Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Ranking the Past 10 Series Championship Battles

By Asher Fair

Aug 30, 2015; Sonoma, CA, USA; 2nd place IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, first place IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon and 3rd place IndyCar Series driver Charlie Kimball raise their respective trophies after the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2015; Sonoma, CA, USA; 2nd place IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, first place IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon and 3rd place IndyCar Series driver Charlie Kimball raise their respective trophies after the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
Aug 30, 2015; Sonoma, CA, USA; 2nd place IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, first place IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon and 3rd place IndyCar Series driver Charlie Kimball raise their respective trophies after the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2015; Sonoma, CA, USA; 2nd place IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, first place IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon and 3rd place IndyCar Series driver Charlie Kimball raise their respective trophies after the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3 – 2015 Championship Battle

Heading into the 2015 season finale at Sonoma, six drivers were mathematically eligible to win the championship thanks to the double points on offer. Juan Pablo Montoya had been the leader of the championship standings after each of the first 15 races of the season, including after the Pocono race, the penultimate race of the race.

As the laps at Sonoma wound down, it appeared that the championship would be decided between two drivers. Juan Pablo Montoya was one, and Scott Dixon, who came into the season finale in 3rd place in the standings 47 points behind Montoya, was the other.

After being involved in an early incident on the track, Montoya was able to get back towards the top of the leaderboard in 6th place. With Scott Dixon leading and no one being able to stop him, the standings were essentially tied as the drivers ran. When Dixon eventually crossed the finish line as the race winner, he had not won the title yet. He needed Montoya to stay in 6th place and climb no higher.

Montoya tried to pass Ryan Briscoe for 5th place, but Briscoe ultimately ended up holding him off. Dixon and Montoya ended up tied for the championship lead having each won one double points-paying race, but the tiebreaker went to Dixon since his win at Sonoma was his third of the season, and Montoya had been victorious just twice.