IndyCar’s Juan Pablo Montoya wins 2017 Race of Champions
Verizon IndyCar Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya was named Champion of Champions on Saturday as he won the individual round of the 2017 Race of Champions.
An IndyCar driver reigns supreme in the racing world, as Juan Pablo Montoya outdrove the competition Saturday to be named the Champion of Champions in the first half of the 2017 Race of Champions.
Montoya defeated Danish sportscar veteran Tom Kristensen 2-0 in a best of three matchup to claim the title as invited drivers from all over the world battled it out for individual supremacy. It was no small accomplishment as Kristensen has now been runner-up in the event four of the last five times.
To get to the finals, Montoya put on a series of impressive performances. He beat German Formula One star Pascal Wehrlein and Norweigian World Rallycross star Petter Solberg in a pair of best of one matchups to emerge from Group B.
He then swept American action sports star Travis Pastrana 2-0 in the quarterfinals and likewise made short work of Brazilian Formula One veteran Felipe Massa 2-0 in the semifinals.
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Several different drivers represented IndyCar on Saturday with varying results. Montoya’s Team Penske colleague Helio Castroneves was the only other IndyCar representative to get out of the initial round, getting swept by Massa 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
Alexander Rossi won a play-in over Red Bull Global Rallycross champion Scott Speed just to make it onto the individual bracket, but he lost in the group stage, as did James Hinchcliffe, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
All of them will return for group competition on Sunday as the Race of Champions moves into its team stage, known as the Nations Cup.
Check out reaction to Montoya’s win from Juan Pablo Montoya himself and several of his IndyCar colleagues below:
The fact that Montoya was able to win the Race of Champions and do so decisively – no one even won a single round against him – makes it all the more surprising that he’s not racing full-time in IndyCar next season.
He was replaced in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet by Josef Newgarden after a difficult 2016 season, and though there were discussions about Montoya accepting a full-time race seat somewhere else, the 2015 Indianapolis 500 winner ultimately decided to stay with Penske as an Indy 500-only driver.
But judging by the performance he put on Saturday he still has more than enough talent to crush the competition.
Montoya will team up with 2015 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Gabby Chaves to represent Colombia in the ROC Nations Cup. If he is able to end up on top again Sunday, it will be the first time that any driver has won both the Race of Champions and the Nations Cup in the history of the event. Win or lose, he’s represented IndyCar incredibly well.
Next: Is Mikhail Aleshin out of the Verizon IndyCar Series?
The ROC Nations Cup takes place on Sunday, Jan. 22 from Miami’s Marlins Park. Fans can check out the bracket for the group round here and follow along with live results here.