IndyCar 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma Fast Facts

It all comes down to this: the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Before Sunday’s IndyCar season finale, here are the facts you need to know about the race.

Another Verizon IndyCar Series season will soon be in the books, as the league moves to Northern California for the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma and the determination of this year’s IndyCar champion.

This is the second year that the Grand Prix of Sonoma has served as the final race in the IndyCar championship, taking over from the (now-eliminated) MAVTV 500 at Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway, which had been the season finale in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

But the move up north has so far served to put an exclamation point on the IndyCar campaign, with last year’s GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma being won with a remarkable drive by Scott Dixon, who thus overcame long odds to claim his fourth championship on a tiebreaker with Juan Pablo Montoya.

Will there be similar suspense in Sunday’s race? The statistics make it look a little one-sided.

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Current championship runner-up Will Power won the pole position at the Grand Prix of Sonoma last year with a speed of 112.589 MPH, which was also the track’s one-lap qualifying record. No doubt Power will be looking for another strong performance to keep teammate and championship leader Simon Pagenaud behind him this weekend.

Pagenaud currently has a 42-point lead over Power. The only other time he had a chance to win the IndyCar championship, he was trailing by 92 points…behind Power, when the Australian won in 2014.

If Power should win the Grand Prix of Sonoma it will be his 30th IndyCar victory and break him out of a three-way tie for 11th most wins all-time. He’s currently sharing that space with Rick Mears and teammate Helio Castroneves.

This year also marks the 11th consecutive season in which the IndyCar championship battle has come down to the last race – talk about tough competition!

Eight different drivers have won a race during the 2016 season. Eight of the 15 races have been won by either Pagenaud or Power, with the other seven being divided between Dixon, Montoya, Sebastien Bourdais, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden, and Alexander Rossi.

Only two of those drivers have ever won at Sonoma – Power and Dixon, who each have three wins at the track.

The Grand Prix of Sonoma was also the site of the first win for Marco Andretti, who captured the checkered flag back in his rookie year of 2006. Perhaps to celebrate his tenth season in IndyCar he can score another big result at Sonoma.

Next: IndyCar Championship Breakdown: Will Power

Also in the record books, Charlie Kimball will make his 100th career start on Sunday, while Castroneves and Kanaan continue their ascent into the Top 5 by making their 327th and 326th starts respectively.

The 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma takes place Sunday, Sept. 18 from Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA. The race will be televised at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.