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It wasn\u2019t too long ago that Colombian race car driver Carlos Mu\u00f1oz was on the verge of winning the biggest race of his career. But during his IndyCar debut, he finished second at the 2013 Indianapolis 500 behind the legendary driver, Tony Kanaan.<\/p>\n
It was after that heartbreaking moment that he made a promise to himself that he would win that race one day.<\/p>\n
Despite the loss, Mu\u00f1oz won the 2013 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award. Since then, the 25-year-old race car driver has also won the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, his first IndyCar race at Belle Isle in 2015, and placed second\u2014again\u2014at the 2016 Indianapolis 500.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat launched my career was 2013,\u201d said Mu\u00f1oz, who is thankful for the Indianapolis 500 race, one of the most prestigious in the sport. \u201cThank God I did well in that race and I came in second place as I fought for the win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s passion for racing began in his native Bogot\u00e1, when a friend of his father\u2019s brought a go-kart as a form of payment from a prior debt. Mu\u00f1oz and his sister were immediately thrilled with the kart, but realized it was far too big for them to drive it.<\/span><\/p>\n With a desire to pursue racing, his family signed him up in a few courses at La Escuela Colombiana de Karts. Since then, the IndyCar driver\u2019s career has taken off.<\/p>\n So far, Mu\u00f1oz has had the opportunity to share the tracks with all-time greats that he\u2019s admired since childhood, such as fellow Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn my case, my compatriot, Juan Pablo Montoya has always been a great example for me,\u201d said Mu\u00f1oz. \u201cFor me he has always been a great example since I was a little boy as I saw him race at Formula One and IndyCar. He\u2019s always been a great example and there are others like Helio Castroneves at IndyCar who\u2019s also an example. These two are two drivers with history like Michael Schumacher as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Like any other sport, the Colombian race car driver says that preparing for races is challenging and requires certain dedication.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think, like any other sport, the preparation comes in way before, like a game,\u201d said Mu\u00f1oz. \u00a0\u201cJust like soccer, baseball, basketball or any other sport. \u00a0The preparation for a driver is mentally and physically because the races are very long [up to 500 miles] and mentally you also have to be fresh and well overall and your team also has to do a great job with the engineers, mechanics and all of that is what makes you good. A good pilot with a bad car won\u2019t do anything or vice versa a bad pilot can do well with a good car.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Today, Mu\u00f1oz drives with A.J. Foyt Enterprises, and currently ranks 16th in the 2017 IndyCar Standings. He\u2019s scheduled to race this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma (85 laps).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI invite you all to come over on Sunday, Sept. 17,\u201d said Mu\u00f1oz. \u201cIt\u2019s the last race of the year. You\u2019re going to have a great time. Aside from racing, there are other activities, so come and support the Latinos that are representing you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [su_carousel source=”media: 35548,35549,35550″ limit=”65″ link=”lightbox” target=”blank” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] It wasn\u2019t too long ago that Colombian race car driver Carlos Mu\u00f1oz was on the verge of winning the biggest race of his career. But during his IndyCar debut, he finished second at the 2013 Indianapolis 500 behind the legendary driver, Tony Kanaan. It was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":35548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[269],"tags":[14662,3743,14666,14664,14668],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-35538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-en","tag-carlos-munoz","tag-colombia-en","tag-indianapolis-500","tag-indycar","tag-juan-pablo-montoya","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n