Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits he was “shocked” seeing Juan Pablo Montoya coming back to NASCAR to race for 23XI Racing

Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. is shocked and excited about Juan Pablo Montoya returning to NASCAR after 10 years.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits he was “shocked” seeing Juan Pablo Montoya coming back to NASCAR to race for 23XI Racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya (Via IMAGO)

Juan Pablo Montoya is one of the few motorsports athletes that has made a name for himself in all of the racing series he has been part of throughout his career. He is among the elite group of drivers to win races in F1, NASCAR and IndyCar, making him an icon. JPM is now set to make NASCAR return after a decade break.

He would drive the No:50 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, at Watkins Glen. He decided to make his first NASCAR start since 2014, after he offered the opportunity to represent 23XI sponsor Mobil1 on their 50th anniversary celebrations with a special NASCAR entry.

While talking about his formal drivers’ return to the sport, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. pointed out that he is shocked with the decision and hilariously questioned why did the veteran wanted to make a comeback.  He then admitted that he is really excited to see what the former McLaren F1 driver can do for the team.

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Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the #50 car for 23XI at Watkins Glen, what a shock that was. I was shocked. Why does Juan want to come back and race? Was he not having fun? Well, I’m excited about that.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dale Jr Download.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. always enjoys being around Juan Pablo Montoya

The Hall of Famer then went onto recall the interaction they have had over the years when the raced against each other in the Cup series. He asserted that JPM was always a normal NASCAR driver like himself and acted as such. Junior admitted that he has always enjoyed being around the South American racer.

Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya
I would walk up to him and you’re a driver, right? So you think you know everything, you think you know everything that’s wrong with NASCAR and everybody’s got like 2-3 things going on that weekend that they’re pissed off about, that they think is stupid or we had to do this or do that or do something this way, and you’d go up to Juan and be like, ‘What’s up Juan?’ And he’d be like, ‘Yeah man, do you believe **mimics complaining*....' He’s just like us. I always enjoyed being around him.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

Junior, like many other fans are expecting the veteran racer to produce an impressive run at Glen, a track that has been one of the best tracks for him though out his career. It would be interesting to see how the 23XI debut go for them and would it make him come back more to race in NASCAR.

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