Like its founder, Armando Montelongo Racing has been an underdog. And like its founder, the team has been successful in its first two shots as a sponsor in the Izod Indy Car Series.

In 2010, it sponsored rookie driver Mario Romancini at the Indianapolis 500, and he responded by finishing 13^th. Romanici earned the Fastest Rookie of the Year award from the American Dairy Association of Indiana, crossing the line first among all first-year drivers at the biggest spectacle in U.S. auto racing.

In 2011, Armando Montelongo Racing backed another rookie, 27-year-old Pippa Mann – the first British woman to ever drive in the Indy 500 – in the 100^th edition of the legendary race.

Mann qualified for the race on “bump day,” squeezing into the field in the middle of the back row in the 33-car field. Race day could have turned into a disaster after her in-car hydration system failed, but she battled through heat-related problems throughout the day and finished the race, coming in 20^th.