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Indy 500 winner set to make first NASCAR start in 10 years

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As a seasoned motorsports enthusiast with a keen eye for racing history, I can hardly contain my excitement about the upcoming events in NASCAR! The return of Juan Pablo Montoya to the NASCAR Cup Series after an eight-year hiatus is nothing short of thrilling!

Starting from the 2023 season, team 23XI Racing has entered an extra, non-permanent car in certain NASCAR Cup Series races. This new addition is the No. 67 Toyota driven by motocross and supercross legend Travis Pastrana, who raced it for the first time during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

The team has enlarged their roster on three different instances. Most recently, they introduced driver Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 67 Toyota at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last August. In March at Circuit of the Americas, they added another car, the renumbered No. 50 Toyota (originally No. 67), to commemorate Mobil 1’s 50-year anniversary as the primary sponsor.

Corey Heim, who additionally acts as a backup driver for 23XI Racing, took the wheel of car number 50 (Toyota) for the team during the race at Nashville Superspeedway in late June.

It’s been speculated that Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s racing team might add a third full-time entry next year, possibly assigning Riley Herbst to this potential new position alongside Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. If they decide to buy a third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing, as many anticipate, this move seems imminent.

But before they do that, they are set to expand to three cars at least once more in 2024.

Juan Pablo Montoya is all set to come back to NASCAR’s highest tier next month, where he will participate in the Go Bowling event at Watkins Glen International, known as The Glen.

Since 2014, the driver who won the 1999 CART championship twice, at the Indy 500, has not participated in any NASCAR race. Instead, he joined Team Penske for the entire IndyCar season that year and also ran two Cup Series races for them at Michigan International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Since his fifth-place finish for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing at Watkins Glen in August 2013, he hasn’t raced on a Cup Series road course. From 2007 to 2013, he spent seven full seasons competing in the Cup Series, but then returned to open-wheel racing in 2014.

In the year 2010, Montoya triumphed at Watkins Glen, representing Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, and in 2007, he secured a victory for Chip Ganassi Racing at Sonoma Raceway.

48-year-old Colombian driver, who claimed victory in six Grands Prix during his six-year stint in Formula 1 around the turn of the millennium, has remained involved in motorsports since his departure from Team Penske’s IndyCar team following the 2016 season, with Josef Newgarden taking over his role.

Despite no longer being as engrossed in racing as before, he’s achieved victories in sports cars and made several comebacks to the Indy 500, lastly in 2022. Lately, his primary concern revolves around bolstering the Formula 3 career of his 19-year-old son, Sebastian.

Hey fellow gaming enthusiasts! Don’t want to miss the thrilling Go Bowling at The Glen this Sunday, September 15, streaming live on USA Network? Catch all the excitement from Watkins Glen International starting at 3:00 p.m. ET. To ensure you never miss a moment of the action, why not sign up for a free trial of FuboTV? Enjoy the game and happy streaming!

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2024-08-10 17:32

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