Sensational drive by Montoya as he claims the Indianapolis 500 victory from 30th to victory lane

(Steve Swope for Team Penske)

Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya drove an absolutely incredible race on Sunday to take his second Indianapolis 500 victory coming from the back of the field in 30^th place to lead home Penske team mate and defending series champion Will Power with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball coming home in third place.

Pole sitter Scott Dixon in the No.9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Team entry ended the race in fourth place with Graham Rahal giving David Letterman something to smile about after retiring from the Late Show on Friday as the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team driver finished in fifth place. Speaking after the race Rahal said he was happy for his team and feels good and is proud of his team.

Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti finished the race in 6^th place with Juan Pablo Montoya’s Penske team mate Helio Castroneves came home in seventh place just ahead of JR Hildebrand in the Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing No. 6 machine.

It was a disappointing race for Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan who was taking part in his 300^th Verizon IndyCar Series start as the Brazilian who had been battling his team mate Scott Dixon for the lead crashed heavily following a pit-stop after losing the rear of his No.10 car after making a small front wing adjustment to his car.

The race was also marred by a horrifying accident in the pit lane involving three Dale Coyne Racing Team drivers with a number of the team’s pit crew being injured two of which required medical treatment. While one was later released from the infield medical facility the other was transferred to the IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for further checks.

Ganassi Racing’s Sebastian Saavedra crashed heavily coming down the straight and it took the safety teams a while to get him out of the car as his foot was stuck. The safety crew had to cut the drivers boot off to get him out of the car.

For Juan Pablo however it was the perfect end to an incredible day. Following stints in Formula One and NASCAR, last season the Colombian returned to the Verizon IndyCar Series and finished last year’s Indianapolis 500 in fifth place.

Montoya made history today for the longest period between Indianapolis 500 victories, his first came with Chip Ganassi back in the year 2000.

The Verizon IndvCar Series moves on to Detroit’s Belle Isle for a double header next time out. Montoya’s victory at Indianapolis today means he extends his lead in the champion.