PENSKE ON TOP

Roger Penske is celebrating his 50th year as a team owner. Team Penske made its debut in 1966 in the 24 Hours of Daytona, earned its first title in the U. S. Auto Club National Championship in 1977 and has a record 16 Indianapolis 500 wins. Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Penske picked up his 14th title across three Indy- car series: USAC, CART/ Champ Car and IndyCar.

BY THE NUMBERS

14: Championships ( across three series) 17: Runner- up finishes ( across two series) 9: Drivers who have won an Indy- car title under Penske — Rick Mears, three in CART; Tom Sneva, two in USAC; Al Unser, two in CART; Gil de Ferran, two in CART; Danny Sullivan, one in CART; Al Unser Jr., one in CART; Sam Hornish Jr., one in IndyCar; Will Power, one in IndyCar; Simon Pagenaud, one in IndyCar.

8: Combined times Helio Castroneves ( four) and Power ( four) and have been runner- up for the IndyCar championship. 5: Times a Penske runner- up finished 10 points or fewer behind the champion — Juan Pablo Montoya ( lost tiebreaker to Scott Dixon in 2015); Power (- 3 in 2012); Power (- 5 in 2010); Emerson Fittipaldi (- 8 in 1993); Mears (- 10 in 1989). 5: Times Penkse drivers were 1- 2 in the final standings — 1979 CART, Mears and Bobby Unser; 1981 CART, Mears and Bill Alsup*; 1994 CART, Unser Jr. and Fittipaldi; 2014 IndyCar, Power and Castroneves; 2016 IndyCar, Pagenaud and Power. 3: Titles since Penske left CART to join IndyCar in 2002. Hornish beat Dan Wheldon in 2006 in a tiebreaker. Power topped Castroneves by 62 points in 2014. Pagenaud beat Power by 127 in 2016. * Alsup ran two races in his own car in 1981.