Carlos Munoz, did you know that your countryman, Juan Pablo Montoya, also started second in his first Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and went on to win? The 21-year-old from Bogota, Colombia, tries to keep a straight face. Of course, he realized the coincidence before climbing from the No. 26 Unistraw car on Pole Day.

The accomplishments of the four first-year Indianapolis 500 competitors -- AJ Allmendinger, Conor Daly, Tristan Vautier and Munoz -- were celebrated at the 39th Fastest Rookie of the Year awards luncheon presented by the American Dairy Association of Indiana at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Munoz was among the nine drivers from Segment 1 of Pole Day qualifications May 18 to advance to the shootout for the Verizon P1 Award. The Andretti Autosport driver wound up .2892 of a second behind pole winner Ed Carpenter over four consecutive laps on the 2.5-mile oval. He had an average speed of 228.342 mph.

In 2000, Montoya was the last first-year front-row starter in the "500."

"It puts a little pressure on me," Munoz said. "Everyone is saying that he was second and won and you have to, but I won't put pressure on myself to win. If we do a good job with pit stops and I'm smart on the track, the car is good and the result will be a good one if we put all this good worked together.

"From the beginning I knew I had a really good car. My teammates helped me early, especially with the rookie orientation and any questions I had they answered. Going into the Saturday qualifying I knew I could be in the top nine but I didn't expect to be on the front row and wind up second."

For 48 hours anyway, Munoz will concentrate on the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 24 at the Speedway. Practice and qualifications are May 23. He'll also participate in the final IZOD IndyCar Series practice session 90 minutes before the 40-lap Firestone Indy Lights race.

"My focus is to win the (Firestone) Indy Lights championship," said Munoz, who's won two races and is the points leader. "We worked (in the Open Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and were really quick and last year, in our first race at Indianapolis, I finished second. People say I have to concentrate on the Indy 500, but all the experience I've gotten on the track this month will help me over the 100 miles (of the Firestone Freedom 100) and the 100 miles of the race will help me in the Indy 500."

Allmendinger will start fifth in the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske car (228.099 mph average in the fast nine shootout), while Vautier qualified 28th (224.873) in the No. 55 Lucas Oil/Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car. Conor Daly qualified 31st (223.582) in the No. 41 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing. Vautier is the lone full-season IZOD IndyCar Series competitor.