The 2014 IndyCar season wrapped up this past weekend with two drivers achieving something very special and in both cases quite necessary.
Will Power cruised in the later stages of the 500-mile finale in Fontana to a ninth-place finish and secured his first series title. After coming close on a few occasions earlier in the year, Tony Kanaan was a race winner for the first time with Ganassi Racing. Both drivers and teams will rest a lot easier during the off-season having reached these goals.
For Power, his championship run actually began with his race win at the season-ending event last year in California. Power won the race after a number of heartbreaking results in previous years that left him short in the title chase. By breaking through the mental barrier and capturing a win in Fontana, Power lifted a weight off his shoulders.
From the 2014 season, it was clear he was on a mission. Sure he was penalized a half dozen or so times for driving infractions, but it was his driving aggression that got him to IndyCar and it proved a key attribute in finally winning the championship.
There were some moments during the last few weeks of the season when many wondered if Power would be able to bring the title home, such as his unforced error at Sonoma where he got on the gas too quickly coming out of a corner and looped the car around, and when he didn’t perform well during qualifying for Fontana and wound up starting the race 21st. In both cases Power put the problem behind him and managed to recover nicely.
At Sonoma he charged back and managed a top-10 finish. In Fontana, he moved through the field and even took the race lead briefly before settling in for the finish and securing the title.
With the burden of achieving his first championship and giving Roger Penske its first IndyCar title since 2006, Power could be in line to rip off a few more winning seasons in the years ahead.
For Kanaan, winning in Fontana also lifts a weight off. With Ganassi changing its driver line-up and switching from Honda to Chevrolet engines this year, the team got the season off to a slow start, but they eventually found their groove at the mid-point.
It was also important for Kanaan to win before the 2014 season ended. Before he captured the Indy 500 last year, there was pressure on him taking over the seat vacated by Dario Franchitti. If Kanaan had gone winless the entire year, there would have been plenty of questions about his future during the off-season.
Now both Power and Kanaan will breathe easier heading into the months of inactivity leading up to the 2015 season.