Toyota Racing – Juan Pablo Montoya
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
WATKINS GLEN, NY (September 14, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, No. 50 Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
What is it like to be back?
“It’s really good to be back – exciting. I have no idea what to expect – I don’t know. I think I should run pretty well, but that is all I can tell you right now. (laughter) It’s so difficult, because you come into a weekend where you get – I drove the car at VIR, and did about 40 laps, just to get comfortable – make sure the seat and everything was working. I felt pretty good with the car. I felt like it was easier to drive than the last car, and then, you talk to our teammates and the team and everyone is like, it is so difficult to drive, and you are like okay, and you talk to (Michael) McDowell, and he’s like it is much easier to drive – it is more like at GT3, and I’m like that’s what I thought, and then you talk to (Max) Papis and then you are like I don’t know. I’m just going to go out there and – it’s either going to be oh, it’s not too bad or I’m going to go, oh, shit – but we will see.”
What has it been like to adjust to who you are racing around?
“Honestly, being a one-off, it is kind of irrelevant. I want to have a clean day, a good day, and try to be competitive. If someone is quicker, they are quicker – if you are quicker, you are going to try to go by. Try to keep it as simple as possible, but you never know. If everybody races the hell out of you, then you are going to race the hell out of everybody. I have no issues with that either.”
Two years ago, could you have expected this? How did this come together?
“Honestly, the last few years I was racing P2 cars for a while. I ran WEC, ELMS, IMSA – I’ve done a bit of everything. The last year, the bronze that we raced with decided he wanted to stop for a little bit – honestly, for me it was fun, because it is like racing with no commitments, like we went to the track, we stay always in the same hotel, have dinner, go to the tracks when the bronzes wants to go to the track, so you get to the track 40 minutes before you run, and you still drive the hell out of it, and you still work but there is no sponsor commitments, there is no BS around the racing, you just go there and drive the car and go home. It is really nice. When we stopped that, I really wanted to focus on Sebastian. We did F3 this year, and we are trying to figure out next year, but hopefully the plan will be F2, and that is it. (Steve) Lauletta (23XI president) called me earlier this year, around the US GP in Miami, and a little before that, and he asked if you would be interested in doing that, and I said yeah, I would. I think it would be cool. It is kind of funny because you would ask me last year, and I would be like no, no way. Then the idea comes, and I’m like huh. I honestly think it is pretty cool. The idea behind it is pretty cool, and the cars are really competitive – so why not? I really don’t have a reason not to do it. I feel like I can still do a good job – this year, I wasn’t racing full time, but I was doing a lot of karting, a lot of shifter karts with my kid, and I’m still involved in racing fully. Will just drive the car. If the car is good, you will look good. If it’s bad, you are going to look bad. I don’t think the car is bad, but it is if I’m comfortable in it or not. I told the guys that I would be surprised if we qualified really well – like I should qualify pretty decent. When I won here, I didn’t even put it on the pole here. I finished in the top-five, I don’t know how many times in the Cup races here, and I used to qualify 12th to 15th, I don’t know. We will see.”
What do you feel like is going to be most different than the last time you drove a NASCAR car?
“I think the new thing and I’m glad there is two practices, but the hard thing is – you are going to go out and they are going to want to see the tires and you are going to go out and do a long run, you are never going make a qualifying sim – back in the day, you used to a qualifying sim and you would really prepare for qualifying, but now you go there and drive it and with the tire derogation that they are talking about – you are probably going to get a lap. It’s kind of tough because if you over-do it, you screw up and you under-do it, you screw up – so great. (laughter).”
How did you look back on your NASCAR career now?
“I thought it was pretty good honestly, for the cars that I was in and the equipment we were in, I think in a couple of years we were not great, but we made the Chase, we fought for the championship – we did a lot of things with a lot less than the other teams, personally thinking. I think our best run was with Brian (Pattie). When Brian was there, he was taking care of everything. When the new crew chief came in, and he stayed there until I left, it was a bit of a joke, but what can you do.”
Do you think it will open the doors to more one-offs?
