Juan Pablo Montoya reveals reluctance before dominant Indy 500 debut in 2000

Juan Pablo Montoya's victory at the 2000 Indianapolis 500 remains one of the most legendary debuts in the history of the Brickyard. However, the Colombian recently revealed that he never actually wanted to enter the race.

Speaking on the BBC Chequered Flag Podcast alongside 1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill, the two-time Indy 500 winner reflected on the circumstances that led him to become a rookie winner of the iconic event. 

"I am impressed by the Indy 500," Hill said. "That’s very cool."

Montoya responded: "Yeah, Indy, honestly, the first one was really funny, because I really didn’t want to do it. I was forced to do it."

At the time, Montoya was more focused on his CART championship campaign.

Asked if it was out of fear, the seven-time F1 grand prix winner added: "No. Remember, at that time, the championships were split, so I was defending the CART championship, and the car was breaking down every week, and then they said, ‘Oh, we’re going to run this’. And I was like, ‘Why are we taking focus with that [Indy 500], to run that?’ And so it was kind of weird.

Juan Pable Montoya

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

"I was supposed to do the rookie test. You’ve got to do 190 miles an hour, then 195, then 200, we just came from Japan, and they said, ‘OK, just go out, do a few warm-up laps before that.’

"And so I went out, and by lap two, I was wide open. I was doing 220 and I was second fastest of the day. It was like, ‘Oh OK, you’re OK.'"

Montoya would go on to lead 167 of the 200 laps total at the 2000 Indy 500, becoming the first rookie driver to win since Damon's father, Graham Hill, in 1966. He later claimed his second victory of the event in 2015.