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Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian
racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...
in 2019. His race wins include the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
(2000, 2015),
Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
(2003),
24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
(2007, 2008, 2013),
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
(2005),
Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
(2001, 2005),
Grand Prix of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
(1999), and the
Race of Champions The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the end/start of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers. It is the only competition in the world where stars from Formula One, World Ral ...
(2017). Montoya is, alongside
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
, one of only two active drivers who have won two legs of the
Triple Crown of Motorsport The Triple Crown of Motorsport is an unofficial motorsport achievement, often regarded as winning three of the most prestigious motor races in the world in one's career: * the Indianapolis 500 (first held in 1911 Indianapolis 500, 1911) * the 24 H ...
in its more recent definition. Montoya is one of three drivers, along with
Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...
and
Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...
, to win at least one race in
Indy car racing Indy may refer to: Computing and technology * Indy (software), used for Internet access to music * Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include ...
,
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
, and the
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
. In October 2009, Montoya was ranked 30th on ''
Times Online ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''s list of the Top 50
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
drivers of all time.


Early career

Montoya was born in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, where he was taught the techniques of
karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
from an early age by his father Pablo, an architect and
motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
enthusiast. Montoya moved to the Colombian
Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...
Series in 1992, while racing there he won four of eight races and had five poles. The same year he also participated in the U.S.
Skip Barber John "Skip" Barber III (born November 16, 1936) is an American retired racecar driver who is most famous for previously owning and founding the Skip Barber Racing Schools. Driving career Barber started racing in 1958 while studying at Harvard ...
driving school, and was hailed by driving instructors as being one of the best pupils to ever come through their school. 1993 saw Montoya switch to the Swift GTI Championship, a series he dominated by winning seven of eight races and earning eight poles. In 1994, Montoya raced in three separate series: The Sudam 125 Karting (won the title),
Barber Saab Pro Series The Barber Dodge Pro Series was a professional open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were primarily on road and street courses in No ...
(finished third in points, won two races), and Formula N in Mexico (won the title). He graduated from the Colegio San Tarsicio in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
in the same year. Montoya developed into a strong qualifier, in some cases taking 80% of a season's
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
s. For the next three years Montoya raced in various divisions, continually progressing upward. He raced in the 1995 British Formula
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
Championship, winning three races and finishing third in the championship. In 1996, he raced in the British
Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...
with
Fortec Motorsport Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton. Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, Gianmaria Bruni, Danny Watts, Jamie Green, ...
, winning two races, and finishing 5th in the championship points standings, as well as taking part in events in
Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
.


F3000 career – F1 testing


1997

Montoya got the opportunity to advance in his motor racing career when he was hired by the
RSM Marko RSM Marko (known as Red Bull Junior Team in 1999-2003) was a Austria auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing ha ...
team to compete alongside
Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Sup ...
in the 1997 International Formula 3000 season. In the ten races during the season, Montoya had three wins and three pole positions. He finished his rookie season second in the championship points standings, just 1.5 points shy of taking the overall season title. During this time, Williams noticed his potential and invited him to test with the team at
Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
along with three other drivers. Montoya was the fastest of them all and he and
Max Wilson Max Wilson (born August 22, 1972 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a racing driver of Brazilian parentage. Racing career Junior formulae Wilson started his motor racing career in 1985 in go-karts. He moved into single-seaters in 1993, when he was o ...
were signed by
WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...
to be test drivers for the following season.


1998

Alongside his Formula One testing duties for Williams, he competed again in F3000 and took the title in a close contest with
Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver. Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams, and in and with BMW in Formula One, BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a rac ...
who was driving for
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
's F3000 team. During the 1998 F3000 season, Montoya opened the season up with a record four straight pole positions. He also achieved another record that year by being the first driver to lap the entire grid, at the
Pau Grand Prix The Pau Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurat ...
. Montoya won the 1998 F3000 season with four wins, seven pole positions, and nine podium finishes in twelve races.


CART career


1999

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
, Williams's
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
supplier for most of the 1990s, left Formula One at the end of the 1997 season. With no major engine suppliers available, Williams were forced to sign a contract to run customer engines for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. In 1998 the team failed to win a race for the first time in a decade. For the 1999 season, in the hope of attracting more investors to the underperforming team, Frank Williams agreed to a driver swap with CART team owner
Chip Ganassi Floyd Ganassi Jr. (born May 24, 1958) better known as Chip Ganassi, is a US businessman, former racing driver, current team owner and member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He has been involved with the North American auto racing scen ...
, in which Ganassi's 1997 and 1998 CART champion driver,
Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...
, would return to
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
and Montoya would take his place in the competitive American series. While Zanardi had a miserable year in Formula One, Montoya, with
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
power and a
Reynard Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...
chassis at his disposal, took the American motorsport scene by storm. He took the 1999 title in his
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
year, something accomplished six years earlier by former Formula One Champion
Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...
. The season that saw Montoya crowned as the youngest ever CART FedEx Championship Series Champion at the age of 24 was closely fought, especially with
Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
who led the championship going into the final race in California. Both drivers finished the season with equal number of points but Montoya took the title by virtue of having won seven races to the Scotsman's three. His victory in the last race that year, the Marlboro 500, was overshadowed by the death of Greg Moore during the race; Montoya first heard the news after parking his car in victory lane and was seen sobbing. The CART rookie attracted criticism—notably from
Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
and his team for his aggressive style of driving. Montoya still had a contractual relationship with Williams and after his impressive rookie season the Grove-based team were keen for him to drive for them in Formula One. However, he decided to race in the US for one more year.


