Racing
John Oreovicz, Autos, Open-Wheel 9y

IndyCar finale's tale of the tape

IndyCar

SEARS POINT, Calif. -- For the first time since 2007, an Indy car champion will be crowned at a road course.

The final round of the Verizon IndyCar Series championship takes place Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, with Juan Pablo Montoya holding a 34-point margin over Graham Rahal. On a normal day that would be a healthy advantage, but IndyCar pays double points in its season finale these days, making Montoya's task slightly more difficult.

In many ways, it's a championship that nobody has stamped authority on. Nine drivers have won races, and no driver won more than twice. As a result, six drivers are still mathematically eligible for the title.

Still, with as many race wins (two), and more top-5s and top-10s than any other driver, Montoya would be a deserving champion -- and with 85 laps of racing on a road course where passing is notoriously difficult, he's very much in the driver's seat.

But anything can happen in IndyCar Series road races, which are often jumbled by full-course cautions and subsequent strategy changes.

"Nobody has a clue how this thing is going to play out," observed defending series champion Will Power. "It's going to be very exciting."

Here's how the championship contenders stack up:


1. Juan Pablo Montoya
2015 stats: 500 points, 2 wins, 9 top-5s, 12 top-10s
Best race: Won the Indianapolis 500
Worst race: Crashed at Iowa Speedway
Championship scenario: Clinches with third-place finish

Year to date: This year's Montoya looks a lot like the aggressive youngster who steamrolled CART in 1999 and 2000. He muscled past Penske teammate Will Power to win the season opener at St. Petersburg, added a second Indianapolis 500 trophy to his case, and only a pair of bad races at Iowa and Mid-Ohio kept him from clinching early.

Quotable: "I'm pretty excited. We did everything we needed to do to put ourselves in this position."


2. Graham Rahal 2015 stats: 466 points, 2 wins, 8 top-5s, 10 top-10s
Best race: Won at Mid-Ohio
Worst race: Crashed at Pocono Raceway
Championship scenario if he wins: Montoya must finish fourth or higher

Year to date: Rahal's development into a regular front-runner is the best story to come out of the IndyCar Series this year by far. He was usually Honda's lead driver, and if his win after a non-penalty in the pack race at Auto Club Speedway is partially owed to luck, his popular hometown triumph at Mid-Ohio was totally deserved.

Quotable: "We've got to win. Finish third, fourth or fifth, you're banking on Juan finishing 12th or something, and that's not likely. Hopefully we can battle these guys to the very end and come out on top."


3. Scott Dixon
2015 stats: 2 wins, 453 points, 6 top-5s, 11 top-10s
Best race: Won at Texas
Worst race: 11th at NOLA
If he wins: Montoya must finish sixth or higher

Year to date: Another frustrating campaign for the three-time IndyCar Series champion, who again lacked solid results early in the season. Wins at Long Beach and Texas were offset by poor finishes at Detroit and Iowa. He managed only one other podium despite qualifying 11th or better for all but one event.

Quotable: "Team Target has a great shot at winning the race, but as far as the championship goes, I wouldn't call it exactly wide open. A few things need to work out in our favor."


4. Will Power
2015 stats: 1 win, 439 points, 7 top-5s, 9 top-10s
Best race: Won the GP of Indianapolis
Worst race: Crashed at Auto Club Speedway
If he wins: Montoya must finish 10th or higher

Year to date: The defending IndyCar Series champion was as fast as ever in qualifying, starting from the front row 10 times, including five poles. But too many poor finishes -- six at 13th or worse -- all but doomed his hopes of repeating as titlist.

Quotable: "It hasn't been a very smooth year. We've been quite fast and very good in qualifying but a lot of races have been decided by yellows that kind of mixed the field up."


5. Helio Castroneves
2015 stats: 0 wins, 423 points, 6 top-5s, 9 top-10s
Best race: Finished second at Milwaukee
Worst race: Crashed at Auto Club Speedway
If he wins: Montoya must finish 18th or higher

Year to date: With four poles and eight other top-four qualifying runs, Castroneves is fast as ever at age 40. Finishing outside the top 10 in four of the past five races blunted his hopes of finally landing a season crown.

Quotable: "We need to do everything we can to finish ahead of those guys, and at the same time, think about the championship for Team Penske."


6. Josef Newgarden
2015 stats: 2 wins, 413 points
Best race: Won at Toronto
Worst race: DNF at Texas
If he wins: Montoya must finish 23rd or higher

Year to date: The breakout star of the season, Newgarden earned his first two race wins and made himself a hot property at age 24. Four finishes of 20th or worse knocked him out of championship contention, but showed he's ready to move on to one of the marquee teams when a seat opens up.

Quotable: "For all that needs to happen for us to win the championship, it would be the craziest story in the history of racing. We're so far out of it that all we can do is focus on winning the race. That's difficult enough on its own."

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