Juan Pablo Montoya to return to NASCAR

Team Penske announced on Wednesday that Juan Pablo Montoya will return to NASCAR for two races this year.

Montoya will run two NASCAR races in the number 12 car for Team Penske. His first race will be on June 15 at Michigan. The second race will be the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27. Greg Erwin, who is a veteran NASCAR crew chief, will be Montoya’s crew chief, according to NASCAR.com. SKF will sponsor Montoya’s car at Michigan. The sponsor for Indianapolis will be announced at a later date.

"Juan is a proven winner in multiple racing disciplines and he is one of the most versatile racecar drivers competing today," Team Penske owner Roger Penske said. "Michigan and Indianapolis are two important races for Team Penske. We know Juan has the ability to race for wins in both of those events while still focusing on his full-time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series."

This year Montoya, who is a champion in open-wheel racing, returned to open-wheel racing by driving for Penske in the Verizon IndyCar Series. He is excited about racing in NASCAR again.

"It has been a good start to the season with Team Penske in the Verizon IndyCar Series and it will be fun to get back behind the wheel of the Cup car," Montoya said. "It's hard to believe, but Roger Penske has never won the Brickyard 400. I think that Brad, Joey and I will give Roger and Team Penske a great opportunity to check that off the list and we should be strong at Michigan as well."

Montoya competed in NASCAR for eight years, from 2007 to 2013. While in NASCAR he drove for Chip Ganassi, who also has an IndyCar team. In his NASCAR career, Montoya has two wins, 24 top-fives, and nine poles, according to Fox Sports.

The number 12 car will compete in a total of three races this year. In addition to Michigan, the 12 car will also race at Kansas on May 10 and Talladega on October 19 with Ryan Blaney as the driver and SKF as the sponsor.