Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya has competed at the highest levels of racing for the better part of his career. The native of Colombia has had successful stints in Formula 1 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to go along with his career in the Verizon IndyCar Series that is peppered with wins and accomplishments.
After a championship-contending season and a second Indy 500 victory in 2015, the 2016 season kicked off with a win in the season opener at St. Petersburg. Montoya followed that up with a four straight top-10 efforts and a third-place ranking in the standings. The season changed with an early crash in the 100th Running of the Indy 500 which triggered a stretch of five finishes outside the top 10 over a seven-race span. He finished strong with three top 10s in his last four starts including a third-place showing in the season finale at Sonoma which secured an eighth-place finish in the final championship standings behind the wheel of the No. 2 Verizon/DeVilbiss/Hawk/hum by Verizon/PPG Chevrolet.
Few drivers in motorsports history can match the credentials of Montoya. He is the only driver to win a CART Series title, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona, all in his first attempt. He is also a former winner of one of the most prestigious races in the world - the Monaco Grand Prix. Legendary racers Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney are the only other drivers besides Montoya that can boast wins in Formula 1, INDYCAR and NASCAR.
Montoya was taught the art of motorsports at an early age by his father, Pablo. He quickly began to show promise as he captured four consecutive Colombian National Carting Championships from 1981-1984. After several successful seasons in the Colombia Formula Renault series, Montoya moved to Europe to pursue his dream of competing in F1. In 1997 he finished second in the Formula 3000 series and was signed to a contract as a test driver for the Williams F1 team.
After capturing the Formula 3000 title in 1998, Montoya made the move to CART for the 1999 season. In a remarkable rookie season, Montoya became the youngest champion in the history of CART at the age of 24. He edged out Dario Franchitti for the title after the two racers posted the same number of championship points but Montoya had the advantage producing seven victories on the year to Franchitti's three. In addition to the CART title, he was also named series Rookie of the Year. Montoya elected to remain in the United States to compete in CART again during the 2000 season. In the first IndyCar Series start of his career, the 2000 Indianapolis 500, Montoya again wowed the motorsports world by winning the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in his first attempt. He closed that chapter of his American open-wheel racing career with 11 wins and 14 podium finishes in 41 career starts.
Determined to fulfill his dream of competing in F1, Montoya joined the Williams BMW team in 2001. He earned a win at Monza in his rookie season as he continued to hone his skills. In 2003, Montoya had a stellar season as he won the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the world's crown jewel races, as he produced with two victories and a third-place finish in the series standing. He continued his drive with Williams BMW through 2004 before moving over to the McLaren-Mercedes team for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. During his F1 career, Montoya amassed seven victories and 30 podium finishes in 94 starts.
It was announced late in the 2006 season that Montoya would compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2007. During his first year back racing in the U.S., Montoya produced wins in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in the GRAND-AM Sports Car Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) on his way to Rookie of the Year Honors in NSCS competition. In 2008 he again visited Victory Lane in the 24 Hours of Daytona to become the first driver to win the prestigious race in his first two starts.
The 2009 season proved to be Montoya's most successful NSCS campaign. After becoming the first foreign-born driver, the first Indianapolis 500 champion and the first former F1 driver to qualify for NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, Montoya finished the season in a respectable eight-place in the series standings. Montoya earned two Cup Series victories in his career (Sonoma Raceway in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2010), with 24 top-five finishes, 59 top-10 results and nine pole positions in 253 starts over seven season. He remains the only foreign-born driver to win multiple races in NASCAR's premiere series.
Toward the end of the 2013 NASCAR season, the opportunity to join the most successful team in the history of North American open-wheel racing presented itself to Montoya and he wasted no time in deciding to return to IndyCar. Team Penske announced in September of 2013 that Montoya would join its ranks in 2014 and work with established stars Helio Castroneves and Will Power to form a powerful three-car combination.
Montoya and his wife Connie reside in South Florida with their son Sebastian and two daughters, Paulina and Manuela.