The Indianapolis 500 took place last weekend and provided race fans with all they could have asked for as it came down to the wire. In a race that was unpredictable and exciting for all 200 laps, the Indy 500 saw a racer revive his career.
The race was dominated by racers from Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, with their racers leading a combined 193 of the total 200 laps. At the final restart with 15 laps to go, it was a close race between Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power and Scott Dixon.
Dixon had led for the majority of the race, leading for 84 of the laps, which was the most by any driver. However, none of that mattered as Montoya raced ahead in the final three laps and was ahead on the lap that mattered—the last one.
It was not an easy day for Montoya, who, on two different occasions, had to work his way from the back of the field. Montoya had an accident on the first lap; when he restarted, he was second to last. After working his way back, he was penalized for not exiting a pit stop correctly.
Despite all this, Montoya found his way back to the top and had the lead when heading into the final lap, a position not many racers want to be in. However, Montoya was able to keep his lead and got over the finish line just before Will Power, beating him by less than two-tenths of a second. The finish was the fourth closest in Indy 500 history.
The win was Montoya’s second Indy 500 victory; his first was in his debut in 2000. That race was much easier, as he led for 163 of the laps. This win serves as redemption for Montoya, who left the Indy car series for seven seasons to go to NASCAR, but found no success there.
Roger Penske gave Montoya another shot, convincing him to come back to the Indy car series and the decision has definitely worked out for both parties. “I’m glad I am proving them right, that they made the right choice. I’m loving racing right now,” said Montoya.
The win was also the first Indy 500 win for Team Penske since 2009, when Helio Castroneves grabbed the top spot. Montoya is only the 19th driver to ever win the Indy 500 twice; Castroneves and he are the only two to do it in only three Indy 500 appearances.
Another winner from this event is Chevy. Chevy drivers claimed three of the top four spots, and eight of the top 10, with Honda grabbing the other two spots.
The event itself lived up to the hype and delivered for all fans. Montoya commented afterwards, “This is what racing in IndyCar is all about—awesome racing all the way down to the wire.”