Last week, it was announced that Juan Pablo Montoya would head back Open Wheel racing, driving a third car for Penske Racing in 2014.
“I am really excited to join this legendary team beginning next year,” Montoya said. “I have had the opportunity to drive for some of the best racing teams in the world and I have always admired Roger Penske and his organization. I consider it an honor to be offered the opportunity to drive for Team Penske.”
Montoya has had success in open wheel in the past, winning races in Formula One and CART. He also has made one career IndyCar start, which was the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 – picking up the win.
Though with his success in open wheel, Montoya made the transition to NASCAR in 2006, ready to continue his winning ways. You could say that it didn’t work out as Montoya intended as in 244 career starts, he only has two wins – both coming on road courses. He has come close on the ovals, but has yet to find his way to victory lane.
That posed a problem as Montoya is known for winning. After all, he is the only driver to produce victories in the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Monaco Grand Prix. That’s why he stated when he was leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing that he wanted to be a winning car, no matter the series.
“Juan is a proven winner at all levels of motorsport,” said Roger Penske. “He has won a lot of races and championships and he has an extremely passionate fan base. We look forward to building on his successes together and we believe he will be a great addition to Team Penske.”
Penske Racing is a good place to start as they have won two IndyCar races this year and Helio Castroneves currently leads the points.
In a conversation with USA Today, team president Tim Cindric noted that the deal came together pretty quickly after a conversation at Michigan International Speedway. They sparked a conversation and shortly after it was announced that Montoya would be leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.
“There wasn’t a lot of discussion,” Cindric said. “It all came together pretty quick. It was as simple as, ‘What are you up to?’ I said, ‘We ought to put in you in the IndyCar Series.’ He said, ‘Let’s talk about it.’ A casual conversation turned into the real deal.”
The only question now will be how he will get along with his new teammates Castroneves and Will Power, and the affect he will have on the shop chemistry. Power and Castroneves have formed a unique bond between each other, knowing when to poke fun and how to work together. Will Montoya throw off that balance? Something to consider.
Also, Montoya hasn’t driven anything open-wheel since coming to NASCAR and the cars have changed so much since then. It’ll be a question as of how quickly he can adapt through the off-season testing that he will do and whether he will come out of the gate strong.
Sponsorship for the Columbian is the next step and as Cindric notes, they’re in a short time frame right now to put it together.
“It’s about Roger’s commitment to the sport and commitment to winning,” Cindric added. “You put the competitive pieces in play first. It’s one of the advantages we all have working for Roger. His commitment to winning comes before everything else.”
