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[h=2]INDYCAR 2016 Review: Juan Pablo Montoya[/h] Marshall Pruett & Robin Miller / Images by IMS Photo

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
NO. 2 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

2016 Best result: 1st (St Petersburg)
2016 Championship position: 8th (433 points)


All of the numbers point to Montoya being the least effective of the Penske quartet this year. How did the guy who should have won the 2015 title end up tied on points with Charlie Kimball 12 months later?

MILLER: A combination of a couple of rare mistakes, a DNF and some luckless races conspired to scuttle his season, but he didn't forget how to drive. And he wasn't disinterested, as some were speculating midway through the year. He qualified in the Fast Six in four of the first five street/road courses and then seemed to struggle, but usually made up for his poor starting spot with a charge to the front (22nd to fifth at Barber, or 14th to seventh at Road America as examples). It just seemed like his team lost their way midway through the season before finding it again.

PRUETT: Like Pagenaud's mysterious drop from fifth in the championship with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2014 to 11th with triple the resources at Penske in 2015, some things just don't make sense. He had a season that went from good to bad in short order, and recovering from four finishes of 20th or worse from May 29 to July 17 ended any hope of recovering. At the heart of the collapse, Montoya went from winning the Indy 500 in 2015 to having the worst outcome possible - 33rd and last in 2016. And it was a double-points event.

Granted, we can't give credit where it isn't due, but it's fair to say that with a decent finish at the Speedway, he'd be much closer to his teammates in the final standings. If he was back in the car for 2017, I have no doubt JPM would be vying for another title.

The St Pete win was obviously the high point in terms of outright results, but where else in Montoya's season can we find a silver lining?

PRUETT: He qualified inside the Firestone Fast Six in four of the opening five road/street course events. He opened the year with a win and closed it by qualifying and finishing third. Minus the bad middle portion of his year, JPM was delivering the goods on either side of that ugly Indy-through-Toronto streak.

MILLER: He led 56 laps at Phoenix before a tire went down, passed more cars than anyone at Toronto and was headed for a top five when he tangled with a lapped car and wound up 20th, and put on a passing clinic at Barber (as mentioned above). He also started and finished third at Sonoma in the season finale, as if to say "don't forget me."

How did he adapt to the shifting internal dynamic at Penske when Pagenaud began to assert himself?

PRUETT: Nobody cares less about other drivers in that regard than JPM. Where some might begin to worry and lose their edge, this guy is bulletproof.

MILLER: I really don't think that had any effect on him, because he and Brian Campe and Jon Bouslog still had a great chemistry. And nobody is going to psyche him out.

Did he make Penske's decision to opt for Newgarden easier than he should have, or would he have been replaced regardless?

PRUETT: He saw the writing on the wall before any of us. If this was going down with an old and established friend like Chip Ganassi, I think it could have been avoided with a few conversations. With the business-like environment at Penske, I think JPM understood the Captain held all the power and would make his decision without any debates or chit-chat. Pushing, pleading or fighting to stay with Penske would have accelerated the decision to hire Newgarden, so in that sense, I think JPM handled the situation as best he could.
MILLER: I think it was all about timing. A 25-year-old rising star became available and a 41-year-old champion became expendable. What happens if Helio's contract is up and JPM still has one year remaining? I think the same thing happens. I mean, he's 3-0 in the win column compared to Castroneves the past two years, so I don't think it was about performance. And critics say he wasn't good with sponsors. Really? Is that why he's opening a Verizon store in Miami?

Should he be surprised to find himself scrambling for a 2017 drive?

PRUETT: Good Lord, yes. He's better than most drivers in the series and can deliver for any team with the budget and desire to move forward.

MILLER: Of course he should. A year removed from winning Indy and almost the championship, and suddenly he's unemployable? People say he's asking for too much money and that's why Ed Carpenter and A.J. Foyt haven't snapped him up, but Montoya is pretty wise about the IndyCar pay scale these days and I doubt he's being greedy. If anything, his name, presence and reputation would seem like a sure way to draw more sponsorship for those two teams. He doesn't want to be an Indy 500-only driver, but going back to Penske might be his best option.