IndyCar: Post-race interviews from Sonoma (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

SONOMA, Calif. – The IndyCar on NBCSN team was hard at work both in today’s GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma and throughout the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

Race highlights are above, and then a bunch of post-race interviews followed.

Videos from the NBCSN team after the checkered flag flew are below, with their finishing positions:

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Team Owner, Roger Penske
1. Simon Pagenaud
20. Will Power

2. Graham Rahal
3. Juan Pablo Montoya
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay
5. Alexander Rossi
6. Josef Newgarden
7. Helio Castroneves
10. Sebastien Bourdais
16. Max Chilton

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Owner Roger Penske discusses the gratification of winning his 14th IndyCar title and tips his hat to the entire team.

Simon Pagenaud treats IndyCar fans to celebratory donuts after winning the Grand Prix of Sonoma and title.

Pagenaud, the official IndyCar champion, describes the emotional rollercoaster in the moments after winning the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Will Power discusses missing out on the potential championship after suffering “unfortunate” mechanical issues at the Grand Prix of Sonoma and regaining his health throughout the season.

Graham Rahal discusses the “weird year” and ending the season as the top Honda.

Juan Pablo Montoya talks about ending the season on the podium and winning with Team Penske.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished fourth at Sonoma, dissects his start and explains how that did him in from the beginning.

Alexander Rossi, IndyCar’s rookie of the year, says his expectations for Sonoma were much higher than a fifth place finish but he’s trying to look at the positives.

Josef Newgarden discusses the strong team effort after finishing sixth at Sonoma and fourth in the IndyCar championship.

Helio Castroneves congratulates Simon Pagenaud and the rest of his Penske team after finishing third in the championship and looks forward to next season.

Sebastien Bourdais discusses the mentally and physically demanding day at the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Max Chilton reflects back on his rookie season in IndyCar and discusses the speed problems that impacted his finish in the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

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Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

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Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points

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