Juan Pablo Montoya wins his second Indianapolis 500
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — When he struggled in the end in NASCAR, manysuggested he wasted seven years of his time there and that he should never have left open-wheel racing.
On Sunday, Team Penske's Juan Pablo Montoya proved a single-seat race car is where he always has belonged by winning the 99th Indianapolis 500 in sensational style, coming from the rear of the field after a couple of early mishaps.
Montoya slugged it out in his No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet with teammate Will Power over the final laps, swapping the lead at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
His victory gives legendary Birmingham team owner Roger Penske his 16th Indianapolis 500 success and snapped a long winless streak at the Brickyard.
Before Sunday, Penske's last 500 win was in 2009, when Helio Castroneves snared his third victory in the race.
On Sunday, Castroneves finished seventh without ever looking really dangerous.
"I've never been here where I saw 15 laps at the end where it could have been anybody's race," said Penske of the exciting finish of the 500. "They raced clean, they passed, so there's something working with these cars and the race. Just to see Juan during the race, coming up through the field, I knew he had a good car. If you know him, he's a fighter."
Montoya drank the milk after the race, hugged his children — Sebastian, Paulina and Manuela — and looked for his wife, Connie, in the crowd.
"That was fun," Montoya said. "Probably the best racing. Between Will and (Scott) Dixon, we have a lot of respect for each other. We understand the risk and we understand when they have got you. So it makes it fun."
Montoya thanked Penske and team president Tim Cindric for his victory, for giving him a chance to win again at Indy.
"They gave me 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, so it's great."
Power appeared to have the car to win his first 500 but could not keep Montoya from storming past him and turning the clock back 15 years to 2000, when Montoya dominated the race for Target Chip Ganassi Racing before leaving CART for Formula One in 2001.
"I just had too much push in the car when he (Montoya) got by me," said Power, whose runner-up finish was his best in the 500. "I had to lift on the last lap. Juan was definitely better when he got behind me. That's why he got that run by us. Anywhere else I'd be happy with second. But here
Charlie Kimball, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, was third. His car is sponsored by Danish pharmaceutical NovoNordisk, pioneers in the manufacture of insulin and the treatment of diabetes.
Kimball, who drives the No. 83 Dallara/Chevrolet, started 14th and chipped away at the leaders all afternoon.
"It was a blast," Kimball said. "The guys on the team worked hard on the car all month. To come so close today, I think it makes us hungrier."
Montoya, 39, began his quest for a second Indy 500 ring from 15th place, got caught up in an incident under yellow with Simona de Silvestro, which tore up the rear bodywork on his car and later slid through his pit box on Lap 41 and ran over an air hose. He restarted 30th.
Montoya finished in Formula One in 2006 after winning seven races and crossed to Ganassi's NASCAR Sprint Cup team.
Despite winning two Cup road races for Ganassi, he never came to grips with oval racing.
Montoya joined Team Penske in 2014 and finished fifth in his return to Indianapolis last season.
He is the leader in IndyCar points heading to the Motor City for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix this weekend.
Contact Mike Brudenell: mbrudenell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikebrudenell.
