Juan Montoya

Birthday: 09/20/1975
Hometown: Bogota, , Colombia

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011 -- Finished 21st in series points. ... Had 13-point drop in driver rating from 2010. ... Total of top-five (two), top-10 finishes (eight) his least since 2008. ... Running at finish of all 36 races. ... Two poles, Auto Club and Richmond-1. ... Average start of 18.2. ... Best finish, third at Las Vegas. ... Average finish of 18.5. ... Crew chief Brian Pattie released after 19 races; finished season with engineer James Pohlman from research and development department leading team. ... Completed series-best 99.5 percent of laps attempted. ... Led 125 laps.

2010 -- Finished 17th in series points. ... Started season with 10th in Daytona 500 but two 37th-place finishes in next two races knocked him to 26th in standings. ... ... Career-best three poles (New Hampshire-1, Indianapolis, Talladega-2), average start 11.6 including 24 top-10 starts. ... Won second career race, at Watkins Glen, to give him series victories at both road-course tracks. ... Average finish 18.0. ... Watkins Glen win kicked off streak of five consecutive top-10s. ... Was in top 10 in eight important Loop Data categories for the season.

2009 -- Finished eighth in series points. ... Former open-wheel star had a breakout season in his third Cup campaign. ...Won his first Cup pole at Talladega. ... Had a best finish of second at Pocono as Denny Hamlin edged him by .869 seconds. ...Was third four times. ... Began the Chase seeded 11th but vaulted to third after the first race by finishing third at New Hampshire (he won the pole and led 105 laps). ... Held third place for three weeks but dropped to sixth after suffering a mid-race spin and finishing 35th at Charlotte. ... Became the success story and standard of progress for the recent "open wheel invasion" by qualifying for the Chase in his third season.

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 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts in 2006 before making NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut. Best finish was 11th in his Memphis Nationwide Series debut. ... Competed in Formula One from 2001-2006 for BMW Williams and McLaren Mercedes. 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 Indy 500 racing for Chip Ganassi in his first trip to the Brickyard. Montoya started second. ... Spent two years in CART, winning 10 races. ... Won CART title 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, earning seven wins and the 1998 series title. ... 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

His Formula Smiles Foundation, which benefits needy children in both his native Colombia and the United States, has become one of the sport's most active charities, including a major fund-raising event in conjunction with the NASCAR championship finale weekend in Miami. ... The first Latino, first Formula One driver, first Indianapolis 500 winner to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (2009). ... First foreign-born driver to have multiple wins in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. ... Traded cars with Jeff Gordon for a publicity event at Indianapolis 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 Indy 500 win. ... Active on Twitter: @jpmontoya.