INDYCAR: Montoya relishes Barber charge

Juan Pablo Montoya said his charge through from the back of the IndyCar field to fifth at Barber on Sunday represented why he loves racing in the series.

The ex-Formula 1 and NASCAR racer lined up last on the grid after struggling with the softer red-marked Firestone tires in qualifying, but he recovered with a fast car in race trim to bag a top five finish.

"That one was fun," said Montoya. "Everything was fun in its own way.

"It was one of those good days on the racetrack – that's why I do it. This is why I love IndyCar racing and why I keep doing it. I had a lot of fun.

"I passed a lot of people – we had tons of passing and a lot of aggression. I love that."

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While Montoya accepted that he knew he had a good car for the race, he did not expect to make so much progress.

"If you had told me I would have finished fifth today I would have said you are smoking something funny," he added. "We knew the car was good – we had a good car all weekend but in qualifying it just didn't come in with the red tires.

"Overall it was good, and it was fun managing the tires and the whole situation."

Race winner Simon Pagenaud, one of Montoya's Penske teammates, was shocked to see how much progress the 40-year-old made.

"It's so amazing – how did he do that?" said Pagenaud. "I guess he was hungry. I have to watch the race to understand the strategy, but great job."

Meanwhile, runner-up Grahal Rahal believes IndyCar can learn from the Barber race to make other events more interesting.

"He's driving a Penske – that makes life a little easier," joked Rahal when asked about Montoya's charge. "Honestly, when you have a race for this sort of distance, it opens up the strategies a bit. We need to look at what this is as far as a distance – it's plug and play pretty much anywhere else.

"This is what we need to change for Long Beach – if you can go long, go short, but still have the tires underneath you, you'll make up track position quick."

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Originally on Autosport.com