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Originally Posted by speedtv.com
Montoya Hiring Hints at NASCAR's Overseas Push
Written by: Ben Blake, RACER Magazine
Joliet, Ill. – 7/9/2006 Late Sunday morning, Chip Ganassi announced one of the more surprising moves in recent racing
history, signing 30-year-old Formula One racer Juan Pablo Montoya to drive his No. 42 NASCAR
Nextel Cup car.
Montoya, with no prior stock car experience, will take the place of Casey Mears, who will move next
year to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. Ganassi's hiring of Montoya, although by no means a
guaranteed success, represents a blockbuster move at levels approaching the top.
"Juan Pablo is one of the best race car drivers in the world," Ganassi said at the news conference.
"He's a former CART champion, Indy 500 winner and Formula One driver who will being a much-needed
veteran presence to our team."
Ganassi will team Montoya with the unproven duo of David Stremme in the No. 40 and Reed Sorenson
in the No. 41.
The Colombian driver will be the first F1 full-timer to join NASCAR full-time. Ganassi has him penciled
in for additional stock-car seat time in Busch races next year, plus a few Busch races down the stretch
this year.
In the modern era, veteran open-wheel drivers have not adapted quickly to the heavy stock cars, with
Michel Jourdain being the most recent example. Jourdain has done an adequate job in the Busch
Series, with Ford backing, but has not been an immediate success.
Sidelined Christian Fittipaldi tried out in a few races for Petty Enterprises in 2002 and 2003, then quietly disappeared from the program.
Montoya has seven victories in the past six F1 seasons and most recently has driven for
McLaren/Mercedes. The McLaren team, however, has not offered Montoya a deal for next year, and he
and old pal Ganassi have decided to give it a try.
Details of how the contracts were finessed are not clear. Mercedes and Dodge, Ganassi's NASCAR
backer, are allied within DaimlerChrysler but their racing operations are separate.
Montoya has competed in Champ Car, IRL and F1, spending 1999 and 2000 with Ganassi's CART
team. He won the CART championship in 1999, then won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000.
"I've known and worked with Chip for a number of years, and this situation could not be better for me,"
Montoya said. "I know the transition will not be easy, but I can't wait to get behind the wheel."
The announcement raised few eyebrows in the Cup garage.
"It's a great thing for the sport to have such a world-class driver wanting to compete," four-time
NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon said. "He's welcome, and I respect him for accepting the challenge."
Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, facing an uncertain future with the BMW/Sauber team, is reported to be actively seeking a NASCAR situation.
Both drivers would be welcome in Nextel Cup, as NASCAR seeks to expand into Latin America (Mexico City) and Canada (Montreal). In fact there are suspicions that NASCAR may have taken a hand in bringing Montoya to Ganassi.
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