INDIANAPOLIS -- As Simon Pagenaud collected a $1 million champions check Tuesday night, he was already contemplating what the 2017 IndyCar season might actually look like.Hes 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 Penskes stable in North Carolina.Things couldnt 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.Im so proud of what happened, so happy because it really has been my dream and it hasnt been easy to get here, he said. I really mean it, this has been my dream since I was a little kid.Pagenauds victory added another chapter to Roger Penskes incredible resume as a team owner, this time in his milestone 50th season as a team owner.Penske didnt make it this far by sitting still, savoring victories or getting complacent. So why start now -- after Pagenaud, 2014 series champ Will Power and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves swept the top three points places in 2016?Instead, Penske always keeps chasing more, which is why he wants to add the best young American driver in the series, Josef Newgarden, to his four-car garage. Had Newgarden been on the team last season, Penske would have swept the top four spots.And now it looks like the worst kept secret in IndyCars is on the verge of being confirmed.Were here tonight to celebrate 2016, Penske said, brushing aside questions about the expected announcement. I think well decide what the future will be soon, I hope.Ed Carpenter Racing announced last week that Newgarden had decided not to return to that team next season.And Newgarden tried to keep his future plans under wraps Tuesday night, explaining he didnt even consider moving on until he flew to Hawaii following the Sept. 18 race at Sonoma. In the two-plus weeks since the season finale, what started as a rumor has quickly become the conventional wisdom.Newgarden didnt help his case when he arrived on the red carpet after Castroneves, after Power, after Penske and even after Pagenaud. A slightly embarrassed Newgarden downplayed the order of appearance, acknowledging that never was the plan, but it still raised more questions about whats next for the rising star.Yes, Im currently unemployed, hopefully not for long, the 25-year-old Tennessee native said. When I had that conversation with Ed, it was very difficult. I think we could have continued for as long as we wanted, but a lot goes into a decision and sometimes when youre young, you just want to try something different.Penske and his drivers didnt drop any hints of what may be coming.I know Josef pretty well, Pagenaud said. I actually dont know whats going on, Ive just been reading what youve been writing about Josef and Juan (Pablo Montoya). I thought it worked pretty well last year, and thats not to say if Josef comes on board that it wouldnt work. It probably would.But before Pagenaud welcomes a new teammate and begins the daunting task of defending a title, he has a few more stops on his agenda.Hed like to take a vacation, switch off his cellphone and spend some time reflecting the biggest achievement of his life.I just want to take some time to enjoy all this, he said. I havent really had time to do that yet.Game notesThe late Bryan Clauson was selected as the series most popular driver by fans. The 27-year-old Clauson died in August from injuries sustained in a crash during a midget-car crash. ... Pagenaud also earned the P1 Award for scoring the most points among pole winners. ... Billy Vincent, who worked with Pagenaud, was named the series chief mechanic of the year, and Jon Bouslog, of Team Penske, was named team manager of the year. ... Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was named the series rookie of the year, Conor Daly earned the Dont Crack Under Pressure Award, and Charlie Kimball earned the Drive to the Finish Award for completing the most laps.Packers Super Bowl Jerseys . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Raven Greene Super Bowl Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. http://www.officialgreenbaypackerspro.com/Kenny-clark-packers-jersey/ .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Aaron Jones Super Bowl Jersey . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Jimmy Graham Super Bowl Jersey . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.NAPA, Calif. -- Johnson Wagner chipped in for birdie and took a 1-shot lead in the Safeway Open by keeping bogeys off his card in the rain Saturday at Silverado.Wagner was at 15 under par through 15 holes when the third round was halted as rain caused puddles to form around the edges of the green. Scott Piercy was just short of the 16th green when he told tour officials he couldnt play his shot because of the water.Piercy was in the last group with Wagner and at 14 under.?Patton Kizzire?was at 14 under through 16 holes.Paul Casey was 2 shots behind and also in the final group. Casey hit a tee shot on the par-5 fifth hole that clipped a tree, ricocheted somewhere and was never found, costing him 2 shots.Phil Mickelson hit a wild tee shot on the par-5 18th and made bogey for a 69, leaving him 6 strokes back.They were still in the game, mainly because of the rain. Shots became longer. Putts became more difficult to hole. The players still on the course, who included Martin Laird at 12 under through 16 holes, were to return Sunday morning.Starting times for the final round already have been pushed well forward because of more rain in the forecast.No person was more responsible for the PGA Tours season-opening event having a decent chance to finish than JT Poston. In his first PGA Tour event, he holed an 8-foot birdie putt on his final hole of the second round for a 69 that moved the cut line to 3-under 141.That meant 70 players made the cut. His birdie knocked out 16 players.Piercy still had the lead after finishing his second round in the rain-delayed event Saturday morning. He made only one birdie coming in for a 67, but that was enough to give him a 3-shot lead over Casey and Wagner going into the third round.Casey had another lost ball late in the second round, but this turned out much better. He was about 30 seconds away from abandoning the search when a spectator held up a ball with the Nike swoosh and a blue pen dot and said, Is this it? The spectator had found it in the hazard, so while Casey still had a 1-shot penalty, he was able to drop away from the grandstands and save par for a 68.ddddddddddddCasey birdied the par-3 second hole in the third round from 6 feet, and he was on the verge of getting within a shot of Piercy with a 4-foot birdie putt on the next hole until he missed it. Two holes later, the lost ball led to double bogey.Piercy dropped a shot on No. 6, though it was a good bogey. He was stymied by a tree from the fairway and right of the green, played back to the fairway and hit a 100-foot pitch-and-run to 2 feet. He also missed a pair of birdie putts inside 6 feet. One was at No. 8, downhill with a wicked break from right to left. The other was on the 10th hole.Wagner, meanwhile, plodded along. He was short of the green on No. 8 when he chipped in for birdie, and his chip from short of the ninth green lipped out. He pulled within 1 shot of the lead with a short birdie on the 10th, and caught Piercy with a 30-foot birdie on the 12th.Piercy fell out of the lead with a bogey from just off the 14th green.Kizzire started the third round 6 shots behind and made up ground quickly with five birdies on the front nine, only one of them longer than 12 feet. He finally dropped back in the rain, three-putting the 14th when his birdie attempt rolled some 6 feet by.Cody Gribble, the lefty from Texas, was having the best rookie debut and was 3 shots off the lead until a double bogey on the 17th. He was at 10 under and in the rough left of the 18th fairway when play was halted. ' ' '