Juan Montoya

Birthday: Sept. 20, 1975
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2008 -- Finished 25th in series points. ... Finished with two top-fives and three top-10s. ... Suffered a career-high nine DNFs. ... Top finish was second in the spring race at Talladega. ... Best start was sixth in the spring race at Richmond. ... Led one year-end Loop Data statistical category -- Green Flag Passes (3,090). ... Plagued by inconsistency atop the pit box, working with three crew chiefs during the season.

2007 -- Finished 20th in series points. ... Edged David Ragan for rookie of the year award. ... Finished fifth in fourth race of the season (Atlanta). ... Won first career race at Sonoma after starting 32nd. ... Started and finished second at Indianapolis. ... Compiled three top-fives and six top-10s. ... Won Mexico race in Busch Series.

2006 -- Finished 71st in series points. ... Made one start for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Started 29th and finished 34th at the season finale at Homestead.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

Made four starts in the Busch Series in 2006 before making Cup Series debut. His best finish was 11th in his debut at Memphis. ... Competed in Formula One from 2001-2006 for BMW Williams and McLaren Mercedes. During that period, he amassed seven wins, 30 podium finishes and 13 pole positions. ... The highlight of his Formula One career came in 2003 when he won the Monaco Grand Prix, the series' premier event. ... Finished sixth or better in each of his five full seasons in Formula One. ... Won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 racing for Chip Ganassi in his first trip to the Brickyard. Montoya started second on the grid. ... Spent two years in CART, winning 10 races. ... Won CART championship in 1999, his rookie year. Won seven races in 1999, including three in a row, both rookie records. ... Competed in the Formula 3000 series for two years, racking up seven wins and winning the 1998 series championship. ... Started racing karts at the age of 6. Captured several Colombian local and national titles in the Children's Kart Championship and Kart Komet Division from 1984-1989.

NOTEWORTHY

Traded cars with Jeff Gordon for a publicity event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002. Gordon drove Montoya's F1 car and Montoya drove Gordon's stock car. ... Is the first Formula One driver to compete full time in NASCAR. ... Was the youngest CART champion in series history. ... Set a rookie record by leading 167 out of 200 laps during his Indianapolis 500 win.