Denny Hamlin reacts to Juan Pablo Montoya driving for 23XI Racing

Denny Hamlin and 23XI Racing made a major announcement earlier this summer, when it was revealed that Juan Pablo Montoya would be returning to the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 car for the team at Watkins Glen International later this season.

Ahead of the exciting, one-off event, Hamlin took some time to react to the news on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, heaping praise on Montoya, and believing the competition has improved as it pertains to road course racing since the veteran’s last time in NASCAR.

“Yes, going to run for the Mobil 1 50th Anniversary car. We’re excited about that. Excited to have Juan back in our sport,” Hamlin stated. “He was such a great person to have in Cup Series racing. And you know, just from his interviews, the sound bites that he would do. On-track, how exciting he was to watch on the racetrack. He was someone that we definitely missed in our sport in the last decade. But it’s cool to have him back.

“I think he’s — I think he’s got a little rust. But you know, someone as talented as him doesn’t forget how to drive a race car. And you know, it’s not like he’s 55, no offense to 55 year olds. I think he’s still young enough, to where he’s still got some good reaction time, and still going to be good and competitive. I do think that that competition is harder now than it’s ever been on road courses. I think the field, through analytics and data and working real hard, the field has gotten faster.

“It’s not — it won’t be as easy for him to just go out and set fast times at Watkins-Glen, like he used to. But you know, because when we added road courses to our schedule, it forced all of us to have to get better at it, and so I think it’ll be exciting to see him at probably his best cup track, for this one start.”

Alas, it’s been awhile for Montoya as it pertains to the Cup Series, as the last event he competed in was the Brickyard 400 in 2014.

Still, the Columbian driver has competed in 255 races and finished in the top ten 59 times in his Cup Series career, and you can’t forget his two victories. Additionally, he’s also known for his success in IndyCar, winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 and 2015.

Perhaps Juan Pablo Montoya can have a moment like Shane van Gisbergen at Chicago in 2023, finding Victory Lane in his cameo appearance in the Cup Series. Regardless, it’ll be awesome to see the veteran wheelman return to NASCAR for at least one more appearance.