It was just a few days before the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season-opener in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and Team Penske was ready to live up to its billing as a four-driver Super Team. After all, defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power was back, faster than ever, as was his three-time Indianapolis 500 winning teammate Helio Castroneves. The addition of 30-year-old Simon Pagenaud to the lineup gave the team a four-time IndyCar race-winning driver at Sam Schmidt Motorsports who was ready to claim his place among the Verizon IndyCar Series elite drivers.
Oh, by the way, there was also another driver on the team that had nearly become an afterthought.
Hard to believe that Juan Pablo Montoya, the 1999 CART champion, 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner, seven-time Formula One winner and two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner was flying “Stealth” with Team Penske. But entering the season, the popular conception had Montoya fourth on the depth chart at Team Penske.
Was it true that Montoya was entering the 2015 season by “flying under the radar?”
The hard-edged Colombian driver shot back at that notion.
“I don’t consider myself flying under the radar right now,” Montoya said. “Has Simon won any Formula One races? Has Helio? Has Will? Have they won the 24 Hours of Daytona? Any of them won any NASCAR Cup races?
“Well, I have won all of those so that should keep me on the radar.
“I think I’m really good and I think we have really good teammates. It’s a matter of getting the job done. It’s not about what we have done; it’s about what we do.”
It didn’t take long for Montoya to back up that point, as he was able to beat teammate Power to the finish line to win on the streets of St. Petersburg on March 29. He drove with aggression when needed and was patient when he was biding time out of the lead waiting on his chance to strike.
He drove with the savvy of an experienced racer. Montoya was in control of his race – in stark contrast to his return to IndyCar in 2014 when it took him a few races to fully understand the car.
“Last year my second half of the season was better than anybody’s,” Montoya said. “This year I have to take it from the beginning. We’re really well prepared and in a really good position. Having Simon as a teammate is exciting and it’s a matter of getting the job done now.”
Team owner Roger Penske said the thing he admires the most about Montoya is his ability to say whatever is on his mind – that he lives vicariously through his drivers.
“I wish I could do that,” Penske quipped.
But that is part of Montoya’s “I am, who I am – I’m Juan Pablo the Racer Man” mentality. He’ll say what he wants and doesn’t care if or who it offends.
“I’m very passionate,” Montoya admitted. “Roger hired me to get the job done and I do my best to get the job done. I love working for Team Penske and I work hard at it. I’m happy because we are on pace. Last year, when you looked for me on the street course you had to start from the bottom up.
“This year, you can find me a lot quicker on the timing sheets.”
The fire burns deep within Montoya’s personality and that is why at least one of his teammates takes him as a serious threat at the 2015 championship.
“I never look at him under the radar to be honest,” Castroneves said. “His talent speaks for itself. This year knowing the tracks and knowing the car he will do as well as he has always been doing. He is not under the radar – he is actually right there with us.”
In 1999 Castroneves was in his second year in CART when the “Great Juan” took over the series as a rookie driving for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. It didn’t take long for Montoya to show his greatness while Castroneves was still trying to find his way in this form of racing.
“I started in 1998 and Juan came in 1999 and was with the best team at Ganassi,” Castroneves said. “He did an outstanding job with Ganassi but Juan Pablo when he moved to Formula One showed who he is. But he was a driver that we measured ourselves against.”
With his victory in the season-opening race Montoya is setting the mark high as the series resumes competition this week.
“A win or a good result in the season-opener at St. Petersburg does great things,” Montoya said. “Everybody is excited about the Aero Kits and it’s the start of a big challenge at Team Penske. It’s important for us to have Verizon come back with my car and Will Power in the No. 12. This is a great season. There is tons of potential here.”
Does the victory at St. Pete give Montoya momentum heading into the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park?
“I’m not a big believer in momentum; I’m a big believer in getting the job done,” he said. “If you do a good job you do to the next one. If you do a bad job you still go to the next one.”
And Montoya is off to the next one after doing a job well done.