2000

In 2000, the Ganassi team switched to
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
engines and
Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...
chassis. The package was strong for ovals and high speed tracks, but was less well suited to street and most road circuits. Toyota's engines were not yet reliable and often failed the team. Despite this, Montoya led more laps than anyone else and took the maiden victory for a Toyota engine in the series. But he failed to finish in 40% of the races, and was out of contention for the championship. The Ganassi team also competed in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 of the rival
Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
series using a
G-Force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
chassis and a
Comptech Comptech, also known as Comptech Racing, is a company that designs and builds racing car engines. It was originally started in Sunnyvale, CA in the late 1970s by Doug Petersen and Don Erb. The company moved to a new location in Rancho Cordova, CA i ...
-tuned Oldsmobile Aurora engine. Montoya and his CART teammate
Jimmy Vasser James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
were the first CART drivers to "cross-over" to drive in the Indy 500 since 1996. In the event, the Colombian led 167 of 200 laps and claimed top honours at the end of the race, taking an easy victory on his first attempt. He was the first to do so since Formula One World Champion
Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
in 1966 and was the first Colombian winner. His compatriot Roberto José Guerrero had previously finished twice as runner up. Montoya won the Miller Lite 225 the next week at The Milwaukee Mile. That victory marked his eighth and Toyota's first win in the CART (later
Champ Car World Series Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...
) series.


Formula One career

Over the weekend of the 2000 United States Grand Prix, Williams-BMW announced a two-year deal for Montoya to partner
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
starting in 2001. During the first half of his Formula One career, he consolidated his position as a fast driver and a race win challenger; Montoya became a title contender during 2003 but the hopes of fighting for the title gradually faded as his cars lacked pace. Montoya was voted top
Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
driver at the Premios
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
Sports awards in 2003 and 2005.


Williams (2001–2004)


2001

Montoya made his Formula One debut for the BMW-powered Williams team in the
2001 Formula One season The 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 55th season of FIA Formula One racing. It commenced on 4 March 2001 and ended on 14 October after seventeen races. Michael Schumacher won the Drivers' title with a record margin of 58 points, af ...
at the
Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...
. In that race, he qualified 11th and went off in the first corner and went further down the order but, with a good drive and a high rate of retirements, he went up to fifth until he retired with an engine failure. The second round was the
Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...
and Montoya qualified better in sixth place but stalled on the grid and had to start from the back. He only lasted for three laps before retiring after spinning off in a rain shower. In his third race, the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
, he qualified in fourth place. He got up to second on the first lap and there was a safety car due to an incident in the first corner. On the restart, which was on the third lap, Montoya passed World Champion
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
into the first corner. He held off Schumacher, who was on a two-stop strategy compared to Montoya's one stop strategy until Schumacher's first stop. Montoya now seemed to have the race in his pocket as he had a five-second advantage over eventual winner
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
. However, while he was lapping
Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a former (Formula One) racing driver. Verstappen was the German Formula Three champion and Masters of Formula Three winner in 1993. In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different t ...
, the Dutchman accidentally rammed into the back of him, taking Montoya out. After his performance in Brazil, expectations were high going into the fourth round, the
San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby San ...
. Montoya qualified in seventh, and was well set for points in the race but more bad luck, this time due to a brake failure which took him out of fifth place, leaving him without a point after four races. Round 5 was the
Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
and Montoya needed a good result but did not look like getting it, so, after another poor qualifying, Montoya found himself down in 12th place. He made up for it by making a quick start by gaining five places and was up to sixth in the first corner (
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
was starting from the back of the grid after stalling on the formation lap). He got ahead of
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
in the second round of pit stops. He stayed on the track and climbed up to second due to a high attrition rate. In the next race, the
Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...
, Montoya finally outpaced his teammate
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
in qualifying and took a career-best second. It looked better and better for him as he took the lead at the start and pulled away, with second-placed Ralf holding up a string of five cars behind him. But, after 10 laps, Ralf retired with brake failure. Montoya was struggling with the same problems, and Schumacher had been told to hold the others up so that Montoya could build a gap. With Ralf Schumacher out, the five drivers, led by
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
began to close on Montoya at over a second a lap. Soon, Michael was right on Montoya's tail and tried to pass him around the outside at Remus Curve. Montoya kept on the inside, braked late, locked up and went to the gravel. Schumacher was also forced to go to the gravel to avoid Montoya. Montoya rejoined seventh, just behind Schumacher. Montoya went for an early stop which solved his problems. He was set for one point in sixth until he stopped on the track with a hydraulic failure. After the race, Schumacher said that 'all Montoya was doing was to try to take Schumacher out with himself off the circuit'. In the
Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
, Montoya did not reproduce his previous form and had to be satisfied with qualifying seventh. In the race, he made one position at the start. He then tried to pressure teammate
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
to make a mistake, but it was he himself who made the mistake, by sliding into the barriers on the Swimming Pool section on lap 3. That was the end of the race for him. Montoya went into the
Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports ...
desperately needing some points, after having had only 6 points from seven races. His qualifying did not help the cause at all though, as he qualified way down in 10th. He gained one place at the first corner but then could not keep the pace of the cars in front. He came under pressure from a charging
Rubens Barrichello Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 Toy ...
, and pushed his car too hard and retired after crashing into a wall while trying to both fend off Barrichello and catch up with the cars in front. The ninth round of the season was the
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
and Montoya held pole for most of qualifying only for both
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
and
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
to bump him down to third in the final seconds. At the start of the race, he kept third and ran three seconds behind the two leaders. After the first round of stops, the two leaders came ahead of the one-stopping
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
but Montoya came behind. He was stuck there for five laps and it cost him three seconds. He was forced to settle for third and that became second when Ralf was given a ten-second, stop-and-go penalty for a pitlane infringement. Montoya finished in second, and the result gave him more confidence than ever. Montoya only finished six races, but he nevertheless won three pole positions and stood on the podium four times, including his maiden Formula One victory at the
2001 Italian Grand Prix The 2001 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Gran Premio Campari d'Italia 2001) was a Formula One motor race held on 16 September 2001 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza near to Monza, Lombardy, Italy. It was the 15th round of the 2001 Formula ...
at
Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
. Overall, he finished the season in 6th position in the Drivers' Championship.


