Juan Pablo Montoya already had a Hall of Fame career when it comes to impressive accomplishments. As of Saturday night, he can add a WeatherTech SportsCar IMSA Championship to his list that already includes two victories int he Indianapolis 500 (2000 and 2015), the 1999 CART championship, seven wins in Formula One and two wins in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.
Former NTT IndyCar Series star Montoya, along with co-driver Dane Cameron and the No. 6 Acura, won the 2019 championship for Acura Team Penske. It was also the first sports car championship for team owner Roger Penske in more than a decade.
Montoya, Cameron and endurance driver and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud finished fourth in Saturday’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway at Road Atlanta. That was enough to clinch the championship for Acura Team Penske’s No. 6 entry.
“I think it’s great,” Montoya said afterwards. “I think it’s fun. When you join Team Penske, when you come to this program and with Acura, they expect this. It’s great that we won it. But if we didn’t, they’d be disappointed. As hard as everyone works in the program, and how well we prepare the cars. And how everything is done. It’s great.
“You’re so proud of the guys. They are so pumped. It’s one big happy family. We work well together. The (other) car, the 7 car, we really share everything with the drivers. We just generally have a great relationship. Honestly to me it’s great. I love the cars; I love the series. I can’t complain.”
Ten hours after the race began, Montoya admitted it was a stress-filled contest.
“It was probably a lot more stressful than we hoped,” he said. “Actually, I think we were really surprised. They keep adjusting the (balance of performance) because we were running really good. This is a horsepower track, so it was really hard. A really hard day. All weekend we were stressed. We were in a position that we knew, it was good enough that we had a big enough advantage that we needed to finish eighth. But one mistake and you’re done.”
That was a similar situation to Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden entering the final race of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season when he clinched his second championship with an eighth-place finish. Newgarden knew his margin for error was very small, especially with his championship contenders running ahead of him in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey.
The last time Cameron won a sports car championship was in ALMS. His co-driver that year was Pagenaud, the 2016 NTT IndyCar Series champion and the winner of this year’s Indianapolis 500.
“I had him alongside me the last time I won a prototype championship and it’s really cool to have him back here,” Cameron said of Pagenaud. “It’s cool too because Juan was the first guy to drive this car ever. It’s really cool to just win the championship for something you’ve had so much influence in its development and its growth. It’s a nice rebound from the learning year we had last year to come back and win three races and win the title, it’s fantastic.
“I think Juan and I said earlier in the year we were excited to come to this program because it had potential. We fell a bit short of it last year and this year we got it to the level it should have been all along. It’s just crazy to make it all happen and to do it for Acura for them as well, it’s awesome. Everybody’s happy right now.”
Perhaps the driver who had the most stressful experience out of this trio was Pagenaud. Because IMSA teams add an extra driver to the endurance race, such as the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, Team Penske chose one of its IndyCar Series drivers to pair with this team. Fellow IndyCar driver Graham Rahal was the extra driver for the team’s No. 7 entry that includes three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor.
Pagenaud wanted to make sure nothing happened during his stints that could impact the championship.
“It was obviously very stressful for me,” Pagenaud said. “Not more than Indy, but obviously you come in for three races, the long runs. It’s just a support role really. At the end of the day you have to adapt to whatever cars your teammates like. They’ve done the job all season long. I’ve watched every race. And I know the work they put int.
“It was very important for me I was able to bring the car back with one piece. Maybe I started a bit timid, but I got back into a good rhythm mid-race and was able to provide a good job. It’s actually our second championship with Dane.
“For me personally, I’m a little part of it, and last time I was a little part of it. It’s very cool for me. IMSA had been for me my propeller in the career here in the US. It’s because of IMSA I am where I am. It’s always fantastic time to come back. With Team Penske now in IndyCar and SportsCar is really fun. And my ties with Acura is very good, it’s very tight.
“So, it’s great to bring a win home for them.”