Fifteen Years Later, Montoya's The Man Again at Indianapolis
May 24, 2015 | By Phillip B. Wilson, IMS Correspondent
A second Indianapolis 500 victory revealed how much Juan Pablo Montoya has changed in 15 years between memorable triumphs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After he came, saw and conquered in such dominating fashion in 2000, Montoya ventured off in search of a greater challenge and larger paychecks in Formula One. The confident Colombian then rubbed bumpers with the “good ol’ boys” of NASCAR.
On Sunday, after making Indy 500 history for the longest stretch between visits to Victory Lane at IMS, Montoya made it clear he’s isn’t going anywhere this time.
“No, I’m here,” Montoya said with a smile. “I told (owner) Roger (Penske), ‘As long as you want me, I’ll be here.’”
Montoya’s second win in three Indy 500 starts — he finished fifth last year — begs the question: What would the Indy 500 legacy and Indy car resume look like had he stuck around with owner Chip Ganassi after that 2000 triumph?
“We’re thankful he didn’t,” said Graham Rahal, whose Rahal Letterman Lanigan car finished fifth.
“Obviously he would have been pretty successful,” said Team Penske teammate Will Power, who finished second.
Montoya, 39, isn’t one to talk much about the past. When a reporter mentioned how he was the only driver to win F1’s Grand Prix of Monaco as well as the Indy 500, he informed that accomplishment was achieved in 2003 with the latter victory. Been there, done that. Old news.
Then he added, “I ain’t gonna win two Monacos,” he said. “I ain’t going back. I don’t want to.”
He couldn’t ask for a better ride than with Penske, who celebrated his record 16th Indy 500 victory.
“I come here for one reason,” Penske said, “and that’s to win.”
The legendary owner, who first came to this track in 1951 with his father, now gets to change a number on his “1Indy15” license plate.
The biggest teams dominated most of the way with Chevrolet engines before the last 15 laps turned into a shootout between the two Verizon Team Penske cars and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
The lead would change hands seven times in that dramatic conclusion. First it was Dixon overtaking Power, then Power seizing it back. They flip-flopped again in two laps, each taking a turn.
Then Montoya emerged in front on lap 192. Power got it back a lap later, but Montoya surged to the front on lap 197 and never relinquished the advantage.
“Oh my God, this was a lot of work today,” Montoya said.
By comparison, he said of the victory in 2000, “That was an easy race.”
He blamed himself for being in such a bad position early on. If he had not qualified 15th, he said he wouldn’t have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when his car suffered minor rear damage after a bump from Simona de Silvestro. He ran as far back as 30th place.
Even after pulling to eight place, Montoya still questioned whether he had the car to get to the front.
“I thought, ‘We don’t have anything,’” he said.
But in the classic mode of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, a Team Penske consultant, Montoya kept working on his car. And it kept improving.
“It’s just experience,” Montoya said. “You made a lot of moves back then that worked. You’re wiser. You understand where the races are won and they are lost. You make less mistakes. The biggest difference is just experience.”
When he eventually reached the frontrunners, Penske had an advantage with two cars running out front.
“We had two against one,” Team Penske president Tim Cindric said, “and I think that helped us.”
Dixon eventually faltered due to an understeer. Ganassi Racing teammate Charlie Kimball passed him to finish third.
“I just couldn’t keep close,” Dixon said, despite being out front the most, 11 times for 84 laps. “The only lap that counts is Lap 200.”
Power had placed a greater emphasis on winning this race after claiming his first series title last year. He couldn’t hide his disappointment afterward.
“Anywhere else, I’d be happy with second,” he said. “But here, it sucks.”
Kimball enjoyed his best finish in five Indy 500 starts, but conceded, “I just didn’t have anything for the Penske boys those last two laps.”
Chevrolet engines took the first four spots with Rahal having the top Honda finish.
“The Chevy was in a league of its own, unfortunately, in horsepower,” Rahal said.
Montoya widened his points lead 25 points over Power in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings.
“He’s very strong this year,” Power said of his teammate. “He came back and his plan was to win this race and win the championship. I’m going to be very determined to make sure he doesn’t do that, win the championship.”
The future sure seems bright for Penske’s top two cars. And who knows what Montoya can accomplish, if he can make up for lost time and continue to build on his Indy 500 legacy.
He knows this much: His picture will be on next year’s ticket for the 100th Indy 500.
“I want to thank the team and Roger, they gave this opportunity a little over a year ago to come and join them,” Montoya said. “I’m glad I’m proving them right, that they made the right choice. I’m loving racing right now.”