanging in there, a top-six car. Same in qualifying. Definitely were worse on the red tires. That’s all I could do in qualifying, that was everything I had and the car had. I think we have to look at my braking, had some braking issues. Very much different brake bias than these guys. Might be something there that we’re missing because we just haven’t been there. It’s a long race. I think it’s going to be a race of degradation. It’s going to be really interesting the way the tires go.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “We tried everything we could but it was a tricky qualifying. We didn’t have enough speed. The track felt slow compared to this morning but it was the same for everybody. Tomorrow will be a completely different scenario. I look forward to a strong race for the final race of the season. Good job by everyone on the No. 14 car to give us a solid run but unfortunately we needed just a little bit more.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Honda): “It was a really solid end to the day for the Steak ‘n Shake team. It’s been a challenging weekend. No one has had their head down but we have had to work very hard to get ourselves into a good spot for sure. I don’t think any session was smooth for us so far but to come out of qualifying the top Honda is something that makes us very proud, particularly since the Andretti team has been so strong here this weekend. It was nice to beat them out there. We’re fifth and have four Penskes ahead of us. My guys have worked very hard; we’re the little team that can. Tomorrow hopefully we can get a victory. It would mean a lot to end the season off strong. Obviously we’ve got championship contenders in front of us, we’ve got to be smart about what we’re doing tomorrow but we’re here to win. I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone else to do it. We’ll push as hard as we can and hopefully we can get Honda, PennGrade, United Rentals and the rest of our sponsors in Victory Lane. We just have to have a good solid race. We started up front last year but everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. We just need to be smart tomorrow, protect those rear tires and have a good solid race.”

CONOR DALY (No. 18 Jonathan Byrd’s Hospitality Honda): “It was tough to find grip. We’ve had a tough weekend. I thought we’d be able to get a little bit more out of it, but I made a small mistake on our best lap in Turn 6, but honestly that wouldn’t have put us up much further maybe two positions. We’ve struggled here but tomorrow is another day and we’ll see what we can do during the race.”

RC ENERSON (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America/Trench Shoring Honda): “I think we’re still moving forward with the car, but it’s pretty difficult at this place. The track changes so much throughout the day. In the morning, it’s really cool out and the cars are really fast, and then you get to the afternoon and it’s super greasy. It’s kind of hard to judge that. I think we just missed it a little bit but I think we’ll be stronger in the race. We just have to keep up our pace tomorrow and then hopefully hit one of those yellows. I think we can do all right if we hit the strategy right and we keep the pace up, we can have a good result tomorrow.”

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 20 Samsung/Fuzzy’s Vodka/ECR Chevrolet): “The balance shifted more than we thought from black tires during practice to reds during qualifying. We did two sets of reds for our qualifying run. The first set was tricky; it was hard to get rear grip. The second set, we were just trying to put a lap together because we hadn’t had a solid one on the first run. It was a tough session but we’ll give it a shot tomorrow during the race.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka/ECR Chevrolet): “We did a good job as a group getting a decent result in qualifying. It’s a good top 10 starting spot. We would have liked more, I think everyone would have, but that’s OK. We’re still in a strong position to attack tomorrow. We’re still going to have a great race car, we know how to build a fast race car here. I have all the confidence that we’ll be quick and can capitalize from our starting spot.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet, 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series championship leader): “It feels great. Most importantly up until now there was no thinking about the race, no thinking about the outcome. It was all about raw speed. Obviously the No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet has been amazing. We certainly prepared really well in practice. Everything went perfectly all weekend so far. It was about preparing the car for the red Firestone tires, which we know I’m always more comfortable on those tires, so I can always extract a little bit more from myself. We had good balance on the car. The first lap, put the red Firestone tires on. I went on the radio and said, ‘Wow, this is going to be good.’ We were able to replicate the lap time every time. Unbelievable that we could actually replicate the lap time in the Firestone Fast Six with used tires. Certainly I did everything I could by challenging every high-speed corners that I could. I was on the edge, but it was a really good lap. Super proud of these guys. The guys on the No. 22 team, seven poles this season, four wins. No matter what happens tomorrow, it’s been an incredible season.”

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 hhgregg Honda): “The hhgregg car was looking good in practice and in qualifying we just weren’t as fast as we were in practice. The track didn’t feel bad at all so I don’t really know what happened. You just have one lap and in that one lap you have to put everything together. It happens.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): “We had an over-boost that cost two-tenths of a second. This one is going to be hard to swallow. Coming on to the straightaway we had a huge misfire and we lost two tenths (of a second) and, you know, we missed (Segment 2) by a half of a tenth (of a second). It’s going to be tough to sleep tonight. It’s a bummer, we had the pace to do something pretty good today with the Snapple car. I’m going to be pretty bummed out tonight.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): “We made the (Firestone) Fast Six, but we’re pretty disappointed with the result. We just missed a little bit with strategy and timing of our runs, and had some issues during the run that kept us from achieving the time that we had hoped to get for the DHL team. I don’t think we showed our full potential, but sixth is good starting spot. I just think we could have been quite a bit better.”

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): “We really struggled in the heat of the day. We couldn’t generate any real grip out of the tires – I think we probably missed on the tire pressures. The car wasn’t as good this afternoon as it was in the cool of the morning.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Tresiba Chevrolet): “It was a good day for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing getting into the top 12. Definitely disappointing in (Segment 2) not to have had a better lap, but with the challenge of the tires only being good for one lap you have to have a perfect lap. I didn’t quite get the best out of it in the second round of qualifying. We’re starting 12th and we have 85 laps to move forward tomorrow during the race. I know that these guys in the pits have been rock solid, especially the second half of the year. We’ll have a good car tomorrow to go race with especially as we go through a fuel stint and the car changes. It’s going to be a little hotter and a little windier tomorrow, but I think that challenge plays right into our hands.”

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 Castrol Edge/Curb Honda): “We only missed the (Firestone) Fast Six by a one-hundredth of a second, that’s really hard to swallow because you can look back and look over a lap and think of a lot of places where that one-hundredth is. It’s just crazy. It’s our best qualifying on a road course so we have to take some satisfaction from that and try to get the car to the front tomorrow. I think we have a fast race car so this is the one Saturday where I know I’ll get a decent night’s sleep.”

Story and photos courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series