2002

In the 2002 Formula One season, Montoya was the best of the rest as
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
's dominance left available no better place than third. Schumacher and
Rubens Barrichello Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 Toy ...
won 15 of 17 races. Although he did not win a race, unlike Coulthard and his teammate Ralf Schumacher, Montoya was one of the few drivers to compete with Schumacher on the track. As in 2001, he stood out for his forceful overtaking moves on the World Champion, although several times he lost places through clashing with the German. For qualifying, the BMW WilliamsF1 FW24 could be set up to use its tires more effectively than its rivals and generate more grip. With this weapon, Montoya was able to achieve seven pole positions, usually setting his pole time in the very last seconds of the session. He set the fastest-ever average speed over a lap (259.83 km/h) during the qualifying session of the 2002 Italian Grand Prix at
Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
. Overall, he finished the season in 3rd position in the Drivers' Championship.


2003

Although the 2003 chassis was built by the team specifically for Montoya's driving style, the machine needed time to be developed. Problems with
oversteer Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Oversteer is what occurs when a car turns (steers) by more than the amount commanded by the driver. Conversely, understeer is what occ ...
were still present, often resulting in 360° spins in front of the crowd, in addition to reliability problems with the BMW engine. From the
Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
, the FW25 proved to be the class of the field, allowing Montoya to take victory at
Circuit de Monaco Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the Principality of Monaco. It is commonly, and even officially, referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside ...
from
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
, joining
Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
as the only winners of both the Monaco GP and the Indy 500.
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
announced that they would take on Montoya's racing services from 2005 at an end of season announcement, although it was believed that he had already decided to leave immediately after the French GP. Bad luck for rivals and excellent on-track performances from the Colombian meant he was a title contender, particularly after a key victory at the
German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in R ...
. Williams, however, were unable to keep pace with the latest developments from
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
, coupled with a mid-season amendment to tyre regulations that forced the Michelin-shod Williams, among others, to quickly make a new design to avoid being disqualified. With that, the Bridgestone-shod Ferraris returned to form. Montoya failed to claim another victory that year. A drive-through penalty at the
United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...
after a collision with Ferrari's Barrichello ended his title chances in the last race he would finish in 2003. He was leading the final race of the season in Japan when he had a hydraulic failure. Overall, he finished the season in 3rd position in the Drivers' Championship.


2004

2004 was a disappointing year for Montoya. His relationship with the team was strained throughout the season since both parties knew he would be leaving for the McLaren team at the end of the year. Early season promise faded as the radical looking 'tusked' Williams FW26 initially lacked pace and both drivers were frequently left struggling to score points. However, the car was significantly overhauled during the season and the radical nose designed by a former Ferrari aerodynamicist was finally replaced with a more conventional one for the final stages of the season. Montoya left the team on a high note by winning his last race with them, the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, which was closely contested with future McLaren teammate
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
. Overall, he finished the season in 5th position in the Drivers' Championship. Montoya would later purchase his race winning FW26 chassis from Frank Williams but claims that BMW refused to sell him an engine.


McLaren (2005–2006)


