April 30, 2014 — report by Managing Editor Jacob Seelman for Race Chaser Online — NASCAR photo — MOORESVILLE, N.C. — His desire to win in a stock car still burning as brightly as ever, Juan Pablo Montoya’s schedule has just taken on a few more challenges for 2014.
Montoya, who drives the No. 2 PPG/Verizon Chevrolet-Dallara in the Verizon Indycar Series for Roger Penske, announced on Wednesday in a press conference that he will make two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts for Team Penske later this season.
The native Colombian will drive the No. 12 Ford Fusion in June at the Michigan International Speedway and again in July at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. SKF, headquartered in Michigan, will serve as the primary sponsor on the car at Michigan, while a sponsor for the Brickyard 400 effort is yet to be determined.
Greg Erwin will serve as Montoya’s crew chief for both events after working with Team Penske and Sam Hornish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013.
Montoya, who sits 11th in the IndyCar Series standings after three races, ran full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 2007 to 2013 for Chip Ganassi Racing. He scored nine poles, two wins, 24 top-fives and a 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup appearance during that span, however neither of the two race wins came on ovals. Montoya’s debut win was at Sonoma in 2007 and he won at Watkins Glen in 2010. His Indianapolis 500 victory in 2000 also came behind the wheel of a Ganassi-prepared machine.
