IndyCar: Juan Pablo Montoya's face unveiled on Borg-Warner
INDIANAPOLIS - Juan Pablo Montoya is discovering his second time around as the winner of the Indianapolis 500 is much more enjoyable and a greater honor than his first victory in the "World's Most Famous Race" in 2000.
He missed some of the accolades that go to the winner 15 years ago because at the end of that season he left the United States to move his racing career in a different direction. But, Wednesday night he was able to partake in the greatest honor of all that goes to the winner - having his face unveiled on the Borg-Warner Trophy along with every winner of the previous 99 Indianapolis 500s and the man who saved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from extinction in 1945, the late Tony Hulman.
"This is the first time for me to do all of this because the first time I did this I left for Europe for Formula One and didn't get to do any of this," Montoya said. "Now that I'm here and you appreciate the history of what Indy is it's really amazing. It's special to be here and win this for Roger Penske and everybody at Team Penske. It was a huge team effort and they make me look really, really good. It's exciting to come here and next year will be the 100th running of the Indianapolis. Driving into the Speedway today was cool to officially do all of this. It was really cool."
Scott Gallett is BorgWarner's Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing and officially unveiled the image of Montoya's face for the second time in his career Wednesday night at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Juan Pablo Montoya (left) and Scott Gallett, BorgWarner Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing (right), pose with the Borg-Warner Trophy during a ceremony at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Being responsible for the trophy is the best part of my job," Gallett said. "I consider it an honor to be responsible for this trophy even if it is a short period of time. Drivers like Juan have earned a spot in history to have their face on this trophy forever."
The trophy was recently appraised for $3.7 million dollars and has been part of the Indianapolis 500 since 1936.
"The trophy is really priceless with the amount of people that come through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see it," Gallett said.
Montoya is the first driver who actually went to noted sculptor William Behrends' studio in Tryon, North Carolina to see the image as it was made over a process that begins with photos, and later clay, before it was turned into the silver image placed onto the gleaming trophy. Behrends is the man who sculpts the winner's face that goes on the Borg-Warner Trophy since Arie Luyendyk's win in 1990.
Juan Pablo Montoya poses with his face unveiled on the Borg-Warner Trophy during a ceremony at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Montoya joked that he wanted to be the first driver to stick his tongue out on the trophy and Behrends jokingly made an image to display the Colombian driver's sense of humor that was put on a T-shirt presented to Montoya. That image, of course, is not the one on the trophy.
Montoya did not see that final image until the trophy was unveiled.
"I think this image looks a lot like the first one in 2000 and that's a good thing," Montoya said. "It's pretty cool to be back on the trophy for a second time. "It's exciting to be back on the trophy. You can talk about it as much as you want, but until you see it on the trophy you don't understand what it really means. It's very different to see it in clay than in silver. It's pretty cool.
"It's nice to be on there for the second time. For my kids to be here and see the face knowing they were part of this one is pretty special. This is a lot more special than the first win. The second win was a lot of work. Now, we just want to win more. That is why Roger Penske hired me to come to Indy and do this. I think there is a lot more where that came from."
