GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma results: Simon Pagenaud wins

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Simon Pagenaud of France driver of the #1 DXC Technology Chevrolet drives during qualifying on day 2 of the GoPro Grand Prix of Somoma at Sonoma Raceway on September 16, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Simon Pagenaud won the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, but was unable to steal the Verizon IndyCar Series championship from Penske teammate Josef Newgarden.

Simon Pagenaud is a back-to-back winner of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, but in 2017 he’ll have to settle for being the IndyCar championship runner-up instead of the champion.

Pagenaud swiped the race win on what was a fairly predictable day at Sonoma Raceway. For the second year in a row, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma was a straightforward affair, with the four Team Penske entries up front and running up front for a majority of the afternoon.

The biggest development in the first half of the race was that Watkins Glen winner Alexander Rossi, who came into Sunday as a championship outlier, had engine issues that put him more than 20 laps down before Lap 20.

In the second half, defending IndyCar champion (and defending Grand Prix of Sonoma race winner) Simon Pagenaud gave pole sitter Josef Newgarden a run for his money. Pagenaud took the lead on Newgarden’s final pit stop, and the No. 2 team decided to focus on the championship rather than wasting tires and fuel chasing down Pagenaud for the race win.

Meanwhile, Scott Dixon entered the day as the championship runner-up but was handcuffed by his starting position in sixth place, behind all the other contenders. With little action happening on track, Dixon was stuck behind the Penskes and finished the race in fourth.

All of the top five finishers in the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma were the five IndyCar championship contenders.

Below are the complete GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma results:

1 – Simon Pagenaud
2 – Josef Newgarden
3 – Will Power
4 – Scott Dixon
5 – Helio Castroneves
6 – Graham Rahal
7 – Marco Andretti
8 – Ryan Hunter-Reay
9 – Sebastien Bourdais
10 – Conor Daly
11 – Charlie Kimball
12 – Max Chilton
13 – Spencer Pigot
14 – JR Hildebrand
15 – Carlos Munoz
16 – Tony Kanaan
17 – Zachary Claman DeMelo
18 – Jack Harvey
19 – Ed Jones
20 – Takuma Sato
21 – Alexander Rossi
22 – James Hinchcliffe

Next: Andretti Autosport to stay with Honda in 2018

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