Tag Archives: Juan Montoya

Juan Montoya appears on cover of ESPN Deportes La Revista

Posted on by
Reply

Photo courtesy of EGR/ESPN Deportes La Revista

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver Juan Pablo Montoya graces the cover of the ESPN Deportes La Revista (the Spanish version of ESPN the Magazine) this month. This is the second time the international driver has been featured in the prestigious magazine; he first appeared on the February 2007 issue just before his first full season in NASCAR. ESPN Deportes La Revista is the most culturally relevant sports magazine for the U.S. Hispanic reader. The monthly publication is the only Spanish-language sports magazine in the U.S. and is currently available at newsstands.

Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Montoya is one of the most popular Hispanic athletes in the world and in 2006, he made an announcement that shocked the motorsports world; he was leaving the F1 ranks to return to Chip Ganassi and race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS). The March issue takes a look into the life of the world renowned driver and what the transition to NASCAR has been like over the last five years. He discusses his passions outside of racing, his goals, social media and the importance of family.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have great fans that have followed me throughout my career and have supported me everywhere that racing has taken me. I hope that my presence in NASCAR has exposed this form of racing to Hispanic fans that might not otherwise pay attention and I think opportunities like this with ESPN Deportes only helps,” said Montoya.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

· NASCAR AT A GLANCE: In 208 career NASCAR (Sprint Cup and Nationwide) starts, Montoya has tallied seven pole awards, three wins, 21 top-five and 53 top-10 finishes. He is the only foreign-born driver to win multiple races in the NSCS and the first Latino, first Formula 1 driver, and first Indianapolis 500 winner to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup where he finished eighth in the standings (2009).

· WITHOUT FENDERS: Montoya has 18 victories and 27 poles in his open-wheel career (CART, IndyCar, Formula 1) with 64 top-five and 81 top-10 results in 135 starts. His most prestigious wins came at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 – the premier events in F1, CART and IndyCar respectively.

· THE ONE AND ONLY: Juan Pablo Montoya is the only driver to win the CART series championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Cars Series in his first attempt.

· NEXT UP: Montoya, who has been featured in countless Spanish language publications and television networks, will be featured in an upcoming episode of Univision’s “Nuestra Belleza Latina” where not only will he put his acting skills to work but will judge the competition. The show is a mix between the Apprentice and America’s Next Top Model where women are vying for a chance to be a host on the Spanish language Univision.

· UP TO THE MINUTE: For insight into the life of Juan Pablo Montoya and his team follow them on Twitter @jpmontoya and @EGRTeams and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/jpmontoya and www.facebook.com/#!/earnhardtganassi

Source: EGR PR

Dale Jr. now owns remains of Montoya’s Daytona car

Posted on by
Reply

Remnants of Juan Pablo's car getting delivered to the garage area during the red flag at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Sandi Goodall / Racingal.com

A (mangled) piece of racing history has landed in the woods surrounding Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s property in Cleveland, N.C. Thanks to a familiar connection, NASCAR’s most popular driver recently acquired the destroyed Juan Pablo Montoya’s #42 Chevy that famously slammed into a jet dryer under caution during the Feb. 27 Daytona 500. Collecting crashed race cars is a hobby of Earnhardt’s, and the latest addition is the only one that’s caused a fiery on-track explosion and a two-hour delay in NASCAR’s biggest race.

Could the jet dryer be next item to summoned to his wooded acreage?

“I’d like to have it, but I don’t know where it is. Probably somewhere in Daytona or NASCAR might be studying it somewhere, who knows,” Earnhardt said.

CHECK OUT DALE JR’s PROPERTY.

Source: USA Today

Juan Montoya sets fire to the rain at Daytona International Speedway

Posted on by
Reply

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 27: Safety workers try to extinguish a fire from a jet dryer after being hit by Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, under caution during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 27, 2012. Photo credit: Getty Images

It had already been a long and crazy weekend at Daytona. For the first time ever, the Daytona 500 had been postponed due to rain and was running on a Monday evening.

I was standing in Smoke’s No. 14 pit watching the Daytona 500 on their monitor under the pit box, and a caution comes out… ok, no biggie I thought. Just another caution.

WRONG… this turned out not to be just “any” caution….

I turned to look behind me to see what happened on the live jumbotron during the replay, and suddenly there were flames erupting from the lower corner of the SPRINT Vision screen shortly after Montoya’s red No. 42 disappeared out of sight…

What the hell happened to Montoya’s car?

All you could hear were gasps and screams from the race fans as they watched it play out on the jumbotrons around the track. Then there was silence – then more gasps – as it looked like the fire was getting out of control as the jet fuel poured down the track like a waterfall. As I looked around, team members and race fans were stunned and just watching in amazement.

The crowd shortly  broke out into applause and cheers as the fire trucks headed out towards Turn 3.

Montoya said his car had developed a vibration, so he pitted under caution for his team to check it out. Everything seemed all right with the vehicle, and Montoya said he went back out onto the race track and shifted into fourth gear — causing something to break in the suspension, causing Montoya to lose control of the car as it shot up right into the dryer. The impact totaled the race car, and left a large gash in the side of the cab of the jet dryer, causing it to erupt into flames.

Some might say that Montoya shouldn’t have been going as fast as he was while passing the cleaning crew that were out on track. Would that had made a difference? Maybe, maybe not.

Juan Montoya's scorched and damaged No. 42 being taken to the garage area. Photo credit: Getty Images

The resulting fire took several minutes to be brought under control by using water and fire extinguishers. Tide laundry detergent was used to clean the spilled fuel off the track and speedy dry and blowers were used to help dry the track. Safety and fire personnel then applied a bonding material — similar to what was used to patch the infamous pothole two years ago — to repair the area of the track surface that had been burned. According to Daytona International Speedway, the amount of jet fuel burning on the race track was about 200 gallons. This inferno had resulted in a red flag that lasted 2 hours, 5 minutes.

The jet dryer driver, Duane Barnes, works for Daytona’s sister track Michigan International Speedway. He was transported to Halifax Medical Center for evaluation and later released, according to Daytona track officials. (NASCAR.com) Juan Montoya emerged with only a banged-up foot that occurred when it slipped off the brake and into the clutch pedal, and a scorched helmet.