SONOMA, Calif. — A heartbreaking week. A jaw-dropping final few laps. A tiebreaking finale. A familiar face hoisting the championship trophy.

Scott Dixon won his fourth IndyCar championship Sunday, winning the season finale to snatch the title from Juan Pablo Montoya.

Montoya led the standings from the opener until the final lap of the year. But in a race worth double points, Dixon dominated and overcame a 47-point deficit to tie Montoya in the standings.

The title went to Dixon based on number of wins: Sunday was Dixon’s third of the season; Montoya had two.

“There was still a chance, and that’s what we were hoping for,” Dixon said. “I still can’t believe it. We were such a long shot.”

Dixon and team owner Chip Ganassi celebrated by leaping from the championship stage to crowd surf. It was one of the few uplifting moments at the end of a somber week following the death of Justin Wilson.

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Wilson was struck in the head by a piece of debris from another car last Sunday at Pocono Raceway and died a day later from his injuries. Dixon was one of the many supporters who remained in Pennsylvania to stay with Wilson’s family at the hospital.

“We all raced with heavy hearts this weekend,” Dixon said. “It’s been a very tough week. It’s such a small community. But Justin would have wanted us to go out and race, and today I gave it my all from when the green flag dropped. Much love to the Wilson family.”

The victory was the 100th for Chip Ganassi Racing, while a Team Penske driver failed to win a championship in the finale for the ninth time since 2002. It also marked Chevrolet’s fourth consecutive manufacturer championship since the company returned to IndyCar in 2012.

TRUCK SERIES: Erik Jones won the race at Bowmanville, Ontario, to take the series points lead

Jones, 19, beat Canadian road racer Alex Tagliani to the first turn off a restart with two laps left on the 2.459-mile road course and held off two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton by 1.665 seconds. Tagliani lost a gear and slipped to fifth.

“It was a blast,” Jones said about racing with Tagliani. “It was nerve-racking. It’s a little intense when you’ve got a guy like that running you down for 15 laps.

“We had a pretty long talk about racing people the way you want to be raced. I’ve never been one to want to move somebody to win a race, and he hasn’t, either. It’s nice to see that respect, especially from a veteran like that to me.”


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