Juan Pablo Montoya Biography
Juan Pablo Montoya (VIEW CAREER RACING STATISTICS)
Driver, No. 42 Dodge Charger
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Personal Statistics
Birth Date: September 20, 1975
Birthplace: Bogotá, Colombia
Residence: Miami, Fla.
Marital Status: Married to Connie
Children: Sebastian and Paulina
Career Highlights
1999 CART Champion
2000 Indianapolis 500 Winner
2003 Monaco Grand Prix Winner
2007 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Winner
2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year
Career: View Race Stats
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Juan Pablo Montoya wasted no time making his presence known in the NASCAR world after transitioning from open-wheel cars to the 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Not only did he become the first Latino to win in NASCAR’s premier Series and capture the 2007 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year title, but he earned the respect of his team, his competitors and fans as well.
Montoya visited victory lane in two style cars across three different racing series in 2007. He kicked off the year by winning the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates’ (CGRFS) Grand American team with co-drivers Scott Pruett and Salvador Doran. Then, in just his third Nationwide Series race in 2007, 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 in Mexico, and his competitors knew he would be tough competition at the road courses in the Cup Series. Montoya proved them right at Infineon Raceway when he captured his first Sprint Cup victory after qualifying 32nd, the deepest starting spot for a winner at Infineon Raceway. It was just his 17th start in the Sprint Cup Series as he scored the first win for CGRFS since 2002.
Montoya and his No. 42 crew, under the guidance of veteran Crew Chief Donnie Wingo, went on to amass one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes during the 2007 Sprint Cup season. The season was highlighted with the win at Sonoma, a second-place finish at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and despite his limited short-track experience, the completion of all 1,000 laps at Martinsville Speedway which included an eighth-place finish. Montoya also earned three outside pole positions and went on to finish 20th in the final series standings.
The Bogotá, Colombia native has seen success in everything he has driven, and Team Owner Chip Ganassi can attest to that. Montoya drove for Ganassi’s open-wheel team in 1999 and 2000. Although their renewed partnership seemed logical, they still shocked the racing community in 2006 when they announced Montoya’s return to the Ganassi fold would be in a stock car.
The 32-year-old Montoya joined CGRFS with impressive open-wheel credentials. He has made 137 starts between the CART, IndyCar and Formula One Series’ where he’s tallied 18 wins, 26 poles, 60 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes. Over his five complete seasons in Formula One, Montoya finished sixth or better in the standings every year.
Like most successful drivers, Montoya’s racing career began at a young age. He started racing karts at the age of six with his father Pablo guiding the future champion. From 1984 to 1989, Montoya captured several Colombian local and national titles in the Children’s Kart Championship and Kart Komet Division. He then went on to take the Kart Junior World Championships in 1990 and 1991.
Montoya first raced in the states in 1992 when he took part in the Skip Barber Racing School. He also made a move to the Copa Formula Renault Series in Colombia. That year, Montoya captured five poles and four wins in eight races. His racing dominance continued the following year in the Swift GTI Championship Series where he captured both seven poles and wins in eight starts.
At the age of 19, Montoya competed in three different racing series’ in one year and left an impression on everyone. He captured the class win in the Karting Sudam 125; finished third in the Barber Saab Championship Series in the United States; and racked up three wins and four poles in just five Formula N class races in Mexico.
Over the next two years Montoya continued to progress up through the motor sports ranks. He competed in the 1995 British Formula Vauxhall Championship before running in the British Formula 3 Series in 1996. He took the checkered flag twice in Formula 3, before getting the break he hoped for—a chance to compete in the Formula 3000 Series (now GP2 and the feeder series for Formula One) in 1997.
Montoya went on to finish second in the 1997 championship standings. The rookie’s impressive performance caught the eye of the Williams F1 team. He was then summoned to participate in his first Formula One test before getting signed to a multi-year testing contract in 1998. In addition to his testing duties, Montoya competed again in the Formula 3000 series and grabbed the FIA International Formula 3000 Championship.
The young Colombian would soon find himself heading to the United States in 1999 as part of a driver swap between Williams and Ganassi. The team owner exchange resulted in Montoya taking over for two-time CART Champion Alex Zanardi at Ganassi’s Indianapolis-based open-wheel shop, while Zanardi returned to Formula One.
Immediately, Montoya made his presence known in the CART Series, and all across the United States. At the age of 24, the rookie driver proceeded to set several series records en route to claiming his first and Ganassi’s fourth-consecutive CART Championship. Montoya claimed a record breaking seven wins in his rookie season, including the most consecutive wins by a rookie (three) and the most laps led by a rookie (954). Altogether, he collected more wins, pole positions, laps led and earnings than any other driver during the 1999 CART season.
As the defending series champion, Montoya added three additional wins to his CART resume in 2000 at Milwaukee, Michigan and St. Louis while battling for the points lead until the second to last race of the season. He finished ninth, just 42 points behind the eventual champion. In addition to the regular CART season, Ganassi decided to enter his teams in the Indy Racing League’s Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1995. The 2000 Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious races in the world, was Montoya’s first trip to the famed Brickyard. After just missing the pole and starting second on the grid, Montoya set a rookie record by leading 167 out of 200 laps on his way to an Indy 500 victory. That same weekend, Williams announced Montoya had signed a two-year deal to drive for them in the Formula One Series.
Montoya made his debut with BMW Williams in the premiere open-wheel series at the Australian Grand Prix in 2001, and then captured his first F1 victory at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The rookie racer also tallied three pole positions and four podium finishes during his freshman season to finished sixth in the Drivers' Championship standings.
He fared even better in the 2002 standings. Even though Ferrari dominated the season, Montoya finished third, turning the fastest qualifying laps in seven out of the 17 races and earning four runner-up finishes. It was also during the 2002 season, when he lit up the track at Monza by posting a record-fast qualifying lap with an average speed of 259.844682 km/h.
Statistically, 2003 proved to be the most successful season in F1 for the Montoya-Williams duo. Montoya finished third in the Drivers’ Championship with 82 points, and captured two victories which included the Monaco Grand Prix – Formula 1’s equivalent of the Daytona 500 or Indy 500. He also had six additional podium finishes - four second and two third-place. It was also in 2003 when Montoya announced he would be leaving BMW Williams at the end of the 2004 season to move over to the McLaren Mercedes team.
Montoya finished fifth in the 2004 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings, taking the checkered flag in Brazil—his last race with the Williams team. In 2005, Montoya looked to a new beginning with McLaren. He brought home three victories that season, including leading the McLaren team to its first 1-2 finish in years at the Brazilian Grand Prix. His other two victories came in England and Italy, which resulted in a fourth-place finish in the standings.
Last year Montoya added his name to an elite list of drivers with accomplishments across several top-level racing series. He joined racing legends Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win races in the Sprint Cup Series, IndyCar Series and Formula One.
The focus for Montoya and the No.42 Dodge in 2008 will be building on the experience of having visited all the Sprint Cup tracks on the 36-race schedule in 2007, paying particular attention to consistency and improvement on intermediate oval style venues in the Car of Tomorrow that will lead them to a spot in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. |
