Juan Pablo Montoya will drive for 23XI Racing at Watkins Glen International, the team announced on Friday (Aug. 2).
He will drive the No. 50 in its third and final race of the season as part of its partnership with sponsor Mobil 1, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in a Cup car and racing at Watkins Glen – a track I really enjoy and had the chance to experience earlier in my career,” Montoya said in a team statement. It’s an honor to celebrate the Mobil 1 team’s remarkable legacy in racing and be recognized for my contributions to motorsports. The Mobil 1 brand was one of my first sponsors when I started racing, so to represent the brand again as they celebrate this milestone will be so special.”
“I’m also excited to work with 23XI and experience what the team is building.”
For Montoya, it will be his first start in the Cup Series since the 2014 Brickyard 400 when he finished 23rd behind the wheel of the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske.
Montoya ran full-time in the Cup Series for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2007 to 2013, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet for seven seasons. Montoya accrued two road course wins, taking the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2010. Montoya’s highest Cup Series points finish came in 2009 when he made the postseason and placed eighth.
Watkins Glen will mark the fourth and final appearance of 23XI Racing’s No. 50 car for the 2024 season. Kamui Kobayashi and Corey Heim have driven the 23XI No. 50 once each this season, with Kobayashi collecting the No. 50 team’s best finish of 25th at Circuit of the Americas back in March.
“Juan Pablo Montoya is a world-class driver who has won in everything he’s driven, and he will be a great closer to the 50th-anniversary celebration we’ve had in NASCAR with the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota,” said Steve Lauletta, president of 23XI Racing. “The events have highlighted racing legends as well as what’s next in motorsports, and 23XI has been honored to have been a part of adding to the Mobil 1 legacy and celebrating such a momentous occasion.”
About the author
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 as an iRacing contributor. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.
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Jet dryers watch closely in your rear view mirror. LOL
Juan, did you notice that team also paid Ty Dillon to race for them.
I wonder if Bubba gets paid even though he is not in the car? Is this the first salvo across the bow?