2005

After driving for Williams for four full seasons, Montoya found the
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
Mercedes car unpredictable, often claiming it felt like the
steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...
was not "attached" to the rest of the car. Criticised in previous years for his lack of fitness Montoya began a training program under the direction of McLaren personnel however all the effort was lost when after the
Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...
he injured his shoulder playing tennis, with reserve drivers
Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
and
Alexander Wurz Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. He is current ...
temporarily replacing him. There is some discrepancy about the injury, as Adrian Newey stated that Montoya "rather disgraced himself by breaking his ankle 'playing tennis' after the second race in Malaysia." In practice for the
Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
Montoya was penalized to start from the back by race stewards for brake-testing his former Williams teammate,
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
, causing a four car collision. At the
Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports ...
Montoya was in contention for the win, but he was disqualified after leaving the pitlane under a red light. As a Michelin runner, Montoya did not start the US Grand Prix (''see 2005 US Grand Prix''). The Colombian was on track for a possible podium finish at Magny-Cours when his hydraulics failed. He retired from the lead of the Hungarian GP due to a broken
driveshaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...
. His teammate had a similar failure eight races earlier, which showed the differences in suspension geometry between both McLarens as the torsional forces are carried out in different manner. During the year Montoya suffered even more from oversteer than he had at Williams. On several occasions he spun during practice. More seriously he spun in his return from injury at the
Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
and most notoriously at the last corner during qualifying for the
German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in R ...
. On that occasion he made up for it by climbing from 20th to 8th after the first two corners eventually finishing in a respectable 2nd. Montoya worked with the team during the year to identify suspension geometry and aerodynamic problems that were making the car unpredictable. He had to learn how to cope with a very nervous and 'oversteery' car, in these conditions and after bad luck for his teammate, he scored his first victory for
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
in the and in the same conditions at the . For most of the season Montoya's major concerns were the ongoing problems with backmarkers. Both
Tiago Monteiro Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup, driving a Honda Civic TCR for Engstler Motorsport. He competed in Formula One between 2005 an ...
and
Antônio Pizzonia Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior (born 11 September 1980) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who has raced in Formula One and the Champ Car World Series. Born in Manaus, he started his car racing career in the Formula Vauxhall Junior s ...
collided with him, as had
Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a former (Formula One) racing driver. Verstappen was the German Formula Three champion and Masters of Formula Three winner in 1993. In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different t ...
in 2001, and
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
forced him off the track in one of the final races of the year. These incidents prevented Montoya from completing his main task for the team; stopping
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
and
Renault F1 The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
from increasing their lead in the standings. In the final stages of the season it was clear that Montoya and his car were finally adapted to one another. The Colombian has often attributed this to the greater effort made by the
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
team than by Williams to tune the car to his driving style. In the last 7 Grands Prix Montoya finished, he scored 3 wins, 2 poles and 5 podiums, as well as set a track record (fastest lap) of 1:24.770, which still stands today, at the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix. At the Brazilian GP, Montoya led home McLaren's first 1–2 result in years, ahead of newly crowned world champion
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
in third, it was his last finish of the year. In Japan he was forced off the track by
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
on lap one, while in China a loose drain cover rose up and hit his car, damaging the engine. Overall, he finished the season in 4th position in the Drivers' Championship.


2006

Montoya started his season learning that the F1 Champion
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
had been contracted by
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
for the season. At the same time McLaren did not take up their option on Montoya for 2007, while his teammate
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
remained a free agent, although it was later revealed that Räikkönen had already signed with
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
for 2007 by the time Alonso had signed with McLaren for 2007. During the first three races, Montoya consistently underperformed on the track, not managing to improve his position from the start at the Bahrain and Malaysia Grands Prix. Problems with his engine mapping also contributed, resulting in poor straight line performance. At the , he drove an excellent race but with a few mistakes. His car spun near the end of the warm-up lap, caused by too much throttle while warming the tyres, and if
Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...
had not stalled his
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
before the start of the race and triggered another formation lap, Montoya would have started at the back end of the grid. He did manage to regain his grid position though, which angered other team managers. His race ended when towards the end of the race he hit a kerb on the exit of the final corner, while chasing
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
hard for third place. The impact triggered an automatic electronic device in the McLaren MP4-21, shutting down his engine as it went into safety mode. In the , Montoya was forced to use the team spare car for the qualifying session when it was learnt that his car had a fuel pressure problem. McLaren fitted his engine into the team spare car, thus saving Montoya from a 10-place grid penalty. He managed to qualify in seventh place ahead of Räikkönen. The race however was very undramatic for him and a steady performance saw him finish third, earning his first podium finish of the season. The races at the
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
and the
Circuit de Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...
, however, were very disappointing for Montoya. He qualified in 9th position for the but then was stuck behind traffic for almost the whole race before his engine failed a few laps from the end. Catalunya saw Montoya failing to qualify in the top 10 for the first time in the season. He qualified 12th in an underperforming McLaren. He was heavily fuelled and was on a one-stop strategy for the race but he spun and his car got stuck on a kerb and his race was over. Montoya had a solid race at
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, inheriting second place 14.5 seconds behind championship leader Fernando Alonso after Räikkönen and Mark Webber went out with engine problems on lap 50. Once again, though, he appeared to be somewhat off his teammate's pace. The saw Montoya pull off a stunning overtaking move on
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
on the opening lap, but contact with
Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...
on the next lap and a mistake at the last corner resulted in Montoya hitting the wall and damaging the car, leading to retirement. The also brought further disappointment to Montoya's season. An 8-car crash on the first corner saw him retire from the race, yet again taking no points. This crash also involved teammate Räikkönen, and as one of the main instigators of the crash thanks to his and Räikkönen's impact being seen as the initial cause of the crash, this cast further doubt upon Montoya's future in Formula One. Montoya's Formula One career effectively came to an end on July 9 when he announced in a public press conference from the US that he had signed a contract to run in the NASCAR series from 2007. On July 11, 2006,
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
announced that Montoya would stop racing for the team with immediate effect. This ultimately confirmed Montoya's exit from F1. However, in the press conference on July 14 at the French Grand Prix, Ron Dennis stated that Montoya was still under contract with McLaren and he would remain in contract with the team until the expiration of the deal. Following further speculation that he could start racing in the NASCAR series as early as 2006, Dennis publicly offered Montoya an early exit from his contract with McLaren, provided that he resigned from receiving any payout to terminate his contract. Overall, he finished the season in 8th position in the Drivers' Championship.


