Last year, Juan Pablo Montoya announced that he would be heading back to IndyCar, driving for Team Penske. The opportunity didn’t shock fans as they could see it coming based on Montoya’s words that he wanted to get back into a car he could win in.
The opportunity to get back in an IndyCar brings forth another opportunity for the Columbian – to win the Indianapolis 500 in May.
“Every year you came here and you’re not in an Indy car, it’s cool, but you want to come to the museum to see the Indy cars,” Montoya commented at an appearance. “It’s not the same. The Brickyard is a big deal, but it’s not the Indy 500. I never thought I’d be back here to try to get another win. I’m excited and to race here for Team Penske.”
Montoya added that while the opportunity is exciting, he isn’t focused on that right now.
“I’m more of a guy who goes, ‘What’s next? Are we testing? Are we doing this or are we doing that?’ I try not to think about it too much,” he added. “Once we need to come to Indy, I’ll worry about Indy and not before. Still it’s exciting. If you think about it, I’m 1-for-1 here and it would be cool to be 2-for-2.”
In preparation for the season, Montoya has been testing at multiple road courses and ovals to get a feel for the new car. Despite there being a learning curve, defending series champion Scott Dixon says that Montoya should do well despite not being in an open-wheel car for a couple of years. Dixon added that the change in testing rules – each team is allowed 18 days total now – will give Montoya more time to adapt to the car.
“That’s good for him, but the addition of being in a really strong team and having really strong teammates will definitely quicken that process up,” Dixon added. “I expect him to be quick straight out of the box and having the possibility of going for race wins straight on.”
Montoya has been attending tests with teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves. The experienced teammates have help set the cars up initially, followed by Montoya running laps after and seeing if he can get close to their times. In each of the tests he’s done so far, he’s impressed.
However, even with successful tests, Montoya knows he has challenges ahead.
“The short ovals are going to be my biggest challenge because you have to run flat-out,” he commented. “That wasn’t the case when I was in the series in 1999 and 2000. The speed you carry through the corners is unbelievable.”
One of the critical tests for Montoya this off-season was Phoenix International Raceway. Montoya knows the track via his NASCAR experience, but he says the test is necessary with how different the two cars drive.
“The way you drive these two tracks is completely different from NASCAR to IndyCar,” Montoya said. “We’re running about six seconds a lap faster than in NASCAR.”
Montoya’s official return to an IndyCar will be the season opener at St. Petersburg on March 30th.
“I told Roger (Penske) that it’s easy to see why he has so much success in this series,” Montoya said. “These cars are so fast. The people on these teams are very talented. I’m excited about this chapter of my career.”
