The moments that defined Juan Pablo Montoya’s NASCAR career

Juan Pablo Montoya is one of the most versatile race car drivers on the planet. His illustrious career includes seven Formula 1 wins, reaching the top podium step with both Williams and McLaren. He also scored 30 podiums and 13 poles in just 94 starts, and finished as high as third in the World Championship. Beyond F1, he’s a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, winning as a rookie, and then again 15 years later. He also clinched the 1999 CART title.

The resume goes on in sports car racing as a three-time overall winner of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (2007, 2008, 2013). He won the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series championship outright in 2019 with Team Penske. JPM has even been on the podium for Le Mans and won the Race of Champions. So yeah, it’s easy to say he’s pretty good. Then there’s his NASCAR stint, where he won two Cup races in 255 starts, collecting 24 top-fives, 59 top-tens, and nine poles.

Now 48 years old, Montoya will return to NASCAR in a one-off start with 23XI Racing this weekend at Watkins Glen — the site of his second and last Cup win. So, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to look back on some of the most memorable moments from his NASCAR career — both the good and the bad.

Up in flames

Okay, we’re getting this one out of the way first. Yes, the infamous jet dryer incident during the 2012 Daytona 500. The fact that it’s the first thing anyone wants to talk about whenever JPM and NASCAR are mentioned in the same sentence does a disservice to the solid career he put together there. But hey, the track did kind of burst into flames. While under caution for an unrelated incident, Montoya brought his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing machine down pit road, reporting a vibration. “Something is massively broken,” he warned, just as the team sent him back out onto the track.

Catching up to the back of the field at a high rate of speed, the rear trailing arm broke as he entered Turn 3. The car shot to the right — spinning out of control.  Directly in the path of his spinning car, up against the wall, were two jet dryers. Montoya slammed into the back of one of the trucks, destroying his car and spilling somewhere around 200 gallons of jet fuel across the track. It quickly ignited, resulting in a massive inferno that stopped the race.

It was very unfortunate timing and a freak accident unlike anything we’ve seen before or after it. The driver of the Jet dryer, Duane Barnes, and Montoya were examined at Halifax Medical Center. Neither were seriously hurt. Some thought the race would never resume and the track may have been damaged, but they were able to get back underway after a two-hour cleanup process. 

A jet dryer truck is on fire after a crash with Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet on lap 160

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

“Nasty, dirty driving!”

In 2007, the NASCAR Xfinity Series was racing at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico (which will also host the first-ever Cup race south of the border in 2025.) Ganassi appeared set for a 1-2 finish with Scott Pruett leading Montoya. However, the Colombian racer got into his teammate with eight laps to go, sending him spinning. This cleared the way for Montoya’s first win at any level of NASCAR and it left Pruett less than impressed.

“Of all people to take you out — your teammate. That was just no good, low, nasty, dirty driving,” declared Pruett, a multi-time champion in the sports car racing world. He never did win a NASCAR race. Montoya said he “felt really bad” about the contact, but also felt his teammate turned in on him. It wasn’t the last time he clashed with his fellow driver.

Scott Pruett leads Juan Pablo Montoya

Photo by: Getty Images

Making history at Sonoma

It didn’t take long for Montoya to back up that Xfinity win with his first victory in a Cup car. As a rookie in 2007, Montoya was running down Jamie McMurray at Sonoma Raceway. He dove under him into the hairpin, only to blow the entry and quickly give the lead back. With seven laps remaining, he tried again, but this time under braking into Turn 1. The pass stuck and he drove off into the distance.

It was very close on fuel, but he managed to have enough in the tank for the run to the finish. He called it a “huge victory” for him as he took a moment to catch his breath in Victory Lane. A native of Bogota, Colombia, JPM was the first, and to-date, the only South American driver to ever win a Cup race. 

Victory lane: race winner Juan Pablo Montoya celebrates

Photo by: Todd Corzett

Brickyard 400 heartbreak

When talking about drivers that tried to transition from series that predominantly raced on road courses to oval-heavy NASCAR, Montoya was one of the more impressive adapters. One track the two-time Indy 500 winner took a liking to was IMS, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

In 2009, he put on an absolutely dominant performance in the Brickyard 400. He led 116 of 160 laps, but his shot of kissing the bricks vanished after an unfortunate speeding penalty during the final pit stop.

JPM couldn’t believe it. “No way,” he radioed before adding: “We had this in the bag … thank you NASCAR for screwing my day.” He finished eleventh in a heartbreaking end to one of the most impressive days of his NASCAR career. 

Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

Nearly coming to blows with ‘Happy’ Harvick

In his time in NASCAR, the fiery driver had no issues trading paint and standing up for himself. There were several moments where he got into it with his fellow driver, but none quite like the 2007 Cup race at Watkins Glen. Montoya was running sixth on track in a late-race restart. After an aggressive block into Turn 1, he got spun by Martin Truex Jr., colliding with Kevin Harvick, and wrecking both cars. These two drivers are known for their tempers, so it wasn’t a surprise when a heated confrontation broke out over the incident. There was shoving and helmet grabbing — over the course of 40 seconds, the confrontation escalated and  punches were possibly seconds away from being thrown. That’s when Harvick’s teammate Jeff Burton and NASCAR officials finally separated the two.

Montoya explained that he tried to tell Harvick how he got punted by Truex, but the future Cup champion wasn’t interested in listening. Later, Harvick was asked about the discussion: “I was talking about kicking his ass because that’s how I felt about it.”

Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick have a post-crash meeting

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

The last checkered flag

Montoya was not going to be denied at Watkins Glen in 2010. After qualifying third, he led 74 of 90 laps, winning by nearly five seconds over Kurt Busch. He talked about how much he loved racing in the Cup Series and highlighted the struggles as it was 114 races between his first and second career wins.

“It’s great,” Montoya said in Victory Lane. “We lost a lot of them and gave away a lot of them. It was getting frustrating. Everybody gets fighting, but this team does an amazing job.”

Victory lane: race winner Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet celebrates

Photo by: Adriano Manocchia

Shockingly, it turned it out to be the second and last victory of his Cup career, despite racing up until the 2014 season. He showed marked improvement at ovals and was in contention for numerous race wins all types of tracks, but he never found the checkered flag again. Montoya ended his career with one playoff appearance, finishing as high as eighth in the championship in 2009. It remains tied for the highest points finish by a foreign-born driver in the history of the Cup Series.

Now, Montoya will attempt to write a new chapter in his NASCAR story at Watkins Glen this Sunday.