Juan Pablo Montoya returns to NASCAR aiming for win at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Juan Pablo Montoya left the Sprint Cup Series last year without a victory on an oval in seven seasons.
He returned to NASCAR's premier circuit Friday at Michigan International Speedway with high expectations about his first start in a No. 12 Ford fielded by Team Penske for Sunday's Quicken Loans 400.
"For me it's more of an opportunity to maybe win a race or two," said Montoya, who also will run the Brickyard 400 for Penske next month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "This year we've got two really good shots. This is probably one of the best tracks for the Fords. They always excel here and have a car that can win, and the way Team Penske is running right now, if it clicks from the beginning, and we hope it does, we might have a shot at winning this.
"And then the Brickyard is a place that I run really well, so going there in a car like this you're definitely looking at a shot at a win as well."
Montoya led the most laps in the Brickyard 400 in consecutive seasons but was doomed by a pit speeding penalty in 2009 and a late crash in 2010.
After a 14-year absence that included stints in Formula One and NASCAR, he returned full time to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2014. He finished a season-best third at Texas Motor Speedway last week after posting a fifth in his first Indy 500 start since his 2000 victory in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Montoya tested last month at Nashville Superspeedway and needed about five laps to get acclimated to a stock car again. He is optimistic of a solid result at Michigan based on the performance of teammates Joey Logano (two wins) and Brad Keselowski (one win).
"With the way Team Penske is running here, it's a hell of a chance," he said. "You see Joey's comments sometimes, and he says it was a terrible day, and he finished fifth or sixth, so from my history here I would have killed to have a car that would do that.
"Our goal is we'll take it as it comes this weekend. If we do a good job here understanding what I want out of the car, then going to the Brickyard we might be looking really, really strong. It could be fun."
From 2007-13 at Chip Ganassi Racing, Montoya managed only three top-10 finishes in 14 starts at Michigan. His best was a sixth in 2009.
"With Chip we had good years, bad years, good races, bad — we had everything," Montoya said. "The way Team Penske is running right now, they look like every week they have a shot at winning, so if we do a good job here, and we have a decent race we'll easily get a top 10. If I'm really comfortable in the car, we could even look at a win."
Montoya said the toughest part of the transition will be the visual cues that drivers use for braking because he will be going roughly 30 mph slower than in IndyCar.
The setup of the Gen 6 car also has changed dramatically this season with a bevy of new rules governing the suspension, but Montoya said he thinks "it will be easier to drive.
"I think the extra downforce and extra grip in the cars is something that's new for everybody here, but I'm going the other way," he said. "I'm going to less downforce and less grip, so the more they put on the grip the easier it's going to be for me to drive."
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