 | |||||||
| Born | September 20, 1975 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hometown | Bogotá, Colombia | ||||||
| Achievements | 1998 Formula 3000 Champion 1999 CART Champion 2000 Indy 500 Winner 2003 Monaco Grand Prix Winner 2007-2008 24 Hours of Daytona Overall Winner | ||||||
| Awards | 1999 CART Rookie of the Year 2000 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | |||||||
| Car #, Team | #42 - Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | ||||||
| 2008 Sprint Cup Position | 25th | ||||||
| Best Cup Position | 20th (2007) | ||||||
| First Race | 2006 Ford 400 (Homestead) | ||||||
| First Win | 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCAR Nationwide Series Statistics | |||||||
| 2008 NNS Position | 86th | ||||||
| Best NNS Position | 36th - 2007 (Busch Series) | ||||||
| First Race | 2006 Sam's Town 250 (Memphis) | ||||||
| Last Race | 2008 Ford 300 (Homestead Busch_Wins = 1 | ||||||
| First Win | 2007 Telcel-Motorola 200 (Mexico City) | ||||||
| Last Win | 2007 Telcel-Motorola 200 (Mexico City) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| Active years | 2001 - 2006 |
| Teams | Williams F1, McLaren |
| Races | 95 (94 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 7 |
| Podiums | 30 |
| Career points | 307 |
| Pole positions | 13 |
| Fastest laps | 12 |
| First race | 2001 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2001 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last race | 2006 United States Grand Prix |
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá, Colombia) is a race car driver in NASCAR and a former Formula One and Champ Car driver. He has enjoyed great success, most famously in top open wheel racing series. He currently drives the #42 Target/Wrigley's Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint Cup Series.
The highlights of his career include winning the International F3000 championship in 1998, and the CART Championship Series in 1999, as well as victories in some of the most prestigious races in the world. He is the only driver to have won the premier North American open-wheel CART title, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona, all at the first attempt. Montoya is one of two drivers to have won the CART title in his rookie year, the first being reigning World Champion Nigel Mansell in 1993. He has also equalled Graham Hill's feat of being a Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 race winner; Montoya is currently one of only two active drivers (along with Jacques Villeneuve) who has won two legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Montoya has also become a crossover race winner by taking victories in Formula One, Champ Car/IndyCar, sports car racing and NASCAR (winning in his rookie season in each category); the only other drivers to win in all of these categories are Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney. Montoya is also the only driver to have competed in all three major events at Indianapolis, finishing fourth or better in each event. He finished 1st in the Indianapolis 500, 2nd in the Brickyard 400, and 4th in the US Grand Prix.
In April 2009, Montoya was ranked 29th in a list of the top 50 Formula One drivers of all time by Times Online.
Contents |
Early career
He was born in Bogotá where he was taught the techniques of karting from an early age by his father Pablo, an architect and motorsport enthusiast.
Montoya moved to the Colombian Formula Renault 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 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. The following year, 1994, was a very busy year for the 19-year-old Colombian, as it saw him race in three separate series: the Sudam 125 Karting (he won the title), USA Barber Saab (finished third in points, won two races), and Formula N in Mexico (a series in which he won the title). As his success continued year after year, Montoya came to be known for his uncanny ability to win pole positions (as well as races), in some cases taking 80% of a season's poles (see Career results below). For the next three years, Montoya raced in various divisions, continually progressing upward. He raced in the 1995 British Formula Vauxhall Championship, winning three races and finishing third in the championship. In 1996, he raced in the British Formula 3 with Fortec Motorsport, winning two races, and finishing 5th in the championship points standings, as well as taking part in events in Zandvoort, Netherlands and Silverstone.
F3000 Career - F1 Testing
1997
Montoya got the opportunity to advance in his motor racing career when he was hired by the RSM Marko, Formula 3000 team in 1997. 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 Jerez, Spain along with three other drivers. Montoya was the fastest of them all and he and Max Wilson were signed by WilliamsF1 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 who was driving for Mclaren'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 race in Pau. Montoya finished the 1998 F3000 season with four wins, seven pole positions, and nine podium finishes in twelve races.
