There’s a reason why the Indy500 is a part of the famed triple crown in motorsports. Winning at the Indy500 is quite a task, a big test of a racing driver’s physical and mental limits. But winning in NASCAR is difficult as well.
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Look no further than 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who tried his luck in stock cars, but failed, and never won a race.
Yet there have been a few drivers who have won a race both in NASCAR and the Indianapolis 500. Let’s take a look at some of the few who have achieved this incredible feat.
Drivers to have won the Indy500 and in NASCAR
Mario Andretti is one of the few drivers to have won a race in Formula 1, Indycar, and NASCAR. Andretti, who has 12 wins in F1 to his name, also won the Daytona 500 in 1967 and the Indy500 in 1969.
His career in Cup Series was of just 14 starts but in Indycar, he had 407 starts to his name.
Juan Pablo Montoya is another driver who has won in F1, Indycar, and NASCAR. Montoya won 7 races in F1, but he has also won twice in the Cup Series and 15 times in the Indycar/CART series.
Montoya won the Indy500 twice, in 2001 and in 2015.
Your 2015 @IndyCar #Indy500 champion, @jpmontoya! Enjoy that milk, sir! You earned it! pic.twitter.com/Ht8jLdAfxZ
— Team Chevy (@TeamChevy) May 24, 2015
AJ Foyt has the record for most wins in Indycar with 67. He won the Indy500 four times, which is a joint record for most wins. But Foyt also had a career in Cup Series from 1963 to 1994 in which he had 128 starts.
And his talent from Indycar carried on into the stock cars. Foyt won seven times in the Cup Series including a 1972 Daytona 500 win.
Mark Donohue won the Indy 500 driving for Roger Penske’s team in his first start in the Indy series. The driver also won a Cup Series race in the season opener at Riverside in the 1972-73 season.
His career of 29 starts in Indycar and six in the Cup Series came to a tragic end after he died in a fatal crash at the age of 38.
Who could be the next addition to this list?
Earlier this year, the seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, underwent his ‘orientation program’ for the Indy 500. Johnson, who retired from NASCAR in 2020, stepped into Indycar with Chip Ganassi Racing.
And according to a report, he will race in the Indy 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022.
So, Jimmie Johnson could become an addition to this list of drivers who have won races in NASCAR and the Indy 500. There’s no doubt that he is more than capable of pulling this off.
The Indianapolis 500 will have a qualifying run on May 20-22 and the main race will take place on May 29.
Also Read: ’45-Year-Old Rookie’ Jimmie Johnson Reveals the Major Difference Between NASCAR & IndyCar