NASCAR


2006 season

On July 9, 2006, Montoya announced his plans to compete in the NASCAR
Nextel Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
series beginning with the 2007 season, racing for Chip Ganassi and
Felix Sabates Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr. (born September 9, 1945) is a retired Cuban-born entrepreneur and philanthropist living in the United States. He is currently a partner in Chip Ganassi Racing teams, which formerly fielded teams in the NASCA ...
's NASCAR operation,
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
, in the No. 42
Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...
/Havoline-sponsored car. "I'm looking forward to racing in the Nextel Cup Series for Chip Ganassi in the Big Red Car. I think I will learn a lot from my teammates and other drivers around me. It will be tough though to get used to the difference in the cars." Montoya made his stock car debut in an
Automobile Racing Club of America The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Log ...
(ARCA) event at the
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
on October 6, 2006. He qualified second, led the first nine laps, and finished third when the race was called after 79 of 92 laps. Three weeks later he followed this with an 11th-place finish after a mid-race spin at the
Sam's Town 250 The Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 presented by the Southern Dodge Dealers was a NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car racing, stock car race that took place at Memphis International Raceway in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1999 to 2009. The 2007 NASC ...
at
Memphis Motorsports Park Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, just approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles ...
, his first appearance in
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
's second division
Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
. He competed in the final three races of the Busch Series season, but did not better this performance. He would later run 17
Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
races on a part-time schedule the following year. On November 19, 2006, Montoya competed for the first time in NASCAR's premier division, the NEXTEL Cup Series. He qualified 29th in the No. 30 Texaco car at the
Ford 400 The Dixie Vodka 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The inaugural race was held in 1999 and was the final race in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2002 until 2019, as well as the final race of the ...
at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He was running just outside the top 10 when contact with Ryan Newman ended his race on lap 251. His car ended up in the grass engulfed in flames due to his fuel cell erupting during the crash and he was credited with a 34th-place finish. Finished 71st in series points.


2007 season

Montoya visited victory lane three times across three different racing series in 2007. He kicked off 2007 with a win in his first Rolex 24 at Daytona race in the
Grand American Road Racing Association Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...
. Then, in just his seventh-career
Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
race, Montoya took the checkered flag in Mexico City to earn his first win in a stock car. His abilities on the road course were evident to his competitors when he captured his first Sprint Cup victory after qualifying 32nd at
Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern ...
. Montoya and his No. 42 crew went on to amass one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes during the 2007 Sprint Cup season. Montoya also earned the honor of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2007 Rookie of the Year and finished 20th in series points.


2008 season

In 2008, Montoya and the No. 42 team amassed two top-five, three top-10 and seven top-15 finishes which include a runner-up finish at
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
. In addition, Montoya became the first driver in history to win in his first two starts in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which he won with teammates Scott Pruett,
Memo Rojas Guillermo "Memo" Rojas Jr. (born August 18, 1981) is a Mexican professional race car driver. Successful in American sports car racing, Rojas is a four-time series champion in the Rolex Sports Car Series, a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Day ...
and
Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
. Montoya ended the season 25th in the points standings, 5 spots lower than in 2007. On November 14, it was announced the Ganassi team would merge with Dale Earnhardt Inc., Montoya was confirmed to drive the No. 42 as the team switches from Dodge to Chevrolet.


2009: Only Chase Appearance

It was announced in January that
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
would take over as Montoya's primary sponsor for the 2009 Cup season. Montoya ran in the
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
and finished second after a thrilling duel with
David Donohue David Donohue (born January 5, 1967 in Morristown, New Jersey) is an American race car driver formerly active in the Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class for Action Express Racing and participant in the Pikes Peak races. Car ...
. Montoya's Lexus did not have the speed that Donohue had in the Porsche he was driving, and when Montoya was slowed by lap traffic in the chicane, Donohue was able to pass Montoya and hold him off to take the victory, denying Montoya what would have been his third straight 24-hour win. The margin of victory in the 2009 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona was 0.167 seconds, making it the closest finish in Rolex 24 Hour history. Montoya finished 14th in the
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and finished 11th at Auto Club Speedway. On April 25, he won his first career pole at the
Aaron's 499 The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of ...
at Talladega. After going a lap down Montoya finished 8th at the
Pocono 500 The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held th ...
at Pocono Raceway. He followed this up a week later with a 6th place at the Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. After racing in the top-10 all day, Montoya got his third top 10 in a row with a 6th place at the
Toyota/Save Mart 350 The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007. The r ...
at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. Montoya got his best ever finish at
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
in the
Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series c ...
where after going a lap down twice he battled back to 9th. Montoya dominated the
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Mo ...
in Indianapolis on July 26 after starting from second position. It was the first time in his NASCAR career that he scored bonus points for leading the most laps in the event, however, he was penalized with a drive-through penalty after his last pit stop for speeding in the pit lane. His healthy 5-second advantage over the rest of the field was gone and he ended up finishing 11th. After a pit lane error Montoya slipped back from his top-10 spot at the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. However, a good pit call meant Montoya pitted prior to a caution which meant he started the next restart in 4th. After slipping back to 5th he made up good ground to pass Bowyer for 2nd. He went after the leader, Denny Hamlin but could not catch him. The second-place finish was his first top 5 of the year and joint best on an oval. At the Carfax 400 at Michigan, Montoya posted the 3rd quickest qualifying time just 0.087 seconds off of the pole. In the race Montoya gradually slipped back and grew frustrated with crew chief Brian Pattie as the car was getting tighter and tighter,
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
and Montoya made contact when the 9 car got loose and its splitter touched the 42's right rear tire. The contact resulted in Montoya's right rear going flat and he lost a lap on pit road fixing the minor body damage. However he shortly got the lucky dog and raced up to 20th before dropping back to 23rd, Montoya gained 4 positions on the last lap as others ran out of fuel, resulting in a 19th-place finish which at least kept Juan 7th in points. Montoya finished the first 26 races in eighth place in the standings, which made him the first foreign born driver to qualify for the
Chase for the Sprint Cup The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...
. He began the Chase in 11th place after reseeding, and was placed as high as 3rd during the Chase before finishing the year in eighth place.


