At one point, Juan Pablo Montoya found himself in 30th place in the Indianapolis 500. But a series of crashes and a thrilling final 15 laps later, Montoya was able to outduel Will Power, Charlie Kimball and Scott Dixon and win this year's iconic race, his second Indy 500 conquest.
Of course, Montoya left the IndyCar Series for quite a long time, and his track record at Indianapolis is nearly spotless.
It was a long, calculated race for Montoya.
The final 15 laps featured breathless racing, as Montoya, Power and Dixon each claimed ownership of the lead several times while passing one another in thrilling fashion. Ultimately, however, Montoya made his move at the right time, as Dixon slipped into fourth and Power wasn't able to overcome Montoya.
Montoya led for only nine of the race's 500 laps. He certainly picked the correct nine to lead, though.
Much like the week of practice leading up to the Indianapolis 500, the race itself wasn't without its share of crashes. On the very first lap, there was a fender-bender that involved Sage Karam, Takuma Sato and Ryan Briscoe.
Fan favorite Tony Kanaan, who had been running near the front of the pack the entire race and looked like he had one of the best cars in the field, was lost for the day after hitting the wall.
Kanaan couldn't resist the opportunity to take a shot at those critics complaining about the week's slew of crashes.
Two of Tristan Vautier's pit crew members appeared to be injured in a grim scene when James Davison collided with Pippa Mann, initiating a chain reaction that resulted in the former's clipping the unsuspecting victims.
Thankfully, no cars went airborne during the race. After a scary week of qualifying and practice, that much was a relief.
While Kanaan walked away from his wreck, Sebastian Saavedra wasn't quite so lucky after his collision that also involved Jack Hawksworth and Stefano Coletti.
Despite the drama of the crashes and the tight finish, it was Montoya's day. The motorsports legend once again cemented himself among racing's most decorated drivers in recent memory, joining elite company as one of just two drivers to have conquered American racing's most iconic event on multiple occasions.
Given his proficiency at this race, don't be surprised if he manages to capture one or two more checkered flags at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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