Photo Credit: IndyCar
The 1-A tagline in terms of Verizon IndyCar Series road racing prowess appears to be signed, sealed, and delivered for Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud, who had to hold off a feisty Graham Rahal late on Sunday to secure his second win in succession in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park. Last week at Long Beach, California, Pagenaud was in the center of controversy after appearing to cut off the pit lane exit blend line in an effort to hold Scott Dixon. Ironically, with eight laps to go in Sunday’s race with eight laps to go, the Frenchman appeared to be on the other side of the argument.
Battling for the lead in traffic entering turn eight, Rahal clipped Pagenaud from behind sending the No. 22 Chevrolet wide and into the grass. Although INDYCAR officials considered a penalty, a drive through penalty for avoidable contact was not issued. Pagenaud quickly recovered and reeled back in the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver, who appeared to take the worst of the contact with noticeable front wing damage suffered. With Rahal losing down force and grip, Pagenaud managed to re-pass the American at turn 16 with five laps to run of the 90-lap distance and then pulled away to take the victory. Outside of the late duel with Rahal, the Frenchman was in control of the top spot for a majority of the distance. After winning the Verizon P1 Award on Saturday, Pagenaud led 85 of the event’s 90 laps to grab the winner’s trophy.
Despite losing 12 seconds to Pagenaud due to the front wing damage, Rahal managed to hold onto second place at the finish. The result is Rahal’s second straight runner-up finish at Barber Motorsports Park. The driver who topped Rahal one year ago, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden would out-duel Team Penske’s Will Power to claim the final spot on the podium, the Tennessee-native’s best finish to date in the 2016 season. Power, who closed in Pagenaud around the halfway mark, but faded following the final round of pit stops would settle for fourth.
After suffering through a frustrating qualifying session on Saturday, Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya charged from start to finish of the 90-lap event moving from last place (21st) to fifth place at the finish. The second five featured Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe in sixth, the fourth Team Penske car with Helio Castroneves at the controls in seventh, and three of the four Chip Ganassi Racing completing the top ten.
Tony Kanaan led the CGR attack in eighth, while after overcoming early adversities, Charlie Kimball and Scott Dixon both bounced back to finish ninth and tenth.
The victory is the sixth in Verizon IndyCar Series competition for Pagenaud, who further extends his lead in the championship standings now with two wins and two runner-up finishes on his resume entering the month of May at the Indianapolis. The Frenchman has tasted success in both major events at the Brickyard, winning the inaugural Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the Speedway’s road course in 2014 and qualifying on the outside of the front row for last year’s 99th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Stay tuned to OnPitRoad.com for continued coverage of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
