Joe Spears/IndyStar
INDIANAPOLIS -- How tough will it be for Fernando Alonso to win this month’s 101st running of the Indianapolis 500?
Consider the case of Simon Pagenaud. The defending IndyCar Series champion is roundly considered one of the best, most complete drivers in the Verizon IndyCar Series -- if not the world.
Yet on Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, in his sixth season as a full-time driver, the Frenchman scored the very first victory of his career on an oval.
It was a monumental and emotional triumph for Pagenaud, who had started his career 0-for-28 on ovals.