CART career
1999
Renault, Williams' engine 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 a driver swap with CART team owner Chip Ganassi, in which Ganassi's 1997 and 1998 CART champion driver, Alessandro Zanardi, would return to Formula One and Montoya would take his place in the competitive American series.
While Zanardi had a miserable year in Formula One, Montoya, with Honda power and a great Reynard chassis at his disposal, took the American motorsport scene by storm. He took the 1999 title in his rookie year, something accomplished six years earlier by former Formula One Champion Nigel Mansell.
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 who led the championship going into the final race in California. Both drivers finished the season with equal number of points but having won seven races to the Scotsman's three decided the title in the Colombian's favor. However, the CART rookie also attracted criticism - notably from Michael Andretti 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, the young Colombian decided to race in the US for one more year.
2000
In 2000 the Ganassi team switched to Toyota engines and 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. He was also the most popular driver, but in a season where he failed to finish in 40% of the races, he was out of contention for the championship.
That season the Ganassi team also competed in the prestigious Indianapolis 500 race, part of the rival Indy Racing League series. Media and drivers were critical of the way Juan Pablo approached the Brickyard, many IRL drivers labelled him as reckless and predicted an early retirement from the race. The media activity around the event was intense, with Montoya and his CART teammate Jimmy Vasser being the first CART drivers to "cross-over" to drive in the Indy 500. Despite public warnings from two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. claiming that if a driver doesn't respect the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the place "will bite you - hard" Montoya shrugged off the advice claiming that all four corners were exactly the same and that the track required less attention than the road courses in the CART series and in European racing.
In the event, the Colombian star led 167 of 200 laps and claimed top honours at the end of the 500-mile (800 km) race, taking an easy victory on his first attempt. He was the first to do so since Formula One World Champion Graham Hill in 1966 and was the first Colombian winner. His compatriot Roberto José Guerrero had previously finished twice as runner up.
Montoya also won CART's U.S 500. That victory marked his ninth and Toyota's first win in the CART (Champ Car World Series) series.
Formula One career
 | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. Find sources: "Juan Pablo Montoya" — news, books, scholar (August 2008) |
Over the weekend of the 2000 Indianapolis 500, Williams-BMW announced a two year deal for Montoya to partner Ralf Schumacher starting in 2001. His entrance was very much anticipated by the Formula One community due to the talent and raw speed showed in the Americas based series.
Montoya showed great potential from the beginning. Critics and fans alike anticipated that he would challenge for the World Drivers' Championship. During the first half of his Formula One career he consolidated his position as a fast driver and a race win challenger and also became a title contender during 2003 but the hopes of fighting for the title gradually faded as his car's lacked pace and stronger, more consistent challengers arrived on the scene.
Montoya has been criticized during his Formula One career for his unreliability and tendency to make costly mistakes. His driving style is too characteristic of the 80's Formula One era. In this matter it is difficult to build a car that suits him well as engineers and aerodynamicists have adapted their work to build chassis that are more appropriate to a more fine and soft, and perhaps less live, driving style.
Entering his sixth season, in 2006, it was evident that Juan Pablo Montoya had not developed into the title contender that racing fans and the media had predicted. In particular after five full seasons the necessary consistency never materialised. However, he often challenged for race victories and was voted top Latin American driver at the Premios Fox Sports awards in 2003 and 2005[1][2]
2001 - Williams
Montoya made his Formula One debut for the BMW-powered Williams team in the 2001 Formula One season at the Australian Grand Prix. 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 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.
Less than a month after his debut, in the Brazilian Grand Prix, he had his best qualifying, a fourth place finish. 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 shocked the F1 world by passing World Champion Michael Schumacher into the first corner. He held off Schumacher, who was on a two-stop strategy compared to Montoys'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. But however, while he was lapping Jos Verstappen, 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. 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 and Montoya needed a good result but did not look like getting so after another poor qualifying, down in 12th place. He made up for it by making a lightning quick start by gaining five places and was up to sixth in the first corner (David Coulthard was starting from the back of the grid after stalling on the formation lap). He got ahead of Jacques Villeneuve in the second round of pitstops. He stayed on the track and climbed up to second due to a high attrition rate. The second place finish was just what he needed after the four retirements.
