career in earnest in Europe. A pre-teen, he chose his career path which led to his moving to Spain to live with a racing family (unknown to him at the time). They became like family (the son ‘Santi’ is now Muñoz’s agent as well as his driver coach).  At 16, the teenager moved to England to continue his promising career.

That fateful decision was made half a lifetime ago and at age 25, Muñoz appears to have made the right one as he is one of the youngest stars on the Verizon IndyCar Series horizon. In just four short years (and only three full seasons) he has put together an impressive résumé in this country’s premier open wheel series.

Consider the 2013 Indianapolis 500 where he started and finished second in his IndyCar debut! Moreover, that race was his first time competing on an oval track in an Indy car. The feat earned him the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year title. He followed up by finishing fourth at Indy in 2014, and runner-up again in 2016. In 2015, a decision not to pit for fresh tires with 27 laps remaining in the 500 put Muñoz in the lead but the cars with fresh rubber passed him under green. He placed 20th.

His season rankings also bode well as in his three full IndyCar seasons, he has finished eighth, 13th, and last year, 10th. In 53 starts through 2016, Muñoz has posted 23 top-10s including 11 top-5 finishes. At 23, he won his first race in Race 2 of the 2015 Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle. And certainly what must appeal to any team owner, he’s only had nine DNFs.

Larry Foyt liked what he saw on that résumé and conveyed as much to his famous father when discussing driver options for the 2017 season. Terms were agreed to and Muñoz is now ready to embark on the next stage of his career as the pilot of the No. 14, a number made famous by his legendary team owner.

“I think I will grow a lot because my position in the team is different,” Muñoz said. “I will be the leading driver so your mentality changes a little bit. You can be more a part of organizing a good team around you. I had several offers but I chose this one because I think they want to do good and I want to work with people who want to do good.”

Muñoz spent his last five seasons with Andretti Autosport, the team that first put him in an Indy Lights car in 2012. He proved right away that he belonged as he won races at Auto Club Speedway and swept the card at Edmonton as a rookie. He recorded five podium finishes, seven top-5 and nine top-10 finishes, ranking fifth in the standings.

His following year in Lights, he finished third in the standings with four victories, including back-to-back wins from pole at Barber and Long Beach. He won five poles that year and posted 11 top-10 finishes, eight of which were in the top-5.

His European results were not quite as impressive, owing more to the teams he raced with than his talent. In fact after a disappointing season in Formula 3 in 2011 (despite winning poles, he went winless with runner-up his best finish), he considered retiring from racing at the tender age of 22.

“My last year in Formula 3 we didn’t get the results we wanted, we were expecting much more,” Muñoz explained. “So I was thinking about retiring or going to university because the next step was GP2 and a lot of money involved. With the world financial crisis, Formula 1 was really hard and we knew it was going to be really tough to move up to F-1 whether you ran GP2 or not. We decided to make a last chance in America and go to the Indy Lights Series to see if it worked. It worked really well.”

Quiet in nature, Muñoz exudes a confidence that comes out on the track, and occasionally when pressed, in his answers. Asked about his strengths as a driver, he replied, “I think inside the car I’m a driver that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. I know when I’m fast and I know when I’m not fast too. I try to make the best out of it all the time. I think I’m a fast driver as well, aggressive when I need to be aggressive. Those are my strengths in the car.”

He is also one to give credit where he feels credit is due. In speaking of his first Indy 500, he said, “In my first 500 I had really good teammates that helped me a lot to have a really good car.” And of fellow countryman Juan Pablo Montoya, Muñoz said, “We always talk. My first 500 he really helped me, gave me some tips. We have a great relationship together.”

Asked about the best race he ever drove, he revealed, “I think my best race was my last 500 when I finished second [2016]. I think I’ve driven some really good races but that was the best…there weren’t too many challenges in the race but I think I did my best driving in the whole time I’ve been at Indianapolis. I did everything that was in my hands to win that race, I was the fastest at the time and at the end of the race I was the fastest, so I think I drove a really good race. In the beginning of the race I was really pushing, and then at the end I could really show my potential, I was flying.”

Did he think he would have gotten past winner Alexander Rossi with another lap to go?

“My mentality is that I didn’t cross the finish line first. He won, he did a really good job. I don’t think in ‘What ifs’ because it’s in the past and you’re not going to change anything.”

Looking towards the future, Muñoz is working to help change the fortunes of his new team and return them to the winner’s circle once more.