Simon Pagenaud clinches maiden IndyCar crown

Simon Pagenaud took victory in yesterday's season-ending GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, and with it clinching his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship.

The Penske driver by 3.2523 seconds over Graham Rahal, leading all but 9 laps of the 85 lap race, to win his fifth race of the year, the ninth of his career, and clinch the championship by 127 points over team mate Will Power.

"I tried to take my future in my destiny by being aggressive and going as fast as I could," Pagenaud said afterwards. "Clearly we had a phenomenal car, I think a very dominant car today, so we could do that."

"I just enjoyed driving today. It was an incredible day and I think it just shows the strength of the 22 team for the whole season."

Starting from pole position, former Peugeot Le Mans driver Pagenaud only lost the lead during pit stops. Championship rival Power, ran behind Pagenaud until gearbox issues ended his hopes on lap 36.

He eventually got back on track, albeit eight laps down, and salvaged a 20th place finish to claim his fourth championship runner-up spot in seven years.

"It was obviously disappointing to have that gearbox problem," Power said. "I think Simon was going to be tough to beat as far as the championship goes. Maybe we could have beaten him for the (race) win, but I doubt it if everything just played out as it was.

"But honestly it was still a very strong year," added the 2014 champion. "Four race wins. I won a 500-mile race. Not the right one, but still a 500-miler."

Pagenaud's championship triumph was Team Penske's 14th in their 50 year long motorsport foray, while the race win was their 187th in IndyCar competition.

"It's unbelievable," said Pagenaud, who will be presented with the championship trophy and a cheque for one million dollars in two weeks. "I think I will realize it more tomorrow. There is so much emotion right now, to be honest, I can't find the words. My whole career has been about this, about today and getting to this point and to this level."