Pruett's Preview: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
July 28, 2016 | By Marshall Pruett, Special to IMS.com
Juan Montoya has been chasing his second win at Mid-Ohio since he was an IndyCar rookie in 1999. The assortment of numbers involved with the 40-year-old Colombian’s chase for a follow-up victory at the awesome 2.3-mile road course make for an interesting open-wheel time capsule:
Montoya was 23 years, 10 months, and 26 days old when he won the CART IndyCar Series event for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
Provided he can win the Honda Indy 200 on Sunday, 16 years, 11 months, and 16 days will have passed between his first and second victories.
Since that first win, his three most recent finishes have been 24th (2000), 11th (2014), and 11th again last year.
And after recording that win back in 1999, Montoya went on to stand atop the podium on street circuits, short ovals, superspeedways, and even captured two Indy 500s, but a second win on a natural terrain road course has been elusive. JPM might have scored road course wins in Formula 1 and NASCAR, but since Mid-Ohio 1999, he’s also been chasing a second IndyCar road course victory.
He appeared to be on course for that second win last year, but an ill-timed caution ensured the streak would extend into 2016. Add it up, and all the Team Penske Chevy driver wants is another shot at earning No. 2.
“We should have won here last year but we had that funky caution, and it would be nice to have a good result this time,” he said. “We had a good test here (last week); we had some problems that took some time to fix, but overall, I felt like we built a good package for the race. We should be pretty strong, I think.”
The physical demands of lapping Mid-Ohio in an Indy car are well known. Take all the grip generated by Firestone’s tires, combine it with the massive amount of downforce created by the Chevy and Honda aero kits, and every driver will be pushed to their cardio and muscular limits. Completing the 90-lap race sounds like it would be the greatest endurance challenge, but according to Montoya, qualifying—where maximum downforce and Firestone’s stickiest tires are used—is where exhaustion occurs.
“Qualifying is harder,” he affirmed. “It’s really hard physically. The race is hard, but qualifying is harder because you’re on it the whole time and there’s no place to breathe or rest. You’re going after it the whole time. After you’re done qualifying here, I mean, you need to almost loosen your seat belts so you can breathe. It’s intense.”
Beyond the tough conditions in the cockpit, Montoya also says there’s a basic joy that comes from driving an Indy car around Mid-Ohio. Along with the passionate fans that fill the countryside circuit, it’s great to hear the same kind of enthusiasm for the circuit is shared by one of its most popular and accomplished drivers.
“It’s always a fun place to come and I really enjoy driving here a lot,” he said. “This was the first big track I ever raced at in America. It flows a lot, and it takes a lot of commitment. You’re getting after it in every corner, which makes it fun. Mid-Ohio makes you bring your A-game. It’s a pretty amazing place.”
Race distance: 90 laps
Track length: 2.258-mile road course
Track record: Scott Dixon, 1:04.5814 seconds.
Tickets and event information: midohio.com
Twitter: @Mid_Ohio, #Honda200; @IndyCar, #IndyCar