Scott Dixon Shines at Sonoma – Wins Race to Claim Fourth Verizon IndyCar Series Championship

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Scott Dixon and the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team executed a perfect race strategy in winning the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway and capturing the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series championship in come-from-behind style.  The win was Dixon’s third of the season and his fourth IndyCar driver title. It was also the 100th Indy car victory for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams.

“Congratulations to Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi, Mike Hull and the No. 9 Target Chevrolet team on their race win and capturing the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Championship,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports for Chevrolet.  “Scott drove a flawless race, the crew had outstanding pits stops and Mike Hull made great strategy decisions throughout the race, resulting in a big win today. It was a combination that resulted in a thrilling championship title.

 

“I also want to congratulate Juan Pablo Montoya and Team Penske on an incredible year, and a hard-fought finish to the season.”

The race win and resulting titles capped off a standout year for Chevrolet in the Verizon IndyCar Series.  Chevrolet not only won 10 of the 16 races, swept the podium six times, won all the Verizon P1 Awards, swept the front row 15 out of 16 races including the Indianapolis 500, but it was the first time since 2012 that a manufacturer had won the Manufacturer Championship, Driver Championship, Owner Championship and the Indy 500 in the same season.  

The thrilling finish came down to Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 2 Verizon Chevrolet and Dixon in the waning laps of the race.  Dixon held the lead while Montoya moved from eighth to sixth over the final stretch.  Montoya finished sixth while Dixon led the most laps and won the race, earning the maximum amount of points he could to leave the drivers deadlocked in the overall point standings.  The win gave Dixon the tiebreaker in a three-to-two margin in season victories and thus the 2015 title. 

“Congratulations to Scott Dixon and the whole Ganassi Racing organization for winning the Driver Championship and doing so by winning for the 100th time in Indy- style racing,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for the Verizon IndyCar Series. “This result is a validation of the ‘never give up’ mentality, which can be traced to success in so many pursuits and to the origin of the United States. IndyCar racing is alive and well.”

Montoya’s Team Penske teammate and 2014 Verizon IndyCar Champion Will Power brought his No. 1 Verizon Chevrolet home seventh in the race and finished third in the final driver standings.   Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves could not overcome early contact in the event and finished 15th in the race, but notched another top-five in the point standings in placing fifth in the final standings giving Chevrolet four of the final top five in points.

Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Charlie Kimball, No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet, and Tony Kanaan, No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet, finished third and fourth, respectively, to give Team Chevy three of the top four in the final finishing order.

Chevrolet will return to defend its Verizon IndyCar Series titles in 2016.

Team Chevy Racing PR

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