Denny Hamlin not winning the Cup Championship this season is the biggest proof that in racing, being the best doesn’t always guarantee success. The heartbreak was similar to the stories of other greats who fell short of the ultimate prize. Names like Mark Martin and Carl Edwards often come to mind. Yet, few remember one of the most remarkable runs of consistency in modern NASCAR history: Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2009 Chase campaign, a season in which his precision outshone raw wins.
Advertisement
From 2006 to 2014, Montoya was one of NASCAR’s brightest international stars, a competitor whose aggression behind the wheel made him one of the hardest men to pass. Before ever setting foot in a stock car, his résumé already read like a racing legend’s.
The Colombian won the CART Championship as a rookie in 1999, claimed the Indianapolis 500 a year later, and then spent six years in Formula 1, capturing seven Grand Prix victories and twice finishing third in the world standings.
When Montoya arrived in NASCAR full-time in 2007 with Chip Ganassi Racing, he wasted little time turning heads as he scored his first Xfinity win in Mexico that March and followed it up with a Cup win at Sonoma Raceway three months later. But 2009 marked his most complete season, when he combined pace and precision to become a genuine title threat.
Over 36 starts, Montoya collected seven top-fives and 18 top-tens, the best numbers of his NASCAR career, and advanced to the playoffs for the first and only time, finishing a career-best eighth in the standings.
Through the first four races of that year’s Chase, Montoya’s numbers were staggering: four top-fives, 184 laps led (second-most in the field), 670 points (third-most), and the highest averages in laps run inside the top five and top ten. His average running position of 4.27 was unmatched. Even without a win, he was one of the sharpest competitors on the grid.
Random, but Montoya’s start to the 2009 Chase isn’t talked about enough
After 4 races:
4 Top 5s (most of anyone)
184 laps led (2nd most)
670 points (3rd most)
592 laps in the top 5 (most of anyone)
769 laps in the top 10 (most of anyone)
4.27 avg run pos (best of anyone) https://t.co/ooutfQ6xDh— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) November 16, 2025
Montoya added one more Cup win in 2010, again on a road course at Watkins Glen, before parting ways with Ganassi in 2013. He then returned to open-wheel racing with Team Penske’s IndyCar program, collecting five wins between 2014 and 2016, including a near miss for the 2015 Indy 500 title.
Reflecting on his NASCAR tenure, Montoya said, “I really enjoyed NASCAR, and when I worked with Brian Pattie (Montoya’s crew chief from 2008-2011), it was very good. We had a really good relationship and we made a lot of good things.”
A decade later, Montoya briefly returned to NASCAR in 2024 with 23XI Racing, driving the No. 50 Toyota at Watkins Glen after a call from team president Steve Lauletta. Though he started 34th and finished 32nd, his return was a nostalgic moment.
