INDY 500: Penske's perfect pairing keeps up the pressure

How does IndyCar's championship leader approach a double points race like the Indy 500?

"You don't do anything different," said Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud, who's won three races on the trot and finished second in the other two rounds. "The funny thing is, even though we've been winning, it's not like we have a different approach to how we race. We try to prepare the car the best we can, and every time we were in a position to win, we took it, but it's not like we took risks to get them."

Pagenaud's No. 22 Chevy team has been the class of the season so far. With an average finish of 1.4, and a sizeable lead of 74 points over Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon heading into the Indy 500, the Frenchman is on a roll.

Compared to the 2015 Indy 500, where his teammate Juan Montoya held a slim five-point margin over Penske's Will Power, Pagenaud says the big lead he has in 2016 is a byproduct of calm evolution in the running procedure he and race engineer Ben Bretzman (with Pagenaud, above) have found.

"We have a really good process on how to prepare the car for qualifying and the race; we've just polished it," he added. "We've worked on the details, and with time we know better what to do and when. And we know not to freak out. There's no freaking out any more."

So far, according to Bretzman, the No. 22 program is hitting all of the pre-season goals that were established.

"We figure you need at least three wins to get the championship," he said. "But even if you have three wins, it doesn't mean you've done all you need to get that championship. We're not even halfway through the season, so there's a lot more work to be done – but I won't pretend having three wins already isn't a big help."

With a win at Indy, the No. 22 program could be on pace to clinch the championship long before the season finale in Sonoma. Asked which races they'd like to win – other than the 100th Indy 500 – on the remaining schedule, Bretzman had his answer ready immediately: "Toronto. For some reason that one has always gotten away from me."

The symbiotic driver/engineer pairing does an excellent job finishing each other's sentences, and in the case of Pagenaud's answer, Bretzman blurted it out in anticipation of what might follow.

"Texas!" he said.

Pagenaud lit up, laughed, and agreed. "Yes. I want Texas really badly. Pocono too. I want to get that oval win. I'll take any one I can get!"

If Pagenaud and Bretzman's first season at Team Penske was an adventure in unfulfilled potential, the buddies have tapped into something special that has the rest of the series on the ropes through five rounds.

What's their newfound secret to success? Pagenaud's crew chief Billy Vincent provided an answer that's plain to see.

"We're having fun," he said. "And fun is important."