Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport HVM

The cast: Race engineer – Garrett Mothersead. Race strategist – Paul “Ziggy” Harcus. Chief mechanic – Rolando Coronado.

Twitter: @CarlosMunoz034, FollowAndretti

The car: No. 34 Honda, Cinsay, AndrettiTV.com primary sponsors

The driver: Carlos Munoz turns 23 on Jan. 2. … He was the youngest full-season Verizon IndyCar Series driver in 2014. … From Bogota, Colombia, he resides in Miami. … He received Colombia Driver of the Year honors following the 2013 motorsports season.

Season finish: Munoz placed eighth in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship standings and earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.

The gist: Munoz competed in three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2013 – starting and finishing second in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in an Andretti Autosport-prepared car – and driving for Panther Racing (substitute for injured Ryan Briscoe) at Toronto and Andretti Autosport (substitute for ill E.J. Viso) at Auto Club Speedway. Gained seven positions relative to his starting spot to finish 17th at Toronto -- his first street course race. He also competed in the Indy Lights race the same day (finished fourth). … He placed third in the 2013 Indy Lights championship for Andretti Autosport, with four victories and eight top-five finishes overall in the 12 races. He placed fifth in Indy Lights in 2013 – his first year racing in the States – with two victories.

Season stats: Recorded three podium finishes and five in the top five overall. … Qualified seventh in the first (St. Petersburg), third (Barber) and fifth (Indianapolis 500) races of the season and sixth in race seven (Belle Isle2). Best qualifying was third on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway tri-oval, which also tied his season-best finish of third (matched at Long Beach after qualifying 11th and Houston1 after qualifying 23rd). … Was running at the finish in 13 of the 18 races.

Year over year: 2013 best qualifying second for Indianapolis 500, best finish second in Indianapolis 500 (competed in three races). 2014 best qualifying third at Pocono Raceway (10.5 average), best finish third at Long Beach, Houston1 and Pocono (12.6 average).

Video: Carlos Munoz reviews his season

He said it: “It was a hard season mentally and physically for all the drivers, the stress and I only thought about racing. Though it was a short season, it feels like it was a long season. I had some top-10 finishes and think I showed what I can do. I can be really fast on all kinds of tracks. I have to learn from my mistakes for next year to fight for the championship.”

The chart (below): Looking at how Munoz finished relative to his qualifying position:

Click to download the hi-res infographic