Monday Racing Roundup: Montoya Wins Thrilling Indianapolis 500
May 25, 2015 | By IMS
Juan Pablo Montoya often has said that his three Team Penske teammates pose the most formidable competition in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
In the closing laps of the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, that proved to be the case.
Montoya, who won the race 15 years earlier in his first start, held off reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion and teammate Will Power by .1046 of a second -- the fourth-closest finish in race history -- in a thrilling battle over the final 15 laps that also included pole sitter and 2008 race winner Scott Dixon. Five of the 37 lead changes occurred in those 15 laps following a restart, with Montoya overtaking Dixon in Turn 1 for second place and Power in Turn 4 to lead Lap 197 by .0420 of a second.
"It was awesome," said Montoya, 39, of Colombia, after placing the winner's wreath around his neck and letting the milk dribble down his chin. "This is what racing in Indy car is all about, racing down to the wire. These guys, Team Penske, did an amazing job. I had the feeling that I had a really good car, but that fight at the end was really, really hard. All the way down to the wire. This is pretty awesome.”
The victory extended Roger Penske's record of Indy 500 victories to 16, and Montoya is the 11th different winner for Team Penske.
"You give that guy the bit and put it in his mouth and he doesn’t give up," said Penske, the race strategist for three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves. "It’s a great day for Team Penske. I knew we had two up there, but the worry was Dixon and the 83 (Charlie Kimball). At the end of the day, they played fair. Good passing and we won the race.”
Montoya finished fifth last May in his return to the Indy 500 after a 13-year absence in which he won races in Formula One and NASCAR competition, and he is the first multiple winner in six races this season. He won the opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and extended his points lead over Power to 25 heading into the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit Presented by Quicken Loans doubleheader May 30-31.
Montoya, who started 15th in the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, fell to 30th early in the race after being hit from behind while under caution, which necessitated a pit stop to change out the rear wing assembly. He then overshot his pit box on Lap 95, which cost precious seconds. Montoya worked his way up to third by Lap 102 and remained in the top five to challenge for the win.
Power was two-tenths of a second behind Montoya entering the white flag lap, but couldn't make a dramatic last-turn pass.
"I just had too much push when he got by," Power said. "I had to lift on that last lap.He was definitely better when he got behind me. That's why he got the run. Anywhere else I'd be happy with second. But here ...
"It was a great month overall -- first, first and second, second."
Power won the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9 from the pole and started second on the oval in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Kimball was .7950 of a second back in third -- a career best in five Indy 500 starts -- after starting 14th in the No. 83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Dixon, who led a field-high 84 laps, was 1.0292 seconds arrears in fourth place in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Graham Rahal, who started 17th in the No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, finished fifth.
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Edwards wins Coca-Cola 600
Will the mystery winner of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 enter and sign in please?
Hint: It’s the guy who does back flips every time he takes the checkered flag.
But for the first 370 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway, no one would have picked Carl Edwards or his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as the likely winner of the season’s 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin had spent the lion’s share of time at the head of the field, but none of that mattered when Edwards got 62 laps out of his last tank of fuel and took the checkered flag 4.785 seconds ahead of Greg Biffle, who also was on a fuel-saving strategy.
In fact, the top four finishers all stretched their gas mileage after pit stops under caution on Lap 337. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran third, followed by polesitter Matt Kenseth and Truex, who led a race-high 131 laps.
Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Hamlin (53 laps led), Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch (118 laps led) completed the top 10. Kyle Busch came home 11th in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race of the season, after missing the first 11 races of the season because of injuries sustained Feb. 21 at Daytona.
The victory was Edwards first of the season, his first for Joe Gibbs Racing, his first at Charlotte and the 24th of his career.
"It’s so cool to get this win—we’ve had such bad luck," said Edwards, who joined Joe Gibbs Racing as the organization’s fourth Sprint Cup driver after the 2014 season. "And we were the slowest of the (JGR cars) tonight, but we had (crew chief) Darian (Grubb) on the box. He made the right call, he put us in a position to win, and it worked. ...
"This is truly a gift. I took advantage of it to win, and we’ll get better."
In all likelihood, the victory will propel Edwards into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It was also Toyota’s 300th national series victory in the manufacturer’s 300th Sprint Cup start.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race on July 26 at IMS in the Crown Royal presents “Your Hero’s Name Here” 400 at the Brickyard – and you can have a vote in who the hero is. Five finalists have been named, click here to submit your vote.
NASCAR XFINITY Series: Austin Dillon dominates at Charlotte
For the second straight Saturday, Denny Hamlin had the chance to hold off a race’s strongest car for the victory.
Unlike last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, however, there were too many laps left after the final restart in Saturday’s Hisense 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series, and polesitter Austin Dillon powered past Hamlin on Lap 186 of 200 to finish the race where he belonged—at the front of the field.
By the time he crossed the finish line, Dillon was 2.692 seconds ahead of Hamlin, who had taken the lead during a restart on Lap 167 that saw Dillon fall back to fourth from the inside lane by the time the leaders exited Turn 2.
One by one, Dillon picked off Regan Smith, Kahne and Hamlin on the way to his second XFINITY Series victory of the season, his first at Charlotte and the fourth of his career.
Kahne ran third behind Dillon and Hamlin, followed by Smith and rookies Darrell Wallace Jr. and Daniel Suarez. Ty Dillon came home seventh and trimmed the series lead of 11th-place finisher Chris Buescher to four points.
Dillon led 163 laps and held an advantage of more than six seconds during a 54-lap green-flag run that preceded the second caution of the race on Lap 110.
The XFINITY Series comes to IMS on July 25 for the Lilly Diabetes 250.