The Borg Warner on the Road

For the first time in its 82-year history, the Borg-Warner Trophy has left the United States. The iconic prize, which features the faces of every Indianapolis 500 winner -- along with former Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman -- is currently in Japan for a 15-day celebration of Takuma Sato's victory this past May in the 101st running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."the Indy 500.

The Borg Warner trophy left its home at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum on late November and is flying to Tokyo for festivities to honor Sato as the first Japanese winner of 500 and to celebrate Honda's 12th 500 victory. According to the itinerary, stops on the Japanese tour include a variety of events in Tokyo, the Twin Ring Motegi race circuit and the Japanese cities of Nabari and Fukuroi.

"I think it is very special that the Borg-Warner Trophy is traveling to Japan," Sato said in a news release. "The trophy represents winning the greatest race in the world, and I am very proud to have won the 2017 Indianapolis 500 and have my image on the trophy. For nearly two weeks, the trophy will be seen throughout Japan by fans and media. I am honored to be the first Japanese driver to win the Indy 500 and extremely grateful the Borg-Warner Trophy will be traveling outside United States for the first time ever to celebrate my team's and Honda's accomplishments. Let's do it again next year, too!"

According to the release from the Speedway, the trophy will travel around 12,780 miles during its journey, which will end back at the IMS Museum on Dec. 12. 

Photo supplied from the IndyStar photographer Michelle Pemberton.

The Championship at Sonoma

The chase for the 2017 Indy Car Championship.

It all comes down to the final race – again. Saturday in Sonoma saw Verizon Indy Car Series points leader Josef Newgarden withstand constant pressure from his nearest championship competitors, setting a track record to win the Verizon P1 Award in GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma qualifying.

Newgarden earned his first pole of the season and second of his six-year career with a scintillating last lap of 1 minute, 15.5205 seconds (113.691 mph) on Sonoma Raceway's 2.385-mile, 12-turn permanent road course. The championship bonus point Newgarden collected for winning the pole stretched his advantage to four points over Scott Dixon heading into Sunday's season finale that offers double race points.

It set up the dramatic run for the pole. Newgarden - the only Team Penske driver to use a new set of the Firestone alternate tires in the first round - was quickest in the Firestone Fast Six with another lap record completed on a used set of red-sidewall alternates despite his teammates each having a new set of the softer alternates at their disposal.

"We were behind the eight ball there, for sure, after the first round," Newgarden said. "We made the best decision we could as a group. There was no way we couldn't run the reds (in first-round qualifying) because we just had no idea what people were going to run.

For Dixon he scrapped though the first round of qualifying at a track where the Chevy aero kit seems to have the upper hand over the Honda set up. He did make it to the final section in qualifying the fast six, which was a positive sign apart from the gang of Penske drivers up front "The car was kind of decent to drive, but just couldn't carry the speed through the corners," said Dixon, seeking his fifth Verizon Indy Car Series championship. A win Sunday would accomplish the feat.

"Good to make it through to where we did," Dixon added. "It was definitely hard work, a big credit to the team. Sixth position, you can definitely make lots happen from there. I think in '15 we started ninth when we won that race (and the championship). Definitely you'd want to be a little further up, but that's the way it goes."

The starting order for the race and the grid for the last race of the championship season looked like this and with that the die was set for the one race shoot out for the championship title.

