In a video posted to 23XI Racing’s X account, the team announced that the part-time No. 50 car will compete again in the 2024 season. The team has not specifically named a driver for the final race of the year, but it appears that it will be legendary driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who competed in 255 Cup Series races from 2006 to 2014.
Montoya won two Cup Series races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen and the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series race at Mexico City. Montoya won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase in 2009 and finished eighth in Cup Series points that year, his career best result.
Montoya’s racing specialty has always been open-wheel cars, where he won 10 CART races and five IndyCar races, in addition to the 1999 CART championship. In 94 F1 starts, Montoya has won seven times and been on the podium 30 times.
He has won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2000, 2015) and the 24 Hours of Daytona three times (2007, 2008, 2013). Montoya won the IMSA championship in 2019 and has become a familiar name in the sports car racing world.
The 48-year-old is sure to be the most successful driver that 23XI Racing has ever used in the third car. Travis Pastrana will drive the team’s third car in the 2023 Daytona 500, while Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi will drive at Indianapolis in 2023 and at COTA in 2024 for 23XI. 23XI’s third team’s final race was on June 30 at Nashville, where Toyota candidate Corey Heim finished 29th in the No. 50 car.
Montoya will likely drive the car at one of the two road courses remaining in the program, Watkins Glen (New York) or Charlotte (North Carolina). It will undoubtedly add to the excitement for Montoya, as it will be the last race for 23XI’s 2024 part-time drivers, providing him with the best car he’s ever had at the Cup Series level.
