2-time champ Montoya under the radar at Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — Life should be less stressful for Juan Pablo Montoya these days.
You see, the two-time Indy 500 winner lost his full-time ride last year, and when other options never really materialized, he decided to join Team Penske in a parttime role. That meant hopping into the car for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis a couple weeks ago and again for Sunday’s Indy 500.
But it also meant fewer sponsorship obligations. Fewer media requirements. And when his teammates stressed about Team Penske’s lousy qualifying weekend, it meant fewer sleepless nights.
“A lot of my teammates were really pissed about qualifying because they lost a whole lot of points,” Montoya explained, “but for me? Meh, I really don’t care.”
What does he about? Karting.
That’s where the stress is coming from now.
Without the week-toweek grind of the IndyCar season, Montoya has more time to devote to his 12-year-old son Sebastian’s karting career. Montoya beams when he talks about spending a day-and-a-half last week, while other drivers were poring over data in anticipation of Indy 500 qualifying, working on the chassis and setup for Sebastian’s care most recent karting race.
“But watching him race? It sucks,” Montoya said, speaking more animatedly than he does about his own career. “It’s completely out of your hands. It’s great when things are working well. When he doesn’t do a good job or the chassis isn’t working like it should, I get frustrated.”
So does Sebastian. And does he ever blame dear old dad when the car isn’t working right?
“A little,” Sebastian said, sheepishly.
“He’s starting to now,” Montoya said with a smile.
Montoya has been flying under the radar this month in Indianapolis, and that’s much different than previous years. He was the Penske prodigy returning to the site of his former glory when Montoya won in 2015, and he came back last year as the defending race winner.
But most of last season was a struggle, his team unable to find consistent speed, and he plummeted to eighth in the standings. Meanwhile, Simon Pagenaud won the series title and fellow teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves made it a podium sweep for Roger Penske’s prolific stable.
Montoya was told midway through the season he wouldn’t return as a full-time driver. Eventually, his ride was handed over to popular youngster Josef Newgarden.