1. (2) Josef Newgarden,                                     Chevrolet,                  01:15.5205 (113.691) 
2. (12) Will Power,                                            Chevrolet,                  01:15.5556 (113.638)
3. (1) Simon Pagenaud,                                    Chevrolet,                   01:15.6356 (113.518)
4. (3) Helio Castroneves,                                  Chevrolet,                  01:15.8032 (113.267)
5. (26) Takuma Sato,                                         Honda,                       01:16.2208 (112.646)
6. (9) Scott Dixon,                                             Honda,                       01:16.3978 (112.385)
7. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay,                                 Honda,                       01:16.1815 (112.705)
8. (98) Alexander Rossi,                                     Honda,                      01:16.1934 (112.687)
9. (15) Graham Rahal,                                        Honda,                      01:16.1968 (112.682)
10. (18) Sebastien Bourdais,                               Honda,                      01:16.5811 (112.116)
11. (27) Marco Andretti,                                     Honda,                      01:16.8221 (111.765)
12. (10) Tony Kanaan,                                        Honda,                       01:16.9718 (111.547)
13. (4) Conor Daly,                                             Chevrolet,                   01:17.1016 (111.360) 
14. (8) Max Chilton,                                            Honda,                       01:16.7581 (111.858)
15. (83) Charlie Kimball,                                     Honda,                       01:17.1417 (111.302)
16. (5) James Hinchcliffe,                                    Honda,                       01:16.9539 (111.573)
17. (20) Spencer Pigot,                                        Chevrolet,                  01:17.2662 (111.122)
18. (19) Ed Jones,                                                 Honda,                      01:17.0231 (111.473)
19. (7) Jack Harvey,                                             Honda,                       01:17.2722 (111.114)
20. (21) JR Hildebrand,                                     Chevrolet,                   01:17.1602 (111.275)
21. (13) Zachary Claman DeMelo,                    Honda,                        01:17.2814 (111.100)
22. (14) Carlos Munoz,                                     Chevrolet,                   01:17.2507 (111.145)

Sunday dawned a great sunny warm morning clearing skies after early morning fog and an atmosphere you could cut a knife though as everyone along the paddock area could sense there was to be a lot on the line today. The morning warm up pretty much went in a flash with nothing major to report. Newgarden looking calm and busy taking selfies in the pit lane before jumping in the car, Dixon had a slightly concerned look but proved to be very fast in the session.

A few hours later and it was race time, the anthems played, the driver intros happened and the day time fireworks went with a bang and the then it was game time 85 laps and pretty much winner take all.

For Team Penske, it was to become the perfect day. Simon Pagenaud won the race to conclude the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Teammate Josef Newgarden finished second to wrap up the championship.

Pagenaud, the 2016 champion driving the No. 1 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet, beat Newgarden to the finish line by 1.0986 seconds to win the 85-lap race at Sonoma Raceway. It was the Frenchman's 11th career victory and second straight on the 2.385-mile, 12-turn permanent road course. A year ago, Pagenaud won from the pole position at Sonoma to sew up his first championship. It did manage to get a little tense when after the last batch of pit stops came and the NO 1 car took the lead as Newgarden looked to have a shot of passing him but was reminded via team radio to be smart and smart he was.

He clinched his first title and the $1 million champion's prize by finishing second in the race. The 26-year-old Tennessean held off Pagenaud by 13 points in the final standings to become the first American driver to win the championship since Ryan Hunter-Reay five years ago. If ever Indy Car needed to sell the series within its own country yet again the have the most ideal way to do it and market this new champ.

"I don't even know what to say," said Newgarden, the driver of the No. 2 hum by Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet who made his 100th career start today. "It was all year and it took a lot to make it happen. Thank you to my teammates. They were giving me a lot of help to make sure we got this done. It's a huge team effort at Team Penske.

"To finally get it done is a dream come true."

The championship is the 15th for Team Penske, the most decorated team in Indy car history. Newgarden joins the likes of Tom Sneva, Rick Mears, Al Unser, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser Jr., Gil de Ferran, Sam Hornish Jr., Will Power and Pagenaud as Team Penske drivers to win an Indy car title.

"I've had so many great drivers, and as I said, I don't have a favorite," team owner Roger Penske said. "I can't compare (Newgarden) to anyone exactly. He's an American, which is special in this sport because many of the other drivers have come from overseas and different parts of the world. To see Josef kind of take this route and be at the top right now is pretty exciting."

The race ran caution-free for the first time in Sonoma Raceway history, which now spans 14 Indy car events. Newgarden and Pagenaud each led 41 laps. Pagenaud opted for a four-stop strategy to Newgarden's three pit stops, but the Frenchman made up the extra time in pit lane by turning faster laps on an open track.

Pagenaud completed all 2,331 laps this season, becoming just the second driver to finish every lap in a season. Tony Kanaan was the first, when he completed all 3,305 laps when he won the 2004 championship.

"We did what we had to do," Pagenaud said. "We tried. We won the race; it wasn't enough. It's a whole championship. You've got to be strong in every race and I guess Josef was a little stronger this year, so we'll come back. Thirteen points. Next year we'll come back and give him a hell of a competition again."

