INDIANAPOLIS -- Juan Pablo Montoya's quest to become a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 ended in the Turn 2 wall Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Montoya, the Indy 500 victor in 2000 and 2015, had his Team Penske Chevrolet snap out of control on the 64th of 200 laps, completing a full spin before striking the SAFER barrier with the nose. Damage to the car was moderate and Montoya was uninjured, but he was unable to continue in the race.
"It was loose and I just lost the car," Montoya said. "It got loose in the corner and the thing just snapped.
"It's just difficult. People are doing dumb things on the restarts. I was just taking my time coming through the field and the car felt pretty good. It just snapped out of nowhere."
Third-year driver Sage Karam also encountered grief in Turn 2 with a much harder crash on Lap 95. Karam was fighting for sixth place with Townsend Bell when his Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet got out of the groove and smacked the wall with the right side.
Three-time Indianapolis winner Helio Castroneves was the leader as the race neared the halfway point.