2016 IndyCar Preseason Power Rankings

3. Juan Pablo Montoya

In only his second season back in IndyCar, Juan Pablo Montoya had everyone talking about his open-wheel prowess. For the first several weeks of the 2015 campaign it looked like he was going to run away with the championship, until technical gremlins and bad luck allowed five other drivers to jump back into the picture.

Montoya had just two finishes outside of the Top 10 last season, at Alabama and Iowa (where he went out early into the race with car troubles). Otherwise, he was pretty much always lurking over someone’s shoulder, including stealing victories from teammate Will Power at St. Petersburg and the Indianapolis 500. He put together Top 4 finishes in three of four races between Texas and Milwaukee, and three other podiums at Long Beach, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and Pocono. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be just as competitive in 2016, especially now since he’ll have even more motivation from narrowly losing the championship to Scott Dixon on a tiebreaker (something that Montoya initially had some harsh words about).

It’s probably only a matter of time before Montoya wins a Verizon IndyCar Series title, but it just may not be in 2016. He’s got the always hot Will Power and the incredibly consistent Dixon in front of him, both primed for successes of their own. They have just as much going for them as he does. But even if he’s not the Astor Cup holder at the end of the year, he’ll be involved enough to make things very interesting.

Next: 2. Will Power