Power, the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, gave Team Penske a race podium sweep by placing third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske. Scott Dixon finished fourth in the No. 9 NTT Data Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing to clinch third in the standings, 23 points behind Newgarden. It is the 11th time in his 17-year career that Dixon, a four-time champion, has finished in the top three in points. The kiwi may not have won the title but by heck his stats are so impressive, 11 times in the top 3 at a season end just for starters wow. Big points lost at both Indy and Texas were without a doubt the areas where it perhaps got away from the very likeable kiwi. Speaking after the race  Dixon said "It just seems like the No. 3 car covered us. Every time we short-pitted they followed us and he was just a massive roadblock. Once we got into clean air, we were able to make up ground, but every time we got into traffic we got real loose. Huge credit to everyone on the NTT Data crew obviously not the way we wanted to finish. A big congrats to Penske and Josef (Newgarden) on a job well done."

Speaking of number 3 Helio Castroneves wrapped up fourth in the standings by finishing fifth in the race driving the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Completing his 20th year racing Indy cars, the 42-year-old Brazilian is still in search of his first series championship.

By finishing third in the race, Power - the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion - earned fifth place in the standings.

In what really became a rather uneventful race it had plenty in it as the power of four Penske cars took on the lone Ganassi entry.

In the recent days since the event so much has happened, Castroneves tested the Penske sports car the very next day across the other side of the country in Florida and there is still some talk of him remaining in Indy Car full time and that announcement will come in the next few weeks. TK confirmed the move to A.J. Foyt racing for 2018 so someone (Daly or Munoz) wont be staying there, Sato was officially confirmed at Rahal Letterman Racing for next season, it’s a shame he wont be at Andretti Autosport in 2018 to build on a great year in 2017 and then the Ganassi news of Wednesday 20^th of only two full time cars in 2018 for Dixon stays while the others have either moved on or gone and hmm Brendon Hartley making it an all kiwi line up next season – well watch that space but the rumours are very strong that’s for sure. Ganassi saying on Wednesday its time to get back to running two strong entries and running them well. I think there is more to come in this story yet that’s for sure.

So recapping the race this is how it finished up.

1. (3) Simon Pagenaud,                                     Chevrolet,                   85, Running 
2. (1) Josef Newgarden,                                     Chevrolet,                   85, Running
3. (2) Will Power,                                               Chevrolet,                   85, Running
4. (6) Scott Dixon,                                             Honda,                         85, Running
5. (4) Helio Castroneves,                                   Chevrolet,                    85, Running
6. (9) Graham Rahal,                                          Honda,                         85, Running
7. (11) Marco Andretti,                                      Honda,                          85, Running
8. (7) Ryan Hunter-Reay,                                   Honda,                          85, Running
9. (10) Sebastien Bourdais,                                Honda,                          85, Running
10. (13) Conor Daly,                                          Chevrolet,                    85, Running
11. (15) Charlie Kimball,                                   Honda,                         85, Running
12. (14) Max Chilton,                                        Honda,                         85, Running
13. (17) Spencer Pigot,                                     Chevrolet,                   84, Running
14. (20) JR Hildebrand,                                     Chevrolet,                   84, Running
15. (22) Carlos Munoz,                                     Chevrolet,                   84, Running 
16. (12) Tony Kanaan,                                       Honda,                        84, Running                 
17. (21) Zachary Claman DeMelo,                  Honda,                         84, Running
18. (19) Jack Harvey,                                        Honda,                        84, Running
19. (18) Ed Jones,                                              Honda,                        69, Off Course
20. (5) Takuma Sato,                                          Honda,                        62, Off Course 
21. (8) Alexander Rossi,                                    Honda,                        60, Running
22. (16) James Hinchcliffe,                               Honda,                         52, Electrical 

Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 104.968 mph
Time of Race: 1:55:52.6840
Margin of victory: 1.0986 seconds
Cautions: 0
Lead changes: 6 among 3 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Newgarden 1-17 
Daly 18-20 
Pagenaud 21-29 
Newgarden 30-39 
Pagenaud 40-47 
Newgarden 48-61 
Pagenaud 62-85 

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Newgarden 642, Pagenaud 629, Dixon 621, Castroneves 598, Power 562, Rahal 522, Rossi 494, Sato 441, Hunter-Reay 421, Kanaan 403.

