It had been since the year 2000 when he last placed his foot on the gas pedal in an IndyCar, but Juan Pablo Montoya returned to the sport in fast fashion during an IndyCar test Monday at Sebring International Raceway.
The newest addition to Team Penske drove the No. 2 Dallara/Chevrolet for 20 laps and was just less than half-a-second behind teammate Will Power’s top time in the morning session. In the afternoon session, the former NASCAR driver was able to surpass the fast lap time established by Power before the day’s testing ended.
Team Penske returns to the track today (Tuesday) for the final day of testing.
He will participate in several more test sessions with the team over the next several weeks to continue to prep for his season back in IndyCar.
Montoya was named to Team Penske in September after deciding to leave
the sport of NASCAR after 13 seasons, most recently with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. Kyle Larson will take the reins of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Montoya will make his Team Penske debut in the 2014 IndyCar Series on March 30 during the Grand Prix of St. Petersberg.
