Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya is a Colombian driver who raced in a total of 97 IndyCar races between 1999 and 2022. In 1999, he won the championship as a rookie and also won the Indy 500 in both 2000 and 2015.

Early Years and Breakthrough

Montoya is one of the few drivers who has raced in Formula 1, IndyCar, CART, and NASCAR. Like many others, he started his career in karting. In the early 1990s, he raced in several Colombian karting series, where he achieved many wins. In 1995, Montoya moved to the British Formula Vauxhall Series, and in 1996, he joined British Formula 3 with the Fortec team, where he also scored multiple victories.

Move to F3000 and Formula 1

In 1997, Montoya transitioned to the F3000 series, where he raced for two years. During that time, he secured seven wins, culminating in the championship title in 1998. Alongside his F3000 testing, Montoya also drove the Williams F1 car, the team he would join in 1999 to race in the top tier of motorsport. However, due to financial reasons, a driver swap occurred with the CART team of Chip Ganassi. Two-time CART champion Alessandro Zanardi moved to Williams, and Montoya joined Ganassi's Target team, which proved to be a great move for him. Zanardi struggled with Williams, but Montoya won the 1999 CART championship with seven victories.

Indy 500 Win and Formula 1 Career

In 2000, during a slightly less successful season in CART, Montoya and Chip Ganassi made an appearance in the Indy Racing League for the Indianapolis 500. Although he narrowly missed the pole position, he dominated the race and won the prestigious 500-mile event. In 2001, Montoya finally joined Williams in Formula 1. During his four years with the team, he secured four race wins. In the middle two years, Montoya finished third in the championship, but a series of retirements prevented him from winning the title. In 2005, he moved to McLaren, but despite three victories, he finished the season in fourth place. In mid-2006, Montoya left F1 to race in various NASCAR series for Chip Ganassi.

NASCAR Career

From 2007 to 2013, Juan Pablo Montoya raced for Ganassi in the NASCAR Cup Series, participating in 253 races, and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he raced 24 times. However, Montoya achieved only a limited number of notable results in both series. In addition to his NASCAR races, Montoya competed seven times in the 24 Hours of Daytona, where he won the race in 2007, 2008, and 2013.

Return to IndyCar

In 2014, after a 14-year absence, Juan Pablo Montoya returned to the IndyCar Series. He raced the entire NTT IndyCar Series season for Team Penske, and his comeback proved to be a success right from the start. The former Formula 1 driver achieved nine top-ten finishes, including a win at Pocono Raceway, a race he started from pole position. Montoya finished his first IndyCar season since 2000 in a respectable fourth place. Additionally, he raced two NASCAR events for Penske in Michigan and Indianapolis.

2015: The Fairytale Season

In 2015, a long-awaited fairytale seemed to be unfolding for Montoya. He achieved thirteen top-ten finishes from sixteen races and won the Indianapolis 500 for the second time in his career. Montoya also led the championship for most of the season. In addition to the Indy 500, he won the season opener in St. Petersburg. However, during the finale at Sonoma Raceway, where double points were awarded, Montoya encountered an unfortunate situation. He was involved in an incident with teammate Will Power, who was also a championship contender. Montoya finished the race in sixth, while Scott Dixon won the event. Dixon, with the same points as Montoya, had one more win, and as a result, Montoya lost the title in the final moments, settling for second place.

2016: More Challenges

In 2016, Montoya began the season the same way he did the previous year—with a victory in St. Petersburg. During the second race at Phoenix Raceway, he seemed unbeatable for much of the event until a puncture ruined his chances. The rest of the season didn’t go as well for Montoya, with a major low being a last-place finish in the 100th Indianapolis 500 after he was the first to crash out. He finished the season eighth in the standings, with ten top-ten finishes, one win, and podiums in Detroit and Sonoma. Due to Josef Newgarden's strong performance with Ed Carpenter Racing, Roger Penske decided to place Montoya in his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program with Acura, opening up a spot for Newgarden at Team Penske in IndyCar.

Development Year and IMSA Success

In 2017, Montoya focused primarily on developing race cars. In addition to working on the Acura Team Penske car, he was also involved in developing the new IndyCar aerokit that debuted in 2018. In May 2017, Penske provided Montoya with an extra car so he could remain competitive. In the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, he finished tenth, and during the Indianapolis 500, he finished sixth after starting eighteenth. He concluded the season by participating in the Petit Le Mans, where he finished third.

IMSA Title and Further Success

From 2018 to 2020, Montoya raced full-time for Acura Team Penske in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Over these three seasons, he secured fourteen podium finishes and won the championship in 2019 with three victories. In 2020, both Juan Pablo Montoya and Hélio Castroneves were informed that they would be seeking new teams for 2021. However, Montoya quickly found opportunities in multiple racing categories. He competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring for Meyer Shank Racing and made his return to the NTT IndyCar Series in May of the same year. Montoya raced both the GMR Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 for Arrow McLaren SP, finishing ninth in the 500-mile race.

Final Indy 500

The 2022 season marked Montoya's final Indy 500. Despite starting the race in 30th place, he drove a strong race, ultimately finishing in eleventh place. This race marked the end of Montoya's IndyCar career.