Montoya has incredible run to win the 2015 Indy 500
- Written by David Miller
- Published in Auto Racing
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It wasn't easy for the Colombian, but after a long break from IndyCar, Juan Pablo Montoya collected his second Borg-Warner trophy, 15 years after his first Indianapolis 500 victory.
The 99th running of the event was a battle to the end that saw two Team Penske drivers, Montoya and Will Power take on Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball for the win. In the final laps, the Ganassi drivers didn't have anything left, as the Penske teammates went all out for the win.
Montoya made his move into first place over Power with three laps to go, and never relinquished the lead. He weaved from the inside to outside blocking whatever draft he could, preventing Power from catching any steam.
Montoya led the race for only 9 laps, but it was the final two that counted when it mattered the most. Out of those front runners, it was Montoya that started in the middle of the pack in 15th, dropping down to the 30th position early on after contact with Andretti Autosport's Simona de Silverstro. After several pit stops, Montoya made his move through the field, eventually catching up to the top-10 at the middle of the race.
“What really matters is the last 15 laps,” said Montoya. “That was fun racing. Probably the best racing. Between Will (Power) and (Scott) Dixon, we have a lot of respect for each other.”
Kimball would end up in third place, while the pole sitter Dixon took fourth. The best Honda finish came from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal in fifth, ahead of Andretti Autosport and fellow-Honda driver Marco Andretti.
Chip Ganassi's Tony Kanaan and Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud, both had cars to win the race, but had to bow out of the running late. Kanaan hit the wall on lap 153 ending his day; while Pagenaud clipped Kimball's car causing front wing damage and dropping to the mid pack around lap 170. Pagenaud would climb his way back for a 10th place finish.
The only Canadian in the field, after James Hinchcliffe's serious practice injury was Alex Tagliani for A.J. Foyt Racing. He would end up being the top driver for his team with a 17th place finish, avoiding any incidents, save from a gear box issue in the warm-up lap.
With this victory, Montoya becomes the first driver with two victories on the season, and now leads the IndyCar points race with 272 points, 25 points over Power, the defending champion.