Coming soon I will review the 2017 season and look back at some of the stand outs of the great season it was and now we count down to 2018. Ganassi already back into it this weekend with an official test planned with the 2018 aero kit.

Media quotes via Indy Car Media Services.

Photos David Turner

New look IndyCar in 2018

IndyCar have announced that longtime partner Dallara Automobili will manufacture the universal bodywork kit that will fit the current Dallara IR-12 chassis for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

The universal kit to be used by all teams next season was a collaboration between INDYCAR and Dallara with the style design support of Chris Beatty, a concept design and 3D animation consultant based in the United Kingdom. The goal was to make the car resemble past Indy car favorites with a sleek, bold look while incorporating the latest technological and safety advancements.

The process of creating the next-generation Indy car began in April 2016 when INDYCAR, sanctioning body for the premier North American open-wheel racing series, set the criteria for potential manufacturers. The design process commenced in November with hand drawings outlining the general design of the car.

"This has been a collaborative effort from multiple parties, including input from our paddock and fans," said Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations.

"Dallara has been a great partner, and we couldn't be more enthused with the look, the safety enhancements and the performance objectives of the 2018 car."

Dallara has supplied safety cells for the Verizon IndyCar Series since 1997 and been the sole chassis supplier since 2008. It has also supplied since 2015 the chassis used in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, the top level of the INDYCAR developmental ladder. Dallara will continue to support Verizon IndyCar Series teams through its U.S. headquarters and engineering center a few blocks south of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

"2017 marks the 20th anniversary of our presence in INDYCAR, and it is a great honor for us to continue our partnership with the Verizon IndyCar Series," said Andrea Pontremoli, Dallara CEO and general manager. "Our main goal for the new aero kit was to work on the style, trying to maintain the American essence of the car and the series keeping a good level of performance and safety."

INDYCAR has scheduled the first test of the universal kit's superspeedway oval configuration for July 25-26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The road-course configuration will be tested Aug. 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the day following the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, the 13th race on this year's Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Other tests are scheduled for Aug. 28 (at Iowa Speedway) and Sept. 26 (at Sebring International Raceway).

INDYCAR unveiled first renderings of the 2018 car design Jan. 12 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Additional, more detailed images followed in March and May.

Verizon IndyCar Series teams will still be able to choose between Chevrolet and Honda engines for competition in 2018. As with the current aero kits provided by Chevrolet and Honda through the end of this season, the universal car will come in two configurations: one for superspeedway ovals and the other for street courses, road courses and short ovals.

A key component of the new car is its ability to generate most of its downforce from underneath as opposed to the top side, which differs from the current bodywork kits. The change reduces the turbulence a leading car produces in its wake, improving the chances of a trailing car to make a pass. More passing typically generates more exciting racing.

INDYCAR's aerodynamic target safety enhancements include side impact structures in the car's sidepods and repositioned radiators to assist in reducing the severity of side impacts by crushing on impact. Other noticeable features in the new car images include a lower engine cover to provide a more traditional Indy car look. Turbocharger inlets are moving to the inside of the radiator inlet ducts.

The rear wing and front wing main plane are smaller in the new car look, and the centerline wicker from the nose of the car to the cockpit is tapered. The rear wing in the street course/road course/short oval configuration is lower and wider. The fins on the leading edge of the sidepods of the current car will be minimized on the 2018 car.

Information supplied from IndyCar Media Services.

101st Indy 500 Final Results

This is now the official results of the 101st Indianapolis 500  and the Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, aero kit-engine, laps completed reason out (if any), and and prize money earned:

