Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán
(born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá,
Colombia) is a race car driver in NASCAR for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and a
former Formula One and Champ Car 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 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.