48-Year-Old Juan Pablo Montoya Jumping Back in a NASCAR Seat

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya hasn’t competed in a NASCAR race in a decade, but when 23XI Racing approached him about driving for them in September at Watkins Glen, the championship driver decided it would be “fun.”

“I’m at a point in my career that I’m not looking for a job … but an opportunity like this comes along and I think I can still be really competitive and have a shot at it. So why not?” the 48-year-old Montoya said. “I’ve been to The Glen many times with IMSA and with IndyCar. I know the track well. I thought it’d be a fun thing to do.

“People forget why I raced. I raced because I love racing. If I didn’t think I could be competitive, I would not do it.”

Montoya made his NASCAR Cup debut in 2006 at Homestead in a Dodge fielded by Chip Ganassi. He competed fulltime in NASCAR’s top series for Ganassi 2007-2013, winning two races, one at Sonoma in 2007 and the other in 2010 at Watkins Glen.

Since Montoya competed in NASCAR, the Cup car has undergone a complete makeover. He has been in a simulator and shaken down the car at Virginia International Raceway. Montoya notes today’s car doesn’t possess as much horsepower as the Cup car he raced. He said it feels a “little better”, but its makeover didn’t play a role in his decision.

“I always said that Formula 1 had the best car … But for me, the best racing a lot of times was in NASCAR,” said Montoya, who won the 2019 IMSA championship and the CART title in 1999.

“IndyCar has great racing as well. Formula 1 has probably the least amount of racing out of the three series. I really enjoyed my time in NASCAR. The racing for me was a lot of fun.”

Montoya’s last two Cup races came in 2014 at Michigan and Indianapolis in a Ford fielded by Roger Penske, and he admitted he never thought he’d be back competing in a NASCAR event. After racing full-time last year in ELMS where he finished seventh in the LMP2 Pro-Am point standings, Montoya thought he was “pretty much done.”

Then came a phone call from 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta. Now, he will drive the No. 50 Toyota that’s saluting the Mobil 1brand’s 50th anniversary.

“People don’t know this, but my first sponsor in Colombia, when I was still in karting, was Mobil 1,” Montoya said. “My first open-wheel car in Colombia was sponsored by Mobil 1. They were a big part of my early career. So, I thought it (racing at Watkins Glen) was a good way of saying ‘Thank you’.”