Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya had his most disappointing NASCAR season in 2011, sinking to 21st in points a year after scoring his second career Cup victory and two years after making the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

Montoya scored two top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his fifth season for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

One of the most accomplished racers in the world, the native of Bogotá, Colombia won the Champ Car championship as a rookie in 1999 and won the Indy 500 in 2000. Montoya won 10 Champ Car races in two years for team owner Chip Ganassi.

Montoya then moved to Formula One, where he won seven races from 2001-2006, including the Monaco Grand Prix.

Montoya moved to NASCAR in 2006, running four Nationwide Series races before making his Cup debut in the season finale at Homestead.

In his first full NASCAR season, Montoya won the Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway and scored three top-five finishes to win Cup rookie of the year. He finished 20th in points.

After struggling in 2008, Montoya scored seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 2009 to make the Chase For The Sprint Cup. After contending for the championship early in the Chase, Montoya wound up eighth in the final standings.

A year later, he slumped to 17th in points after suffering eight DNFs, but scored his second career victory, winning the road-course race at Watkins Glen.

Montoya is the first Formula One driver to compete full-time in NASCAR and the first foreign-born driver with multiple Cup wins.

His Formula Smiles Foundation is one of the sport’s most active charities, benefiting children in both Colombia and the United States.