INDYCAR: Crew chief Vincent shares first title glory

One of the lesser-highlighted parts of Simon Pagenaud's Verizon IndyCar Series championship was the role played by crew chief Billy Vincent, who enjoyed his first title in his second stint with Team Penske.

Vincent served as Will Power's main man from the time he arrived at Penske in 2009 through the end of the 2012 season. Penske made a change for 2013 by shifting Matt Jonsson over to lead Power's crew and Vincent was given A.J. Allmendinger's part-time entry to handle. As the season progressed, Vincent decided it was time to try something different.

A job offer from Porsche to move to California and lead the restoration of priceless vintage racecars like the 917 that graced the August 2014 issue of RACER magazine consumed most of his year (pictured, author photo), but it wasn't the right fit for someone who wanted another shot at a championship.

So, there was also a tinge of sadness, at least from the outside, to see Vincent – who'd ridden with Power through all the runner-up championship finishes, all of the Aussie's ups and downs, and persevered through his crew's mistakes on pit lane that cost Power valuable positions – exchanging pleasantries with Jonsson behind the championship podium at Fontana in 2014.

Watching his friends and former colleagues celebrate that night was a powerful form of motivation for Vincent, and with Penske preparing to expand to four cars in 2015, an invite to return and lead Simon Pagenaud's crew held immense promise.

His talent and perseverance was finally rewarded on Sunday as Pagenaud clinched his first championship, and the line of colleagues and friends waiting to congratulate Vincent – from Jonsson to Dario Franchitti– spoke volumes about his achievement.

"An opportunity was presented to me to come back to work for Roger, and I thought maybe this time we can get it done," Vincent said behind the Sonoma Raceway podium. "I have done quite a few things in motorsports, had a lot of success with Will, with the Penske Porsche ALMS program, and I thought an opportunity like that with Porsche does not come along very often. I decided to take it and it was behind the pit wall – there was not a lot of racing. It was life in the slow lane.

"Within five months, I knew that wasn't going to work. In fact, I came up here to the Sonoma race and just the smell of the hot brakes and everything, I knew [the restoration role] wasn't for me. I just had to get back, and thank God they welcomed me back into this team. It's the best team in motorsports and look at what we've achieved."

Reflecting on his first IndyCar championship inevitably led to thoughts about the ones that got away with Power (above, at Fontana in 2012).

"I don't know if disappointment is the right word, or what to call it, but I was just so happy for Will when he won the championship," he said. "We worked so hard together, and to come up second three years in a row...

"I was lucky enough to be a part of Will's program when he first came to the team and we built a lot over the last three years. I was more happy for him than anything else. And then I was just so happy for Matt. I was so glad to be there for that event, to be able to give Matt a hug and Will a hug and say, 'Awesome job.'"

Just as missing out on a championship can push a driver or engineer to reach new heights the following season, standing on the sidelines and watching Power celebrate the championship at Fontana had the same effect on Vincent.

"Yeah, it lit a fire under me; I knew this is definitely what I need to be doing," he said. "I said to myself, 'I need to be on the other side of that stage.' So to come back and have a driver like Simon to work with was amazing. We got ourselves figured out after the first season together, and everybody on the team has been working so well together and I think it shows. But you could also say that about all four of our cars."

Vincent also credited Jonsson for helping to turn his second tour at Penske into a different story than the first.

"Matt is an amazing guy, and I have learned so much from him in 12 years at Penske," he said. "Even if it was me on the sportscar side and him on the IndyCar side, he was always willing to sit down and have a chat, to help me learn, and he's been that same guy, very giving, since I came back and I still have so much to learn from him."

Having an opportunity to race head-to-head against Power and Jonsson for the 2016 IndyCar title was also a spirited way to close the loop on the changes that took place after 2012.

"It was really fun racing against him," Vincent added. "Two buddies – two crew chiefs – getting after it for their drivers, and then Will and Simon, being buddies, racing each other for the championship at the last race. This was really cool, and to come out on top, it is pretty awesome."

That night in Fontana, on the outside looking in, Vincent represented something that didn't quite mesh with whatever Power's program needed to get over the championship hurdle. Sunday evening, with a low, warm sun fading behind the hills in Sonoma, he represented everything that's possible when a second chance is offered.

And congratulations to race strategist Kyle Moyer, engineer Ben Bretzman, outside rear tire man Jeremy Baker, Doug Snyder on the inside rear, Steve Soltow on the airjack, fueler Chris Nash, inside front man Dennis Confer, spotter Mike Ford, and the rest of the crew that delivered the title with the No. 22 Team Penske Chevy.