May 24, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
September 14, 2007
September 14, 2007
September 14, 2007
September 1, 2007
September 1, 2007
August 25, 2007
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975,
in Bogotá, Colombia) is a race car driver in NASCAR
for Chip Ganassi Racing and a former Formula One and
Indycar driver. He has enjoyed great success, most
famously in top open wheel racing 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
other driver being Nigel Mansell. He has also
equalled Graham Hill's feat of being a Monaco Grand
Prix and Indianapolis 500 race winner; Montoya is
currently the only active driver 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 cars, Champcars,
IndyCars, Grand-Am Prototype cars and stock cars;
the only other driver to accomplish such a feat is
Mario Andretti. Montoya is also the only driver to
have competed in all three major events at
Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500, the US Grand
Prix, and the Brickyard 400.
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 Copa Formula Renault Series in
1992. The same year, he also participated in a U.S.
series operated by Skip Barber. 1993 saw Montoya
switch to the Swift GTI Championship, a series he
dominated by winning seven of eight races. 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, USA Barber
Saab, 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, and in the 1996
British Formula 3 with Fortec Motorsport, as well as
taking part in events in Zandvoort, Netherlands and
Silverstone.
