INDIANAPOLIS -- As Simon Pagenaud collected a $1 million champion's check Tuesday night, he was already contemplating what the 2017 IndyCar season might actually look like.
He's already been involved in meetings about improving of the No. 22 car. He plans to test next week at Elkhart Lake. He wants to win the series' marquee race, the Indianapolis 500. And soon, Pagenaud could be welcoming a new teammate to Team Penske's stable in North Carolina.
Things couldn't get much better for the 32-year-old French driver, who won a series-high five races and seven poles this season to attain his lifelong dream by winning the series title.