Juan Pablo Montoya promises aggressive NASCAR return, warns rivals ahead of Watkins Glen

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and seven-year NASCAR veteran Juan Pablo Montoya doesn't plan on being a pushover on his return to the Cup Series this weekend in Watkins Glen. The Colombian-born driver said he'll race others how he gets raced himself.

In an X post by The Athletic's motorsports reporter Jeff Gluck, playoff driver William Byron was asked of the two-time Cup Series race winner making his return to NASCAR, to which he said:

"Hopefully he's nice and respectful of the playoff guys."

Then, in another X post, the reporter posted Montoya's comments on how aggressively he'd race the Cup drivers this weekend in his first race back in over 10 years, to which he responded:

"I race people fair and I hope people race me fair — and if they don’t, I won’t. If you want to be an a**hole, I can be a bigger a**hole; if you want to be nice, I’ll be very nice."

There were a few responses under Gluck's post from fans who expressed excitement in Juan Pablo Montoya's return and the hint that he may get aggressive with his competitors, with one saying:

"Never back a man in a corner that has nothing to lose. JPM bringing the smoke will be God tier entertainment."

"That's my driver right there," said another user.

One user insinuated that the five-time IndyCar Series race winner would help out his team's co-owner Denny Hamlin by saying:

"Denny gonna have him take out his competition so he don't have to."

The 48-year-old will pilot the No. 50 23XI Racing Toyota, co-owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan, alongside teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. Montoya returns for the second race of the Cup Series playoffs, his first Cup race since the Brickyard 400 in July 2014.

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Juan Pablo Montoya's history in NASCAR

Juan Pablo Montoya pursued a career in NASCAR in 2007. He drove for Chip Ganassi Racing and wheeled the No. 42 car in all seven seasons of his Cup career. His first win came at Sonoma Raceway during his rookie season, which played a part in him capturing the Rookie of the Year honor.

Montoya placed 20th and 25th, respectively, in the final season standings in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Montoya posted 18 top-ten finishes and made his first playoff appearance, placing a career-best eighth in the standings.

At the track that he makes his Cup Series return this weekend, Juan Pablo Montoya picked up his second and final win in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2010. From 2011-2013, Montoya had respective finishes of 21st, 22nd, and 21st in the final standings. He left NASCAR full-time after the 2013 season.