In the next race, the Austrian Grand Prix, Montoya finally outpaced his teammate Ralf Schumacher 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. It was proven that even Montoya was struggling with the same problems, and Ralf was told to hold the others up so Montoya can build a gap. With Ralf out, the five drivers, led by Michael Schumacher began to zero in on Montoya at over a second a lap. Soon Schumacher 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 glamourous Monaco Grand Prix, Montoya did not reproduce his previous form and had to be satisfied with qualifying seventh. In the race, he made 1 position at the start. He then tried to pressurize teammate Ralf Schumacher 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 his race
Montoya went into the Canadian Grand Prix 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, 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 and Montoya held pole for most of qualifying only for both Michael and Ralf Schumacher 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 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-go penalty for a pitlane infringement. Montoya finished in second, and the result gave him more confidence then ever.
Montoya only finished six races — 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 at Monza.
2002
In the 2002 Formula One season, Montoya was the best of the rest as Ferrari's dominance left available no better place than third. Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello won 15 of 17 races. Although he did not win a race, unlike Coulthard and his team mate 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 lap for a Grand Prix during the qualifying session of the 2002 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
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 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 FW25 proved to be the class of the field, allowing Montoya to take victory at Circuit de Monaco from Kimi Räikkönen. During the 2003 French Grand Prix, after a misunderstanding with the pit crew, there was a vocal exchange of expletives between the Colombian and his team. This was followed by a formal letter of reprimand from the BMW Williams F1 team.[citation needed] McLaren Mercedes announced that they would take on his racing services from 2005 at an end of season announcement, although it was believed that Montoya 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. Williams, however, were unable to keep pace with the latest developments from Ferrari. Montoya failed to claim another victory that year. A drive-through penalty at the United States Grand Prix after a collision with Ferrari's Barrichello ended his title chances in the last race he would finish in 2003.
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 team mate Kimi Räikkönen.
2005 - McLaren
After driving for Williams for four full seasons, Montoya found the McLaren Mercedes car unpredictable, often claiming it felt like the steering wheel was not "attached" to the rest of the car.
Having been criticised in previous years for his lack of fitness, Montoya began a training program under the direction of McLaren personnel but all the effort was lost when, just after the Malaysian Grand Prix, he injured his shoulder while in Spain. The official reason given to media was that he had injured himself while playing tennis. However, rumors stated that a motorcycle accident was the real cause. After missing two Grands Prix he made an early return before he was completely healed. In fact he was often seen with his arm almost motionless for the remaining five Grands Prix even while in the paddock for the British GP.
In practice for the Monaco Grand Prix Montoya was penalized to start from the back by race stewards for brake-testing his former Williams team mate, Ralf Schumacher, causing a four car collision. At the Canadian Grand Prix 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 suspension failed. He retired from the lead of the Hungarian GP due to a broken driveshaft. His team mate had a similar failure 8 GP before, which shows the differences in suspension geometry between both McLaren's 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 and most notoriously at the last corner during qualifying for the German Grand Prix. 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. It is said that he helped the team to improve the car a lot, benefiting both himself and his team mate.
He had to learn how to cope with a very nervous and 'oversteery' car, in these conditions and after bad luck for his team mate, he scored his first victory for McLaren Mercedes in the British GP and in the same conditions at Monza.
For most of the season Montoya's major concerns were the ongoing problems with backmarkers and team orders. Both Tiago Monteiro and Antônio Pizzonia collided with him, as had Jos Verstappen in 2001, and Jacques Villeneuve 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 and Renault F1 from increasing their lead in the standings over Räikkönen and McLaren respectively.
