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IndyCar: Ranking the Past 10 Series Champions

By Asher Fair

Sep 18, 2016; Sonoma, CA, USA; Hewlett Packard Enterprise driver Simon Pagenaud (center) celebrates his win and the title with Verizon Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya (right) and Steak’n Shake driver Graham Rahal (left) after the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2016; Sonoma, CA, USA; Hewlett Packard Enterprise driver Simon Pagenaud (center) celebrates his win and the title with Verizon Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya (right) and Steak’n Shake driver Graham Rahal (left) after the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 13, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais (left) Scott Dixon (middle) and Dario Franchitti in victory lane after the Honda Indy Toronto through the streets of downtown Toronto. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 13, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais (left) Scott Dixon (middle) and Dario Franchitti in victory lane after the Honda Indy Toronto through the streets of downtown Toronto. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4 – Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 2013

Even with Team Penske’s Will Power out of the championship battle in 2013 despite three consecutive 2nd place finishes from 2010 to 2012, his teammate Helio Castroneves had a legitimate chance to win his first title. But Power and his team still managed to put himself in a position to play a key role in the championship battle, whether intentional or not.

With the championship battle between Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves for another classic Chip Ganassi Racing vs. Team Penske duel, there was tension all around, and that’s where Will Power came in. At Sonoma, Scott Dixon looked poised for a victory. But a tire-changer on Power’s car entered the path of Dixon’s car and made contact with it, causing IndyCar to penalize Dixon despite it not being his fault, ultimately costing him a shot at the victory.

The next video speaks for itself. Will Power simply takes Scott Dixon out at Baltimore.

Despite these issues that seemed to pile up in favor of Castroneves as opposed to Dixon as the season came to an end, Dixon was still able to win the 2013 championship, the third of his career, by 27 points, which was the largest winning margin since 2005 at the time. He did so by finishing strong and performing well when it mattered most. He finished higher than Castroneves in each of the last three races of the season. His lowest finish was 5th, while Castroneves’ only top 17 result was 6th.

Also, in the five full seasons since the introduction of the DW12 chassis, Scott Dixon’s championship in the 2013 is still Honda’s only championship, proving that he was able to make the most out of a seemingly inferior engine.