INDIANAPOLIS -- What a difference 15 years makes.
When Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2000 Indianapolis 500, he was a cocky 24-year-old that Indy car beat writers called "The Punk." Driving for Chip Ganassi, he won the CART-sanctioned Indy car championship over Dario Franchitti as a rookie in 1999 before blitzing the Indy Racing League regulars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the next May.
And he couldn't have cared less. By his own admission, Montoya had little interest in the history and tradition of the Indianapolis 500, nor any opinion about the CART-versus-IRL politics of the era.
He was just a kid who wanted to go fast, and winning one of the biggest races in the world came very easily to him.
The Juan Pablo Montoya who edged his Team Penske teammate Will Power by a tenth of a second to win the 2015 Indianapolis 500 understands what it means to win Indy for a second time.
Dashed dreams in Formula One and disappointment in NASCAR will do that to a man.
Montoya returned to IndyCar racing in 2014 as a salt-and-pepper-haired veteran for what will probably be the last phase of his remarkably diverse racing career. One win at Pocono and fifth place in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship weren't reason enough for the Colombian to party like it was 1999, but the signs were there that after more than a decade of frustration Across the Pond and Down South, Montoya was capable of performing like a 24-year-old again.
That's what we're seeing in 2015. Montoya beat Power in a straight fight to win the IndyCar Series season opener at St. Petersburg, then bested the Australian down the stretch Sunday at Indy.
His winning pass on Power into Turn 1 on Lap 197 of 200 capped a remarkable drive back through the field from 30th place after an early clash under caution with Simona de Silvestro looked like it would put the IndyCar Series points leader on the back foot for the rest of the afternoon.
Montoya's crew had to replace the rear wing and bumper assembly after the contact with de Silvestro, but the car was otherwise undamaged.
And still fast.
"It was fun," Montoya exclaimed from Victory Lane. "The Verizon Chevy was good all day, and Team Penske did an amazing job. When I came through the field I knew I had a really good car, but that fight at the end was hard. Oh my God, that was awesome!
"I don't even know what to say," he added. "This is too much. This is what racing and IndyCar is all about. Awesome racing, all the way down to the wire."
Indeed, once the first 11 laps were run under caution to clear an early wreck and fears of rollover accidents subsided, the IndyCar Series drivers put on a stellar show.
But the front of the field was dominated by the Penske and Ganassi teams, which monopolized the top seven places for most of the race.
Pole-sitter Scott Dixon led the most laps but faded to fourth place behind Ganassi teammate Charlie Kimball in the final 16-lap green flag sprint to the checkered flag. That left Power and Montoya to fight it out for the win.
Power led laps 193-196, but Montoya eased past on the pit straight into a lead he would not relinquish. Power, slowed by excessive understeer when running in the wake of another car, got one last run on his teammate into Turn 2 on the final lap, but the front of his Chevrolet washed out and he had to settle for the runner-up position.
"Montoya got that last run, and maybe I was a bit too nice to him into Turn 1 and lifted," Power said. "After that, I'd set my car up for being out front and when I got behind I got a lot of push. I got really close to him out of 2, and then I just washed out and had to lift. That was the race, that's all I had.
"That was some serious racing there, and it was a lot of fun," he continued. "Full credit to the team finishing 1-2 and congrats to Juan for coming through the field. It sucks finishing second; I've done that a few times in the championship."
With the benefit of a couple hours to let his latest Indianapolis win sink in, Montoya tried to explain how much more it meant to triumph at the Brickyard for a second time.
"1999 and 2000 was the start of my career," he said. "I was really young and at the start of my career, and we came here with a good car and it was easy.
"It's exciting, and each one is very special," he continued. "The first one was cool, but it was weird because we had come from Japan and were running [a snow-delayed CART race] at Nazareth the day before. We didn't really experience everything. This year, we had the proper experience of the month, with the parade and everything. When you start to do everything you understand what it means to win here and it's pretty special.
"To tell the truth, this one, when you have to work that hard, it's exciting to come out on top of races like this."
It was the 16th Indianapolis 500 victory for team owner Roger Penske, extending his record. The 15-year gap between Montoya's two Indianapolis victories is also a record.
"I couldn't believe it," Penske said. "Ganassi was so strong all day long, and they have a smart driver in Dixon. But I knew I had two guys up there, and I've never been here to see that kind of racing and passing over the last 15 laps.
"Montoya coming all the way from the back ... you know he's a fighter and if you give that guy the bit and put it in his mouth, he doesn't give up," added The Captain. "What a great day for Team Penske."
It's shaping up as a great year for Penske, with Montoya, Power and Helio Castroneves ranked first, second and fourth in the IndyCar Series standings.
Montoya has maintained from the start of the season that he was ready to make a run for the championship, and it looks like he's a man of his word.
"The team and Roger gave me that opportunity to come and join them, and I'm glad I'm proving to them that they made the right choice," Montoya said. "I'm loving my racing right now.
"I'm happy here," he added. "I told Roger, 'As long as you want me, I'll be here.' Roger has a passion for winning and being the best at everything he does.
"When you can be a part of that, it's exciting and to have success with him is very cool."