INDIANAPOLIS -- As Simon Pagenaud collected a $1 million champions check on Tuesday night at the Verizon IndyCar Series awards banquet, he was already contemplating what the 2017 IndyCar season might actually look like.He has already been involved in meetings about improving 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 résumé 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 on 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 Tuesday evening on the red carpet after Castroneves, after Power, after Penske and even after Pagenaud. A slightly embarrassed Newgarden downplayed the order of appearance at the awards banquet, 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 might 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.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. Nike Shox Wholesale .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. 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The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision.Englands fortunes have been transformed under coach Eddie Jones. Jefferson Lake looks at the Australians methods. The England squads training session on the final Thursday before the traditional autumn internationals was set for 32 minutes. Not half an hour. Not even 35 minutes, but 32.The word around Pennyhill Park, the luxurious Bagshot hotel which has been home to international training since 2003, is that such things are done to keep the players on their toes. They are, according to those around the squad, textbook Eddie Jones. England vs South Africa November 12, 2016, 2:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Whatever his methods or his reasons behind them, they are certainly working. Teams dont win nine successive games by accident, and the fact such a sequence has come after a dreadful World Cup at which the host nation was eliminated at the group stage makes it one all the more remarkable.So what has Jones done to turn a group of players which underachieved on a grand - and dire - scale to one about to bid for a perfect 10 against South Africa?A key difference regularly quoted is that the players are now more physical, that there has been an increase in intensity on the paddock which has been replicated in the Test match arena. Such intensity has also been increased by the added time the group has spent together, with the Bagshot practices being preceded by similar workouts in Brighton and Portugal.But those methods have not been without criticism, and never more so than when key players were injured as a result of them. Anthony Watson fractured his jaw during the south coast jaunt but there was worse news a day earlier when Wasps flanker Sam Jones broke his leg during a judo session. We profile Springboks lock Eben Eztebeth, hear from Tendai The Beast Mtawarira, and Jonny Wilkinson on the unique challenge of the Springboks The issue of physicality is front and centre as plans are made for the visit of South Africa to Twickenham, but it is one of which Jones is largely dismissive as an inherent ingredient of the sport.If you dont want it to be physical, you should play volleyball, is his assessment when the issue arises.I think its amusing when people talk about certain teams being more physical than others. You have to be physical - thats the game.That said, he does accept there is more of an abrasive edge to the Springboks than exists with other Test teams.A recent newspaper report stated that giant lock Eben Etzebeth can bench press 175kg - or to put it another way, the weight of an adult panda - and arm curl a 75kg dumbbell, which equates to 10kg less than the weight of George Ford. Jones is plotting Englands first victory over South Africa since 2006 The general rule there is that if youre a lock and youre not 66, youre shot and youre out the door, Jones told Sky Sports News HQ.ddddddddddddThey always pick the biggest blokes they can find and we know theyre going to do that, its something were fully aware of.But there are ways to get at South Africa and well be smart enough to work out how to get at them. Because of their overt physicality, I think they will give us opportunities in the game.With that in mind, Tom Wood has been selected at openside flanker after an international exile period of more than a year.The Northampton man was one of several who paid the price for the poor World Cup campaign but accepted Jones assertion that he was not producing good enough rugby to be considered for selection at that point. Tom Wood says hes determined to take the opportunity to impress His return to form and thus to the squad proves that Jones does not hold grudges, and his captain and club-mate Dylan Hartley was pleased to see him back in the fold.Hes been out in the wilderness, said Hartley, whose Movember moustache and close-cropped hair is not a patch on Woods full beard and flowing locks. And he looks like hes literally been living out in the wilderness.Hes a top bloke. He has worked hard and taken the feedback from Eddie on board. Its great to have him back.Woods first task on Saturday will be, in Jones own words, to make as big a mess as possible of South Africas first breakdown as England prepare themselves for a pack battle in the forecast Twickenham rain.They have not beaten the Springboks since 2006 - a barren run which spans 12 Test matches - but with a Grand Slam and that historic summer tour victory in Australia under their belts, England are well placed to end that sequence. We look at Jones perfect start to his England career Weve been together for a long time and weve been building towards this game for a long time, said Hartley. We prepare at Test-level intensity and we have worked hard for this game.Were excited. Weve been meeting up a lot recently and all of our talk has been about this game. I think the past week weve had has been one of our best weeks as a squad.Hartley, and Jones, will be hoping that practice-ground preparation translates to on-pitch precision as they bid for a perfect 10 wins in a row.Watch England v South Africa on Saturday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 2pm. Also See: England v South Africa: Great games Elliot Daly starts for England Corbisiero predicts clean sweep Strauss shrugs off Jones jibes ' ' '
