Former Formula 1 and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Juan Pablo Montoya win the season-opened of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday.
The 1999 CART champion held off Team Penske teammate and reigning IndyCar champion Will Power over the final 27 laps and won by .9930 of a second in the competition debut of the aerodynamic bodywork packages supplied by Chevrolet and Honda.
Montoya held a 3.3-second advantage over Power following an exchange of final pit stops on laps 81 and 82, but Power closed to .6147 of a second on lap 100 and was sizing up an opportunity to overtake the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. He made his move entering the tight left-hand Turn 10 on lap 101. The cars made slight contact and Power’s No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet fell back at the start/finish line. Tony Kanaan, driving the No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished 11.1685 seconds back in third and Helio Castroneves, the only three-time winner at St. Petersburg, placed fourth in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Simon Pagenaud finished fifth in the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet. Canadian James Hinchcliffe endured some tough times during the race. He drove his Arrow/Lucas Oil No. 5 Dallara to 16th place overall. The next race will be the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana is April 10-12 at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La.
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