“I don’t know. Let’s do this weekend and then we will see. Honestly, I probably some day – if someone comes to me one day and asks me if I want to do a one-off, I would probably say yes, but it is Saturday morning, so we will see.”
What was your workout routine now compared to what it was back when you were racing full-time?
“When I was driving, I didn’t do anything. I go to the gym now. That’s the truth. We were racing every week. I go to the gym every time that I’m home. I go – like an hour, hour-and-a-half in the gym. I do a lot of shifter karts – shifter karts are killer. That thing will tear you a part, and it is good fun. I play a lot of golf, walking – I do quite a bit. I’ve always been a big guy. When I was 25, everyone said I was big – what do you expect at 48 (laughter).”
What do you think is the next progression for these kids that want to take a F1 path?
“Connor (Zilisch) is interesting because Connor raced against Sebastian – in the last year or two of karting. We used to mainly race Europe in the Winter Series or whatever it was called in Florida – we would race against him, and they would always run together. He was good. I think Connor went a couple of times to Europe – Europe is a different animal. Europe, there is a very different driving style, so when you drive in the States in a go-kart, you struggle – because the engine is very different and the approach is very different and the grip level is very different, so it is just a different animal. (follow-up question) That is not FIA. If you go race Miami or go and race – that’s not it. That’s like saying you raced ARCA, and you call it you won in Cup. The kid is good. You see what he’s done. If he would have stayed in Europe, he probably would have had the progression to where Sebastian is. I think he is managed by (Kevin) Harvick, so they decided to come this route, and you see how good he is. The thing in Europe – most of the kids in Europe are that good. If you go to a F3 race, in a two-minute lap time, 70 percent of the grid is within three tenths. You look at qualifying in Xfinity – it is seven tenths between the top-five. Six tenths, you set 90 percent of the F3 grid at any type of race track. That is how close it is. That’s the reality of it. It is very difficult, and you get less running than here. Like F3, you get about four push laps in practice and two and three push laps in qualifying, and that is the weekend, so you need to come really well prepared. That is why everyone that comes from F2, F3 to INDYCAR performs well, because they are used to performing under pressure.”
How often do you and your son watch NASCAR racing?
“I’ll be honest with you. In my house, the person that watches the most racing is my wife. I watch some of the F1 races – I’m doing a podcast now in Columbia for racing, so I watch most – I need to watch the F1 races. I follow a little bit of the NASCAR races, but for this I focused more on this race. I focused more – the team did a tire test here, so I looked there. I did sim work. I did everything. Everyone I talk to says the give and take that there used to be back in the day is a lot less, people seem to race more for every position, but it is what it is. I think it will be hard with two, three seconds of tire derogation. If someone starts racing, they are going to blow the tires off.”
Have you noticed a difference in the people in the garage area since you left?
“Yes, I guess is the correct answer. Honestly, back in the day, you had plenty of diversity. From my eyes, it really hasn’t changed. I think what has really changed is that you are going to go and race in Mexico next year, and you are willing to explore more of that. I think it is good. I think where you can see more diversity – apart from the garage – will be the crowd watching the races. That is going to grow the sport to a brand-new market that is quite interesting, and I think the sponsors – as big as the Latino market is in the states now-a-days, is going to help a lot and bring new sponsors to the championship.”
Were there any other opportunities before this opportunity came out about with 23XI Racing?
“Not really. I think the two reasons that this opportunity came about – one is Steve Lauletta (23XI president) was the president at (Chip) Ganassi when I was there, for one, and two, I raced with Mobil 1. I raced with McLaren with Mobil 1, and actually my first sponsor in Columbia was Mobil 1 too.”
How will you be racing the Playoff guys?
“I will be nice and respectful of everyone that is nice and respectful for me (laughter). I don’t want to get in a pissing contest with anyone. I want to run well. If I get to you, and I’m quicker than you – I’m going to try to pass you. If you get to me, and you are quicker than me, there is reason – the race is long enough. Like always, you wait for the adjustment and make the car better – if you make someone miserable at the start of the race, they are going to return the favor later. I know I’m doing one-off. I will be respectful of everyone that is respectful of me. It is not that hard.”
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