Juan Pablo Montoya will not race in the Indy 500 this year despite the fact that he has driven in each of the last four editions of the race dating back to 2014.
Since returning to IndyCar as a full-time driver in the 2014 season for the first time since the 2000 season, 42-year-old Juan Pablo Montoya had driven in each of the four Indianapolis 500 races. However, he will not be driving in this year’s running of the race.
Montoya will not make his sixth career start in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in the 102nd running of the event at the end of next month. He confirmed this news on Tuesday.
Here is what Montoya had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.com.
"“I won’t be racing the Indy 500 because I am fully focused on getting the Acura Penske to victory lane in the IMSA championship and my upcoming debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. [But] I will be for sure watching as my team-mates go for a 17th win for Roger.”"
It was confirmed this past October that Montoya would not be driving in this year’s Indy 500 for Team Penske, the team for which he drove in the race in each of the four Indy 500 races since 2014.
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Team Penske downsized from a four-car full-time team to a three-car full-time team this IndyCar season by releasing veteran Helio Castroneves. As opposed to fielding a fifth car in the race for Montoya like they did last season in Josef Newgarden’s first season as his replacement in the team’s #2 Chevrolet, the team are set to field just four entries in the race this year, with the fourth being for Castroneves.
Team Penske team owner Roger Penske did give Montoya permission to seek a ride elsewhere for the race. However, it was confirmed a few months ago that he would not drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in this year’s Indy 500 either, which greatly diminished his chances at landing a ride for the race. They ended up signing 37-year-old Jay Howard.
In five career Indy 500 starts, Montoya has recorded four finishes. All four of those finishes are top 6 finishes, and two of them are wins. He won the race as a rookie back in 2000 before winning it again in his third attempt back in 2015.
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