Pagenaud Living The Dream in Driving For Penske
May 19, 2015 | By Phillip B. Wilson, IMS.com Correspondent
Simon Pagenaud celebrated his 31st birthday Monday, but didn’t need to make a wish.
The one he always wanted came true when he landed his dream job to drive for legendary owner Roger Penske this season.
Now the fast Frenchman just needs to deliver results for “The Captain.” And what better place to break through than Sunday’s 99th Indianapolis 500, when Pagenaud’s No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet will start from the outside of the front row.
“I was dreaming to be on this team my whole life,” he said. “I always dreamt about driving for Roger. We’ve been talking for a long time. When I was younger, I was looking at the Marlboro cars. When I was in Europe, my goal was to either be driving for Ferrari in Formula One or Team Penske in IndyCar.
“You know, I’ve got to say, as a human being, getting to the point of realizing your dream on an every day basis is quite incredible.”
He had to earn the opportunity to become teammates with three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power and 2000 Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
But it helped that while Pagenaud was on his way up, he had a friend on his side. Not just any friend but a man who had Penske’s ear.
Pagenaud drove a sports car in the American Le Mans Series for Gil de Ferran, who won the 2003 Indy 500 for Penske. Eventually de Ferran put Pagenaud on the Penske radar with the simple suggestion, “You should look at him.”
“I owe Gil for a lot of things,” Pagenaud admits.
After two IndyCar seasons and 18 races with a few decent results, he broke through with road-course victories at Detroit and Baltimore for Schmidt Hamilton Peterson Motorsports in 2013. Then Pagenaud won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis last season and added a victory at Houston.
He had proven himself worthy of a Penske ride.
“He was one of the tougher guys to beat in 2014,” Penske said in January during NASCAR’s annual media tour. “He really wanted to join our team, and quite honestly, we weren't ready to add a fourth car, but when he became available it wasn't a question of ask. We said we have to get him.”
Pagenaud was ecstatic, and still is.
“I’m very happy,” Pagenaud said. “The only thing that could make me happier is to win races. I just need to be patient, to be honest.
“They give you everything. Here, you’re here to win. We have the best cars. We have the best people. We have the best of everything. If you don’t win, you’re not doing something right.”
That’s why the Indy 500 is so important. Penske has won the race a record 15 times, the last time with Castroneves in 2009.
Pagenaud is 10th in points after exiting the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis in 25th place due to a mechanical problem. He started the season with a fifth at St. Petersburg, crashed out in 20th at New Orleans, finished fourth at Long Beach and then ninth at Alabama.
“I haven’t changed at all,” he said. “The only thing that’s changing is obviously my environment, a different team, I’ve got three really strong teammates. I have great people around me.
“I’m comfortable on the oval, and I’m even more comfortable in their car. It’s my fourth year now. I should be pretty competitive on the ovals. I was hired for a reason, so that gives me confidence.”
He says driving for Penske has given him an even greater appreciation for the man.
“Roger knows everything that’s going on,” Pagenaud said. “He’s incredible. It’s impressive. As busy as he is, he’s got 50,000 employees in the world, and he knows when I’m talking about turbo to my engineer, he knows when I’m doing this or that on the race car. He comes over and asks, ‘How is it? What do you think?’ That’s pretty impressive.”
Pagenaud has had one of the fastest cars during practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was quickest on “Fast Friday” before qualifying.
He’s eager to make the boss happy come Sunday.
“The Indy 500 is a bit like the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” he said after his qualifying run last Sunday. “You're never ready enough for this race. There's so many things, nine to ten pit stops, a yellow can fall out at the wrong time, something can happen in pit lane. It's crazy in pit lane. It can go all right up until the race and something can happen at the last moment where you don't expect it.”
He’s finished 16th, eighth and 12th in his previous Indy 500 starts. This is his best starting position.
“I'm just going to keep being like I have been, like pretty non emotional about it, and do my job, even though I'm super excited,” he said.
Seated next to Pagenaud, an amused Power rolled his eyes and smiled.
“You've been coming in crying every day,” Power said of his teammate’s excitement. “Don’t lie.”