2010 season

Montoya ran in the
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
for Chip Ganassi in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley with NASCAR teammate Jamie McMurray and Indycar champions
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
and
Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
. Montoya reunited with his old engine manufacturer BMW when Montoya drove
WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...
in 2001–2004. The team led for around four hours and completed 249 laps. However, the car was forced to retire after 8:29:58 due to an engine failure, robbing the team of a potential victory. The Ganassi No. 01 entry then took the lead before Action Express Racing ultimately took the checkered flag. Montoya began his NASCAR season with Daytona Speedweeks; the first race was the Bud Shootout exhibition race in which he finished 10th. Montoya had earlier posted the fifth fastest time in
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
qualifying but the unique qualifying system during Speedweeks meant Montoya would start P2 in the 2nd
Gatorade Duel The Bluegreen Vacations Duel, formerly known as the Twin 125s, is a NASCAR Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, which both serve as a qualifying rac ...
on Thursday the 11th to race for starting position in the Daytona 500 on the 14th. Montoya started the 2010 edition of the Watkins Glen race in 3rd place and led 74 of the 90 laps to win his 2nd career Sprint Cup Series race. This made him the first foreign-born driver to have multiple wins in NASCAR Sprint Cup history. Montoya did not make the Chase for the Sprint Cup and ended up 17th in points with six top-fives and fourteen top-tens. Montoya also won the pole for the
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 The Crayon 301 is a 301 lap ( annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Christopher Bell is the defending winner, having won it in 2022. History The race has been traditionally ...
, the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...
, and the
AMP Energy Juice 500 The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, hosting an event in the NASCAR playoffs. The race is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with tapered sp ...
.


2011 season

The 2011 season started well for Montoya. Montoya,
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
,
Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
, and
Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for '' Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 ...
drove the No. 02
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
BMW Riley to start 5th and finish 2nd in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The No. 02 team finished behind their teammates driving the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley. Montoya started the 2011 NASCAR season on a high note finishing 6th in the
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and 5th in points. He was involved in two wrecks, both involving Jamie McMurray, his teammate. No serious damage occurred to either of the cars; they both ended up in the top ten. Two weeks later in the
Kobalt Tools 400 The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first of two races at Las Vegas with the other one being the South Point 400 in the playof ...
at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
, Montoya, in a blue
Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...
scheme led seven laps and finished 3rd. Montoya won the pole for the
Auto Club 400 The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well as f ...
and the
Crown Royal 400 The Toyota Owners 400 is a 400 lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. From 2007 to 2011, former race title sponsor Crown Royal named the race after the winner of an essay contest during Dayton ...
. It was announced that his crew chief since mid-2008, Brian Pattie, would be replaced by Jim Pohlman.


2012 season

Montoya re-signed with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to remain in the No. 42 car in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012. During a caution period on lap 160 of the 2012 Daytona 500, a defective rear suspension on his No. 42 Chevrolet inexplicably collapsed, sending Montoya careening into a track support vehicle towing a jet dryer. Leaking vapor from the dryer caught fire and led to a lengthy red flag. The driver of the support vehicle and Montoya were both cleared medically after the accident. The 2012 season was the second-worst in Montoya's Sprint Cup career, in which he finished 22nd in points with 5 DNF's. The only headlines he captured were back-to-back poles in the
Pennsylvania 400 The Unannounced Sponsor Pocono Cup race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Starting in 2022, it is the only Cup Series race at the track after the other Cup Series race at Pocono, the Po ...
in
Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
and the Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen at
Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
, along with two of 8th-place finishes in the
Food City 500 The Food City Dirt Race is an annual 250-lap, NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. It was the ...
at
Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...
and the
Quicken Loans 400 The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...
at
Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
. Montoya also ran two
Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...
Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
races in the BMW-powered No.02 for
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
—the
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
and the Brickyard Grand Prix at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
, as part of Super Weekend at the Brickyard, finishing in fourth place in both events.


