Thiago Medeiros clinched the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ championship in the California 100 on Oct. 2, but it wasn’t the victory celebration he envisioned.

The No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, running on the inside of the lead pack of three on the penultimate lap at the 2-mile California Speedway oval, made contact with the No. 24 entry driven by Jeff Simmons and flipped. The car slid about 100 yards down the backstretch before coming to rest on its tires.

Medeiros climbed out of the car, was checked in the infield medical center and released to accept his championship trophy in Victory Circle.

“It was sad the race ended the way that it did, but I’m happy to get the championship,” said Medeiros, 22, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who is in his second year in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. “I think the job that I did this season got the attention of IndyCar Series owners, so hopefully I’ll get a ride next year. We’ll see. I think I’m ready.”

James Chesson, making his second start for Mo Nunn Racing, was leading at the time of the incident and went on to his first Series victory. His brother and teammate, P.J. Chesson, finished second and Phil Giebler was third.

Medeiros, who started from the pole for a Series-record seventh time, finished ninth. But with a 95-point lead heading into the race, all he had to do was start. Medeiros has 461 points – 101 more than Paul Dana – with one race remaining. Dana finished 12th in the No. 91 Ethanol/Hemelgarn Johnson entry. He has one victory among his 10 top-10 finishes.

Medeiros has recorded five victories, including a Series-record four in a row, and placed in the top 10 in all 11 races.

“I’m happy. I did my best today,” he said. “I’m glad I wasn’t injured in the accident.”

James Chesson, driving the No. 67 Mo Nunn Racing entry, led Medeiros by 0.0200 of a second as they took the white flag. Chesson, Medeiros and Simmons were almost in a three-wide pack exiting Turn 2. The cars of Simmons and Medeiros touched wheels.

“I think Simmons and I touched wheels about two laps before that happened,” Medeiros said. “I was running down the back straight and I got hit twice on my back wheel. Then I just lost downforce, and some air got under the car and flew us into the fence. I flipped over a few times and went into the grass.”

James Chesson, who finished sixth in his Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 11, said the race was “unbelievable.”

“It was intense and it got pretty dicey at the end there,” he said. “I saw Thiago and Simmons really battling. They got pretty close and they might have lifted a little bit, and I got a good run on the outside. I was just trying to hold them down, so I could get in front of them and clear them.”

P.J. Chesson, who has three consecutive victories in his inaugural Menards Infiniti Pro Series season, was looking for another. But if he couldn’t get it from his seventh starting position, he was happy for his brother. After parking his car on pit road, he ran to join James in Victory Lane.

“I tell you what, it was a crazy race,” he said. “I don’t know where we were going to be. I went back to fifth, to second, to fifth, sixth, and then (James) comes smoking on the outside and stuck it on the pond. It was just unbelievable. I’m so proud of him.”

Third place was the highest finish for Giebler since he won the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He was driving the No. 2 Western Union Speed Team entry that had been occupied by Al Unser the previous seven races.

“That was a wild race,” he said. “You had to be in the right place at the right time, and depending on how your car was working, you had to be really strategic and figure out where you could run. Everybody was running real tight, so if you had a problem with understeer or were loose, you really had to watch yourself because there was a car right there.

“But I’m really happy to be out there this weekend, and to come home in third is a good finish, starting in eighth. I hope to be in the next race and get another win.”