1. (4) Takuma Sato, Honda, 200, Running, $2,458,129
2. (19) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $770,629
3. (11) Ed Jones, Honda, 200, Running, $535,629 
4. (15) Max Chilton, Honda, 200, Running, $484,129
5. (7) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 200, Running, $438,129 
6. (18) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $255,805
7. (3) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 200, Running, $420,629 
8. (8) Marco Andretti, Honda, 200, Running, $384,629 
9. (25) Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $235,305 
10. (24) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $364,129 
11. (2) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $395,129 
12. (14) Graham Rahal, Honda, 200, Running, $361,129 
13. (13) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 200, Running, $355,629 
14. (23) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $349,129 
15. (31) Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $210,305 
16. (6) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $345,129 
17. (28) Pippa Mann, Honda, 199, Running, $200,305
18. (29) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 194, Running, $200,305 
19. (22) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 186, Running, $334,129 
20. (33) James Davison, Honda, 183, v355,129 
21. (12) Oriol Servia, Honda, 183, Contact, $200,305 
22. (17) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 183, Contact, $349,129 
23. (9) Will Power, Chevrolet, 183, Contact, $388,129 
24. (5) Fernando Alonso, Honda, 179, Mechanical, $305,805 
25. (16) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 166, Mechanical, $339,129 
26. (32) Zach Veach, Chevrolet, 155, Mechanical, $200,805 
27. (10) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 136, Mechanical, $351,629 
28. (21) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 125, Mechanical, $202,805 
29. (30) Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, 118, Contact, $200,305 
30. (26) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 65, Contact, $334,129 
31. (27) Jack Harvey, Honda, 65, Contact, $205,805 
32. (1) Scott Dixon, Honda, 52, Contact, $446,629 
33. (20) Jay Howard, Honda, 45, Contact, $200,305 

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 155.395 mph
Time of Race: 3:13:03.3584 
Margin of victory: 0.2011 of a second
Cautions: 11 for 50 laps
Lead changes: 35 among 15 drivers


Lap Leaders:
Dixon 1-5 
Kanaan 6-27
Carpenter 28-29
Hildebrand 30
Montoya 31
Carpenter 32-34
Rossi 35-36
Alonso 37-42
Rossi 43-47
Alonso 48-60
Rossi 61-64
Sato 65-75
Rossi 76-78
Hunter-Reay 79-81
Power 82-83
Chilton 84-86
Hunter-Reay 87-89
Rossi 90-93
Hunter-Reay 94-95
Castroneves 96-103
Hunter-Reay 104
Rossi 105-109
Hunter-Reay 110-112
Rahal 113-114
Hunter-Reay 115-129
Alonso 130-134
Hunter-Reay 135
Alonso 136-138
Chilton 139-142
Kimball 143-147
Chilton 148-165
Davison 166-167 
Hildebrand 168
Chilton 169-193
Castroneves 194
Sato 195-200

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Castroneves 245, Pagenaud 234, Sato 234, Dixon 234,Rossi 190, Kanaan 188, Power 186, Newgarden 186, Jones 185, Hinchcliffe 170, Chilton 170.

Photo David Turner collection
Stats and info Indy Car Media

The 2017 Indy Grand Prix

Will Powers weekend.

Saturday May 13^th and two weeks before the running of the 101^st Indy 500. The Grand Prix marks the fifth round of the 2017 Indy Car Championship and the thousands of fans were treated to a beautiful spring day. Starting with a cool crisp morning leading to a wonderful afternoon of sun and racing. After what the locals tell me has been weeks of rain the day was blessed with a superb day dry and no wind at all – just magic. Looking slightly ahead and Pole day for the 500 next week has a chance of the weather closing in again but hey a week is a long time isn’t it?

The vibe around the speedway was kind of hints of the upcoming 500 even though this race means so much in the championship the thought in people’s minds had to be in two days time we go in 500 modes. Many of the one off entries for the 500 sitting quietly in the garage area and looking gleaming in brightly coloured paint schemes.

I even found this collection of Andretti pieces ready for the arrival of one Mr Alonso.

Grand Prix day kicked off very early with all three-support classes in the Road to Indy Series having races. Pro Mazda kicked things off at 8am followed by US F2000 then the Indy Lights battled it out for 35 laps. Two drivers completed weekend victory sweeps in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires development ladder races today. 

Oliver Askew of Cape Motorsports won for the second straight day on the IMS road course and for the fifth time in six Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship races this season. Victor Franzoni (Juncos Racing, making their 500 debut) captured his second race of the weekend in the Pro Mazda Championship. Askew and Franzoni lead their respective championships.

In Indy Lights also presented by Cooper Tires, the top level of the Mazda Road to Indy, Kyle Kaiser of Juncos Racing drove to victory a day after Nico Jamin of Andretti Autosport won the first race of the weekend. With today's win, Kaiser took over the championship lead by 13 points over Jamin.  All in all a very busy two days for these teams. The Indy Lights return for the annual Freedom 100 race on the famed oval on Carb Day Friday.