2013 season

Montoya began the 2013 season becoming NASCAR's first and only driver ever to score three 24 Hour of Daytona victories, co-piloting Chip Ganassi Racing's Riley-BMW to first place overall, in the
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
on January 26–27. In the
Toyota Owners 400 The Toyota Owners 400 is a 400 lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. From 2007 to 2011, former race title sponsor Crown Royal named the race after the winner of an essay contest during Dayton ...
at
Richmond International Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
, Montoya almost scored his first career Sprint Cup Series oval-track win, but finished fourth due to an untimely caution coming out with three laps to go (caused by
Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured ...
crashing). He also nearly won Dover but ended up being passed by
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
with three laps remaining. In the
Toyota/Save Mart 350 The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007. The r ...
at
Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern S ...
, Montoya was in second place behind eventual race winner
Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
, but ran out of fuel on the final lap and dropped 32 positions, finishing 34th. On August 13, 2013, it was announced that Montoya's contract with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing would not be renewed for the 2014 season. He would be replaced by
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champi ...
.


2014 season

Montoya raced twice in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
for
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
in between his IndyCar commitments, finishing 18th at Michigan and 23rd at Indianapolis.


Return to IndyCar

On September 16, 2013, it was announced for the 2014 racing season Montoya would compete in the
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
, driving the No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet for
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
.


2014 season

On May 10, 2014, Montoya raced in the
2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis The 2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the inaugural running of the event, was an IndyCar Series race held on May 10, 2014, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The fourth round of the 2014 IndyCar Series season, it was won by Simon Pagenaud of Sc ...
, which was the fifth different race Montoya had competed in at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
, a record. On May 25, 2014, Montoya raced in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and finished in 5th place. He had started at 10th in the race after having a good second-day of qualifying, and was spotted by Derek Higgins, the 2-time champion of the Mexican Formula 3. On July 6, 2014, Montoya won the Pocono IndyCar 500. This was his first IndyCar race win since 2000, when he won the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. Montoya also set the record for the "Fastest 500 Mile Race in Motorsports History" with his win at
Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
. The average speed was 202.402 mph.


2015 season

Montoya won the opening race of the season at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, then finished on the podium again at the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 5th in the Grand Prix of Louisiana, and on May 24, 2015, Montoya passed his teammate
Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
with four laps to go to win the 2015 Indianapolis 500. He finished 2nd in the title standings to
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
on a count back much like the way he won the 1999
CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...
title from
Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
.


2016 season

Montoya once again won the opening race of the season at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Montoya passed
Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Ca ...
on a restart at Lap 64 of the 110 lap race, and took the victory over his teammate
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
. During the remainder of the year Montoya took two further podium finishes and finished the season in eighth position in the championship. After the end of the season, Penske informed Montoya that he was to be replaced in the team's full-time driver line-up by
Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion. Career Karting Newga ...
. Montoya and Penske did however reach a one-race deal that would allow Montoya to compete in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 for Penske.


2017 season

After more than 6 months of absence, Montoya returned with Penske for the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, in which he finished in the 6th position being the second best pilot of the Penske Team after
Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
. Weeks after the race it was confirmed that Montoya and
Oriol Servia Oriol () is a Catalan name, which can be found as a given name or a surname. It derives from the Latin word ''aureus'' (golden). It was originally just a surname, but started to be used as a given name in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol. It may refe ...
will be the test pilots for the 2018 IndyCar new aerodynamic kits.


2021 season

Montoya made a brief return to IndyCar with
Arrow McLaren SP The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined ...
in the 2021 season, finishing 21st in the
Grand Prix of Indianapolis The IndyCar Series hosts two races a year on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The first, the GMR Grand Prix is held in early May with an inaugural running in 2014. The second race, the Gallagher G ...
and 9th in the
2021 Indianapolis 500 The 2021 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (800 km, 200 lap) race in the 2021 IndyCar Series, held on May 30, 2021, at the Indianapolis ...
.


2022 season

It was confirmed near the beginning of 2022, that Montoya would again compete with Arrow McLaren SP in the 2022 Grand Prix of Indianpolis and the 2022 Indianpolis 500. He finished 24th and 11th in both races, respectively.


IMSA career

During the 2016 season, it was reported that Team Penske was looking at returning to top-level North American
sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
in the
International Motor Sports Association The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
(IMSA)
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...
, and that Montoya would be the team's lead driver. In 2017 it was confirmed that Montoya would partner with former Prototype champion
Dane Cameron Dane Cameron (born October 18, 1988) is an American racing driver from Glen Ellen, California. He won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship overall in 2016 and 2019, and also in the GTD class in 2014. Racing career After karting, Cameron ...
in a Team Penske-run
Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...
ARX-05
Daytona Prototype international A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replaceme ...
starting with the
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
Rolex 24 at Daytona. Montoya teamed with
Helio Castroneves Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * He ...
and
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
at the 2017
Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...
in a stock Oreca 07-Gibson, scoring a podium in what was described as a "dress rehearsal" for the team prior to the 2018 season.


2017 season

Acura Team Penske made their IMSA debut at the last race of the season, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Montoya teamed with Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud in an Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 car which took pole position and finished in third place.


