Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya wins his second Indianapolis 500.
Penske veteran twice charges from rear of pack to overtake field
INDIANAPOLIS — His career at a crossroad, his confidence shot, Juan Pablo Montoya received a lifeline from The Captain.
Roger Penske called the driver in late 2013, when Montoya found himself without a job after seven frustrating seasons in NASCAR that had turned one of the baddest drivers on the planet into a struggling also-ran.
The catch? Penske’s offer was a return to Indy cars, which Montoya had left behind years ago. The Colombian jumped at the opportunity and cashed in on it Sunday with his second Indianapolis 500 victory.
The first one was 15 years ago and a stepping stone to Formula One. The second one came for a 39-year-old man who proved JPM is back.
Always confident
In a moment of sincerity after his win, flanked by Team Penske president Tim Cindric, Montoya suggested how much it meant.
“I’m glad I am proving them right, that they made the right choice,” he said. “I’m loving racing right now.”
Oh, that was evident for two weeks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Montoya boasted to his three teammates that he would win the race.
On Sunday, he twice drove from the back of the field and charged into the final few laps as the leader in a race where few wanted to be out front with the checkered flag looming and held off teammate Will Power.
That 2000 victory was easy — he has always said so — and, when a driver leads 167 of the 200 laps, it was a relaxed drive.
Win No. 2 was a battle from the beginning. Montoya started 15th but an accident on the first lap brought out the caution and Montoya was hit from behind by Simona de Silvestro under yellow. He had to pit to repair the damage and restarted second-to-last in the field.
After working his way back through the field, he was penalized for running over his air hose during a pit stop — and again was sent deep into the pack.
“Montoya coming from all the way in the back — I’ll tell you, you give that guy the bit and put it in his mouth … he doesn’t give up,” Penske said.
His victory gave Penske his 16th Indianapolis 500 win and first since Helio Castroneves in 2009. Penske also joined Chip Ganassi as the only owners to win the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Ganassi did it in 2010; Joey Logano won the Daytona 500 for Penske in February.
The 15 years between Indy 500 victories are a record for a driver, surpassing A.J. Foyt, who needed 10 years between his third and fourth wins. That first win for Montoya? It came when he drove for Ganassi.
Two teams dominate
The checkered flag almost certainly was going to go to a Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing driver. With a combined nine cars in the field, the two owners showed over the last two weeks that their organizations are head and shoulders above the competition, and Indianapolis is their playground.
Penske and Ganassi drivers led the majority of the laps Sunday — 193 of the 200 — and turned the final restart with 15 laps to go into a three-car thriller between Penske teammates Montoya and Power, and Ganassi driver Scott Dixon.
Power finished second and Ganassi driver Charlie Kimball was third, ahead of teammate Dixon. The two team owners embraced on pit road as Montoya headed to grab his bottle of milk. Later, as Montoya began the traditional victory lap around the 2.5-mile track in a convertible, Ganassi stopped the car to give Montoya a hug, smile and thumbs-up.
“We’re still good friends. He made a business decision, and that’s what it was,” Montoya said of his former boss. “He brought his A-game, and we did as well.”
It was thought that the leader on the final lap would be a sitting duck, but Montoya didn’t care as he charged past Power with three laps remaining and stayed out front.
“Montoya got that last
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run, and maybe I was a bit nice to him into (turn) 1 and lifted,” Power said. “That was some serious racing there, a lot of fun.”
Montoya, sometimes a surly and scowling veteran, grinned Sunday as he reveled in his return to relevance. He is the IndyCar Series points leader and has two wins this season.