Watching cars go the other way around after years of covering the 500 takes a little bit of getting used to but it’s a good sight and the track is so super smooth and looked stunning. It certainly feels a lot different to any 500 day that’s for sure, why you might ask? Yes the crowd is a part of it, yes the direction is part of it too but most of all its that sound of hearing cars at 223mph+ on the throttle all the time and it’s a sound that you can only ever associate with this place.

To the Grand Prix and for kiwi fans of Scott Dixon it was heart-beating moments as he stalled on the first of the two formation laps. He got going within seconds and took his P4 qualifying position. It was to be all about Will Power who dominated the IndyCar Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course to collect win No. 30 in his 13-year Indy car career. The milestone victory pushed the 36-year-old Power ahead of current teammate Helio Castroneves and retired Team Penske legend Rick Mears for sole possession of 11th place on the all-time list. For the first time in the history of the event the field made it past turn one so a new record was set there as well.

Power, making his 175th career start, led 61 of the 85 laps in the caution-free race and cruised across the finish line 5.283 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon in the No. 9 NTT Data Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing. Power has now won at least one race in 11 straight seasons and becomes the fifth different driver to win in as many Verizon IndyCar Series races this season.

"It feels really good to finally have a good day," Power said. "Everyone on this team has been working really hard. We should have had a couple of wins by now.

"I think that is (win) No. 30; that is a good number. I want to make it 31 by the end of this month."

Power owned the Grand Prix weekend. He was fastest in every practice session, earned the pole position Friday with a track-record lap in Verizon P1 Award qualifying and set a race record speed average of 120.813 mph. Amassing the maximum possible points, Power advanced two positions into fifth in the standings in his quest for a second series championship.

"After (morning) warm-up, I was thinking, 'Wow, I've actually been quickest in every session. Yeah, it would be amazing to win the race.'

"It's funny, momentum, once your whole team and crew believes that you have a shot at winning races - which we have had all year - but when you execute it, it definitely gives them confidence. It's just good (to) get a win and very, very good for everyone."

Dixon made his 275th career start and extended his consecutive starts streak to 212 races, breaking a tie for the second-longest all-time run with Jimmy Vasser. Only Dixon's current teammate Tony Kanaan - who started his 270th straight race today - has run more Indy car races consecutively.

"I think today we got the most out of it," said Dixon, the four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion. "The car was pretty strong, we had good pace, but we just couldn't hold on to the rears. I think the Honda was just too much for the (Firestone alternate) red tires for the most part.

"Good points for everybody on the NTT Data car, great day for Honda. Obviously not a win, but very close." Again in my eyes Dixon and his team are the number one men at Ganasii that’s for sure.

Ryan Hunter-Reay moved from eighth on the starting grid to finish a season-best third in the No. 28 DHL Honda. It marked the 100th top-10 finish of the Andretti Autosport driver's career and gave the 36-year-old American a feeling of momentum heading into Indianapolis 500 competition that starts with practice on Monday.

"It's certainly a nice feeling," said Hunter-Reay, the 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series and 2014 Indianapolis 500 champion. "This group isn't happy if we're not on the top step (of the podium), but we've had a lot of bad luck this year, a lot of misfortune. It's been a frustrating start to the year, but we kept our heads down and today we came home with a solid result.

"This is nice to roll into the next two weeks, preparing for the biggest race in the world."

Pagenaud now has 191 points to Dixon's 181. Team Penske drivers Josef Newgarden (152), Castroneves (149) and Power (145) hold the third through fifth spots, respectively.

Teams will spend tomorrow Sunday setting cars into oval spec and the track will also be returned to oval spec ready for Monday’s first practice for the 500, the season is now alive.

While I have the chance a big shout out to two men turning heads in this series. The Julian brothers from New Plymouth New Zealand. Blair who is crew chef for Scott Dixon and has been with Scott all this time since he arrived in the US and risen to the role of Crew Chef and his brother Anton now returning to the series after been the Crew Chef at Andretti Autosport then Sarah Fisher Racing, Anton makes a one off appearance as Crew Chef this time for someone you might of heard of Mr Alonso. Well done boys, know your mum and dad are very proud.