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 Mercedes Team than by Williams to tune the car to his driving style. In the last 7 grand prix's Montoya finished, he scored 3 wins, 2 poles and 5 podiums. At the Brazilian GP, Montoya led home McLaren's first 1-2 result in years, ahead of newly crowned world champion Fernando Alonso in third. It was his last finish of the year. In Japan he was forced off the track by Jacques Villeneuve on lap one, while in China a loose drain cover rose up and hit his car, damaging the suspension.
2006
Montoya started his 2006 Formula One World Championship campaign learning that the 2005 F1 Champion Fernando Alonso had been contracted by McLaren-Mercedes for the 2007 season. At the same time McLaren did not take up their option on Montoya for 2007, while his teammate Kimi Räikkönen remained a free agent.
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 Australian Grand Prix, he drove an excellent race that sadly featured a few critical mistakes. His car spun near the end of the warm-up lap, caused by too much throttle whilst warming the tyres, and if Fisichella hadn't stalled his Renault 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, whilst chasing Ralf Schumacher 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 San Marino Grand Prix, 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 and the Circuit de Catalunya, however, were very disappointing for Montoya. He qualified in 9th position for the European Grand Prix 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. Juan Pablo had a solid race at Monaco, 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 team mate's pace.
The Canadian Grand Prix saw Montoya pull off a stunning overtaking move on Michael Schumacher on the opening lap, but contact with Nico Rosberg on the next lap and a mistake at the last corner resulted in Montoya bracing the wall and damaging the car, leading to retirement.
The US Grand Prix 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 team-mate Räikkönen, and as one of the main instigators 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 9 July 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 11 July 2006, McLaren-Mercedes announced that Montoya would stop racing for the team with immediate effect, to enable him to prepare for his future career and take time out with his family. 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-Mercedes 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-Mercedes, provided that he resigned from receiving any payout to terminate his contract.[3] [4]
Legacy/Overtaking Ability
Andrew Benson, a Motorsports Editor for the BBC, wrote this about Montoya's Formula 1 legacy in 2006.
"His incredible skills at overtaking - to which he brings an improvisation, bravery, deftness and flair that has arguably never been seen before - are inseparable from his mercurial character. It is easy to forget that until Montoya's arrival in the sport in 2001, overtaking in modern F1 was considered so difficult as to be almost impossible.
That is still the case, but Montoya has been able to transcend the limits imposed on drivers by complex aerodynamics and shorter braking distances and pull off passing moves that can only be described as breathtaking. The fact that no-one else has been able to emulate him merely underlines his astonishing ability - he will probably be remembered as the best overtaker in F1's history.
On a personal level, he is also a breath of fresh air - chatty and outspoken where many drivers are monosyllabic and conformist; charismatic when many are uninspiring."
NASCAR
2006 season
On July 9, 2006, Montoya announced his plans to compete in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series beginning with the 2007 season, racing for Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates' NASCAR operation, Chip Ganassi Racing, in the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. "I'm looking forward to racing in the Nextel Cup Series for Chip Ganassi in the Big Red Dodge. 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 (ARCA) event at the Talladega Superspeedway 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. [5] Three weeks later he followed this with an 11th place finish after a mid-race spin at the Sam's Town 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park, his first appearance in NASCAR's second division Busch Series.[6] He competed in the final three races of the Busch Series season, but did not better this performance. On November 19, 2006, Montoya competed for the first time in NASCAR's premier division, the NEXTEL Cup Series. He qualified 29th in the #30 Texaco Dodge at the Ford 400 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 and he was credited with a 34th place finish.[7]
2007 season
Montoya visited victory lane three times across three different racing series in 2007. Montoya kicked off 2007 with a win in his first Rolex 24 At Daytona race in the Grand-Am Series. Then, in just his seventh-career Nationwide Series 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. 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.
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. 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 and Dario Franchitti.
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 #42 as the team switches from Dodge to Chevrolet.[8]
2009 Season
It was announced in January that Target would take over as Montoya's primary sponsor for the 2009 Cup season. Montoya ran in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and finished second after a thrilling duel with David Donohue. 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 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.
