INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – July 7, 2014

Today’s Verizon IndyCar Series and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:

1.  Montoya cashes in on opportunity with Team Penske  

2.  Inside the Box Score: Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco 

1. Montoya cashes in on opportunity with Team Penske: Before opening the latest chapter of his racing career, Juan Pablo Montoya said he wanted to be in a position to win races, and joining Team Penske for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season provided that opportunity.

“I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve won in everything I’ve driven,” said the 38-year-old Colombian, who competed and won in Indy car, Formula One and the NASCAR Cup Series. “If you’re not in a winning car, there’s no point. At this point in my career, I cannot waste my time.”

Montoya has been a quick study in his return to Indy car racing, learning on the fly despite the Verizon IndyCar Series’ diverse racetrack schedule and depth of competition. He placed fourth in the second event of the season at Long Beach, finished fifth in the 98th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and recorded back-to-back podium finishes at Texas Motor Speedway and Race 1 at Houston in June.

On July 6 at Pocono Raceway, he cashed in on the biggest opportunity presented so far with a victory in the Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco. It was his third win in a 500-mile Indy car race and his first victory since September 2000 in the Motorola 300 at Gateway International Raceway.

Montoya is the eighth different winner through 11 rounds this season and the first to win from the pole. The 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, slowed by one caution for six laps, was the fastest (202.402 mph) for a 500-mile race in Indy car history. The NASCAR Cup Series race record is 145.384 mph set by Jeff Gordon in the 2011 Pocono 500.

Montoya was quick to congratulate the crew of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske entry, and especially cited the opportunity presented by Penske.

“I want thank Roger for believing in me after how many years out of open-wheel, coming back and believing I could do it,” he said. “I think Roger is the man. It’s unbelievable everything he does. He’s an example to anybody, and for me I’m not saying this because I run for him. I knew Roger a little bit, but now that I work with him, it’s unbelievable. The way he does things, you’re not surprised why you’re kicking everybody’s (butts).”

The victory in the middle round of the Triple Crown series that offers double points moved Montoya to fourth in the championship standings. Team Penske teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves, who was the runner-up at Pocono, are tied for the lead.

Recent results have further incentivized Montoya, who is 55 points behind heading to the July 12 race under the lights at Iowa Speedway.

“I think Roger deserves the (series) championship. The last three or four years they were close in the championship but just couldn’t close it,” he said. “If the biggest problem we have at the end of the year is who is going to win the championship, it’s a good problem to have.”

2. Inside the Box Score: Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco: Some numbers to note from the Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco, the 11th race of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

1 – Driver to win a race after starting from pole position – Juan Pablo Montoya.

2.10 – Average running position of Juan Pablo Montoya during the 200 laps of racing at Pocono Raceway.

4 – Number of 1-2 finishes by teammates in 2014 after Montoya and Castroneves went 1-2 for Team Penske at Pocono. There were only two 1-2 finishes by teammates in 2013…Number of positions gained by Simon Pagenaud in the last 20 laps (10th to 6th).

7 – Consecutive top-10 starts by James Hinchcliffe.

12 – Career Indy car victories by Juan Pablo Montoya, who went 13 years, 9 months, 20 days between Indy car race wins.

13 – Positions improved by Josef Newgarden (21st to 8th) during the Pocono INDYCAR 500, the most positions gained in the race.

39 – Laps that Sebastian Bourdais improved his position over the 200 laps of competition, most of any driver.

78 – Laps led by Tony Kanaan at Pocono, which allowed him to surpass 3,400 laps led in his career.

150 – Career Indy car starts for Ed Carpenter, who tied Rodger Ward and Scott Brayton on the all-time list.

202.402 – Average speed in miles per hour of Juan Pablo Montoya over the 500 miles, making the Pocono INDYCAR 500 the fastest 500 mile race in history.

226 – Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland. Kanaan extended his all-time record.

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The next Verizon IndyCar Series event is the Iowa Corn Indy 300 on July 12 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be televised live at 8 p.m. (ET) by the NBCSN (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, XM 209 and Sirius 213, the Verizon INDYCAR 14 App and www.indycar.com.