Simon Pagenaud took another step toward the 2016 IndyCar title by claiming pole position in the final moments of qualifying at Sonoma. Pagenaud had made his mark early in the session when he set a new track record with his 1m16.2530s in the first qualifying round, but by the time the Fast 6 rolled around the guy to beat was Helio Castroneves, who had saved a set of stickered reds for the occasion. Castroneves bobbled slightly on the exit of the hairpin on his first flying lap, yet still managed to post a time 0.2s quicker than anyone else had managed at that point. But a slightly scrappy lap on new tires proved to unable to withstand an inch-perfect lap on scrubbed ones, with Pagenaud...
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