Simon Pagenaud wins Honda Indy 200

Pagenaud roughs up his teammate to get to Victory Lane, but rubbin’s racin’, right?

This article was originally published on The Drive on July 31, 2016. Check out thedrive.com for everything cars, culture and the people who made both.

Simon Pagenaud muscled his way by fellow Team Penske driver Will Power in the closing stages of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to win, a move Roger Penske said, “We’ll talk about in the trailer.”

But even Power, who finished second, congratulated Pagenaud and said it was just racing, blaming himself for being “asleep” on a restart. The win for Pagenaud gives him a 58-point lead over Power with four races left.

The heartbreak driver had to be Conor Daly, who had a six-second lead over Pagenaud but had to stop for a splash of fuel just before the end of the race – indeed, at least three cars ran out of fuel on the cool-down lap. Daly still came back for a sixth-place finish, one spot ahead of fellow rookie Spencer Pigot. Carlos Munoz was third, the highest-finishing Honda, behind a pair of Chevrolets.

Next up: The ABC Supply 500 at Pocono August 21.