Sprint Cup Statistics
| Year | Starts | Wins | Top Fives | Top Tens | Poles | Rank | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69th | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2007 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 20th | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2008 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 25th | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13th | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing |
| Totals | 80 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 22.5 |
Motorsports career results
- 1981-1984: Karting Colombian National Champion
- 1985: National Junior Kart Championship: 2nd
- 1986-1987: Komet Category: National Champion
- 1988: Komet Category: 2nd in National Championship
- 1989: Komet Category: champion
- 1990: Kart Junior World Championship
- 1991: Kart Junior World Championship
- 1992: Colombian Formula Renault: 8 races, 4 wins, 5 poles
- 1993: GTI National Championship Tournament: 8 races, 7 wins, 8 poles
- 1994: Sudan 125 karting: champion
- Barber Saab series: 3rd, 2 wins, 1 pole
- Mexican 'N' series champion: 5 races, 3 wins, 4 poles
- 1995: Formula Vauxhall, UK: 3rd 14 races, 3 wins, 3 poles
Bogotá Six Hours: class winner
- Marlboro Masters: 4th
- Macau GP: ret
- ITC: 16th, 1 race (Mercedes-Benz)
- Bogotá Six Hours: winner
- 1997: F3000: 2nd, 37.5 points, 9 races, 3 wins, 3 poles (RSM Marko)
- 1998: F3000: 1st, 65 points, 12 races, 4 wins, 7 poles (Super Nova)
- 1999: CART: 1st & rookie of the year, 212 points, 20 races, 7 wins, 7 poles (Ganassi)
- 2000: CART: 9th, 126 points, 20 races, 3 wins, 7 poles (Ganassi)
- 2001: Formula One: 6th, 31 points, 1 win, 3 poles (Williams)
- 2002: Formula One: 3rd, 50 points, 0 wins, 7 poles (Williams)
- 2003: Formula One: 3rd, 82 points, 2 wins, 1 pole (Williams)
- 2004: Formula One: 5th, 58 points, 1 win, 0 poles (Williams)
- 2005: Formula One: 4th, 60 points, 3 wins, 2 poles (McLaren)
- 2006: Formula One: 8th, 26 points, 0 wins, 0 poles (McLaren)
- 2007: Rolex 24 at Daytona Daytona Prototype class winner and overall winner
- 2007: Nascar Busch Series: Mexico City winner
- 2007: NASCAR Nextel Cup Series: Top 5 Finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway
- 2007: NASCAR Nextel Cup Series: won Cup race at Infineon Raceway
- 2007: NASCAR Nextel Cup Series: Top 5 Finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- 2008: Rolex 24 at Daytona Daytona Prototype class winner and overall winner
- 2008: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Top 5 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway
TOTALS:
- F3000 : 102.5 points, 7 wins, 10 poles, 1 time champion
- CART : 338 points, 10 wins, 14 poles, 1 time champion
- IRL : 54 points, 1 win, 0 poles, 1 time Indy 500 champion
- Formula One : 304 points, 7 wins, 13 poles, 2 times 3rd in the championship
- NASCAR Sprint Cup : 1 win, 11 top-tens
Champ Car
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ganassi | Reynard | Honda | MIA 10 | MOT 13 | LBH 1 | NAZ 1 | RIO 1 | GAT 11 | MIL 10 | POR 2 | CLE 1 | ROA 13 | TOR Ret | MIC 2 | DET 17 | MDO 1 | CHI 1 | VAN 1 | LAG 8 | HOU Ret | SUR Ret | FON 4 | 1st | 212 |
| 2000 | Ganassi | Lola | Toyota | MIA Ret | LBH Ret | RIO Ret | MOT 7 | NAZ 4 | MIL 1 | DET Ret | POR Ret | CLE 6 | TOR Ret | MIC 1 | CHI 12 | MDO Ret | ROA Ret | VAN Ret | LAG 6 | GAT 1 | HOU 2 | SUR Ret | FON 10 | 9th | 126 |
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
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