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Juan Pablo Montoya (credit – Action Sports Photography)

Starting from a young age, Juan Pablo Montoya was the fastest on the track no matter what he raced. The American NASCAR series star was a top Formula 1 racer in the world’s fastest cars, driving for the world’s top teams: BMW Williams and McLaren Mercedes. Juan Pablo won seven F-1 races, finished in the top three 30 times, and took 13 pole positions. In 2003, he won the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix. In Indy cars, Juan Pablo won the CART racing series in 1999, and made another huge impression when he won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 on his first time at the famous “Brickyard.” He led a dominant 167 out of 200 laps around the track, a record for a rookie at the track.

Juan Pablo is the first Formula 1 driver to switch to racing full time in America’s NASCAR racing series. He is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona in the first attempt. Only one other driver, classic British driver Graham Hill, has also won the Indy 500 and the Monaco GP. Only Mario Andretti has equaled Juan Pablo’s achievement of winning the Indy 500, an F-1 race, and a NASCAR championship race.

Growing up in Colombia, his father Pablo taught him the basics of racing and helped him get started by racing go-karts, the traditional start for open-wheel racecar drivers worldwide. He was the Colombian National Karting Champion from 1981 to 1984 — starting when he was 6 years old! By the time he was 17, he was winning more advanced Formula Renault races. He moved to Austria to race larger Formula 3000 cars, and with very little money, he couldn’t even afford a bus or train to get to the track so he rollerbladed everywhere he wanted to go.

Together with his wife Connie, Juan Pablo created the Formula Smile Foundation, which is one of the most active racing charities building sports facilities for children in poor neighborhoods worldwide. He is also a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Juan Pablo has lots of natural talent, but he told me that without perseverance, he would not be where he is today.

“Things were really tough for me in 1998 when I was living in Austria and looking for my big break in racing and had no money for anything. I used to rollerblade everywhere. You definitely have to have a lot of dedication and love for your sport to succeed. Racing is a tough sport and you’re up against some of the best drivers in the world. But I’m now living my dream and can’t imagine doing anything else.”