2018 season

For the 2018 IMSA season Montoya officially partnered Dane Cameron in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske entry. Montoya's first podium of the 2018 IMSA season came at Mid-Ohio, where Montoya and Cameron finished 2nd place to Castroneves and Taylor. The Montoya/Cameron duo would score three more podiums at Belle Isle, Watkins Glen, and Laguna Seca that season. Their season ended with a 5th place in the drivers championship standings with four total podiums and a 2nd place as their best result out of 10 races. Montoya would also make his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018. Montoya along with ex-F1 driver Paul di Resta were drafted into United Autosports to contest the race in two separate LMP2 entries. Montoya shared his seat in the No. 32 Ligier JSP217 with Hugo de Sadeleer and Will Owen. During the race, Montoya locked-up under braking and crashed at Indianapolis corner during one of his stints. The team was able to recover the car, replace the front fascia, and continue racing after re-joining two laps down. Benefiting from post-race penalties to cars ahead in-class, Montoya and his co-drivers were later elevated to the podium with a third-place in the LMP2 class and a seventh-place overall finish.


2019 season

In 2019 Montoya and Cameron began the IMSA season with improved but modest finishes at Daytona and Sebring, but began to bounce back harder during the shorter races in the season. They were able to podium at Long Beach with 3rd place, and took the No. 6 car's maiden win at Mid-Ohio in dominant fashion. Every race from Long Beach to Laguna Seca would see the No. 6 duo of Montoya and Cameron on the podium. They were able to enter the 2019 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta season finale with a points advantage and secured the IMSA Prototype championship for Acura Team Penske with a fourth-place finish. In total, Montoya and Cameron shared three wins and seven podiums from 10 races, winning at Mid-Ohio, Belle Isle, and Laguna Seca.


2020 season

For 2020 Montoya and Cameron would again improve at Daytona and Sebring, finishing just outside the podium places in each race. Montoya finished down the order at Road America, after being rear-ended by another entry during harsh rains while on-track. Montoya and Cameron also had an incident-filled race during the following round at Road Atlanta. Cameron spun on cold tires during the rolling race start and so began the race at a disadvantage. Montoya was later rear-ended during the final round of pit-stops by Ryan Briscoe, and then suffered a collision with another entry while navigating a pass through the esses. Montoya would also, as a last-minute replacement for fellow IMSA Prototype driver Pipo Derani, contest his second 24 Hours of Le Mans. This time he would drive the No. 21 Dragonspeed USA Oreca-07 LMP2 entry, sharing a seat with Memo Rojas and Timothé Buret.


2021 season

Montoya participated with the Acura Team in the 24h of Daytona. The team qualified fourth and finished 4th in the race 54.418 seconds behind the winner.


2022 season

For 2022, Montoya announced he would be racing in the
IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...
for
DragonSpeed DragonSpeed Racing is an American racing team that competes in the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2019, the team entered the NTT IndyCar Series with a five race schedule, including t ...
in the LMP2 class. His first race of the season was at Sebring, where he raced alongside his son. The car retired after Juan Pablo was involved in a multi car collision shortly after taking the wheel from his son at hour three, at which point they were leading their class. Success was achieved with a third place at
Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho ...
, before taking victory at
Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regi ...
in May.


Helmet design

Montoya's helmet was silver (or white) with red and blue arrow designs on the sides with yellow lines on the arrows' center and the yellow mouthplate area. The Formula Smiles Foundation held a yearly competition for Colombian children to design a helmet for Montoya to use in the Brazilian Grand Prix between 2002 and 2005. The winning entrant travelled to the Grand Prix as a guest of Montoya, and the helmets were auctioned off for the Foundation. At Penske, he would change the colors to match the car's sponsor, rather than his traditional Colombian national colors, as is required for all Penske drivers, while keeping the arrow design.


Legal issues

In early November 2013, the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
stated that Montoya owed $2.7 million
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
due to disallowed deductions from 2007 and 2008. Montoya stated that he had earned $800,000 over his reported income, but filed a challenge to the audit in
U.S. Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Trib ...
.


Personal life

Montoya builds and flies
radio-controlled aircraft A radio-controlled aircraft (often called RC aircraft or RC plane) is a small flying machine that is controlled remotely by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver ( ...
in his spare time. He is the father of racing driver
Sebastián Montoya Sebastián "Sebas" Montoya Freydell (born 11 April 2005) is a Colombian-American racing driver who is currently competing for Prema Racing in the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship and the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Campos Racin ...
.


Motorsport career results


References


External links

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News videos and results of Juan Pablo MontoyaThe Greatest 33Greatest 33 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Juan Pablo 1975 births 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers Barber Pro Series drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Champ Car champions Champ Car drivers Colombian Formula One drivers Colombian people of Spanish descent Colombian racing drivers Formula One race winners Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Indianapolis 500 winners IndyCar Series drivers Colombian IndyCar Series drivers International Formula 3000 Champions International Formula 3000 drivers Laureus World Sports Awards winners Living people McLaren Formula One drivers NASCAR drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Sportspeople from Bogotá Williams Formula One drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Paul Stewart Racing drivers Fortec Motorsport drivers RSM Marko drivers Super Nova Racing drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Team Penske drivers United Autosports drivers Arrow McLaren SP drivers Meyer Shank Racing drivers DragonSpeed drivers Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers