JPM makes a HUGE move!

[MattR]

Yes, Juan Pablo Montoya has announced that he will be moving to NASCAR!

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.

[MattR]

Looks like Ganassi will have JPM in a stock car before the end of this season. There's a month worth of Busch/ Cup races after the F1 season finale. This should eb interesting.

If everything works out, we should be able to see Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya and Michel Jordain battling it out in stock cars before too long.

[tysonK]

Well from the last race we knew JPM is ready for some bump drafting.

[Nick Koan]

Wow.

I'll have to try and find teh article, but a few weeks ago Villenuve was considering the move to NASCAR too. He said he'd prefer it over moving to CART or Indy since he considered CART and Indy to be below his level.

[MattR]

Yeah, if you look at the last couple lines of the story I posted above, it has a small blurb about Jacques, but there's not much discussion going on about him. I think JV going to Nascar is a real possibilty too.

[Nick Koan]

Ah, I didn't even read that far. It makes sense. They are expanding racing both north and south, so both drivers would certainly help give NASCAR a jumpstart in those areas.

[JonnydaJibba]

God NASCAR sucks! Cool that he is exploring other venues or something, but NASCAR?!

[MattR]

Originally Posted by JonnydaJibba

God NASCAR sucks! Cool that he is exploring other venues or something, but NASCAR?!

Thanks, you really contributed a lot to the thread

[sperry]

Originally Posted by JonnydaJibba

God NASCAR sucks! Cool that he is exploring other venues or something, but NASCAR?!

As lame as it sounds, NASCAR is nearly as big as F1 these days. Certainly it's more profitable than F1, since it make an assload of cash from running so many races, having so many sponsors, and costing what, like 1/5th the cost of F1 to run?

Plus the racing in NASCAR is *way* more competative, and *way* easier to follow for the "average" motorsports fan. There's exciting bumping and crashing, lots of passing, tons of cars, and close competition. While I *love* F1 far more than NASCAR, I recognize that not everyone can or will appreciate the finess, nuance, technology, and history that makes F1 so interesting. NASCAR is a brute force approach to racing, which is frankly what most fans appreciate.

If NASCAR starts attracting international talent, they may finally start growing an international audience. In addition, if they were to modernize the cars just a little bit (modern FI engines, a little better aero, lighter cars) and move to more road courses... I think that NASCAR would not only become bigger than F1 internationally, but it might actually be as fun to watch for both the "average" fan, and the fans that love F1.

I know JPM in a Cup Car will get me watching, at least for a few races, just to see how an open-wheel ace stacks up in the big cars.

[Joeyy]

The changes that are being made to the nascar "car of the futrue" will help him. It will be less aero dependent and there should be more side by side racing with less follow the leader. This should open up the door and help a driver new to the series. Additionally all the current drivers will have to get used to the new setups and it may even the playing feild a bit.

[Kevin M]

F1 cars are not aero dependent?

[Joeyy]

My point is that the style of Nascar racing is going to change and that will be a big possitve for a noob and yes I understand that F1 is.....I'm not going to waste my breath.

[Nick Koan]

Looks like JPM can start packing early.

Montoya out, de la Rosa in from France.

McLaren has announced that Juan Pablo Montoya has left the team following the announcement that he will switch to NASCAR for the 2007 season.

A statement issued by the team confirmed that test driver Pedro de la Rosa has been promoted into the second race seat alongside Kimi Raikkonen for the French Grand Prix – marking the Spaniard's first appearance since the Bahrain GP last season, when he claimed a fifth place finish after being called upon to replace an injured Montoya.

The decision to replace the Colombian with immediate effect comes after rumours circulated in the Spanish press that the driver had angered McLaren chiefs with the announcement of his NASCAR move on Sunday. Spanish newspaper Marca claims that Montoya hadn't spoken with the team prior to informing the world of his decision to switch to the American oval series.

While he wasn't expected by many to be retained alongside Fernando Alonso next season – with the team having not taken up the option it had on his contract – McLaren hadn't actually told Montoya that he wasn't wanted, with his announcement of a move elsewhere further straining the relationship between the two after a difficult first half of the 2006 season.


Looking to find the best solution for both parties, team and driver reached 'a mutual agreement' for Montoya to leave early and he will now spend time in Miami preparing for his new venture, with NASCAR team boss Chip Ganassi having already expressed a desire to give the newcomer some races in the Busch Series this year before he begins his assault on the Nextel Cup in 2007.

"I know that it will be a tough transition, but I'm really excited about the opportunity to move into the NASCAR championship," Montoya said, "I have enjoyed most of my time in Formula One and I'm grateful for this opportunity to settle my personal life and concentrate on my future career."

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said he felt the decision taken was the right one for both team and driver to allow Montoya to focus on next season.

"Juan Pablo is an exciting driver and immensely likeable character who will undoubtedly make a successful transition to the NASCAR scene," he said, "We have agreed that, with so many things happening in Juan Pablo's life right now, he should take some time out of the car and prepare professionally and personally for the future."

While de la Rosa said he was relishing the chance to race the MP4/21 – a car he said he knows better than anyone else – there has been no further indication of who will take the second seat for next season, although Crash.net understands that de la Rosa is now a frontrunner for a possible race seat in 2007, even though two Spaniards racing for the same team sounds as likely as the once-rumoured Renault partnership of Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Raikkonen.

[JonnydaJibba]

Originally Posted by MattR

Thanks, you really contributed a lot to the thread

Thanks!

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by nKoan

Looks like JPM can start packing early.

So... they fired him for announcing he was quitting before they could announce they were going to fire him?

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by Joeyy

My point is that the style of Nascar racing is going to change and that will be a big possitve for a noob and yes I understand that F1 is.....I'm not going to waste my breath.

I don't think the "style" of Nascar racing is going to change much, but JPM already has a ton of oval track experience, so he will be competitive once he settles in and learns the nuances of the series. It can only be good for nascar for sure though.

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

So... they fired him for announcing he was quitting before they could announce they were going to fire him?

No, no. It was a mutual decision based on what was best for Montoya. Also, they fired his ass.

[Nick Koan]

Warning shots fired.

http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=127079

NASCAR drivers fire warning shot at Villeneuve and Montoya
09 August 2006

NASCAR drivers Greg Biffle and Adrian Fernandez warned NASCAR hopefuls Villeneuve and Montoya not to expect instant success in the Busch Series.

At a conference call on Tuesday, Adrian Fernandez, a good friend of Montoya and someone who also made the move from single seaters to stock cars this year explained that NASCAR is tougher than it looks.

"The appearance is deceiving for open wheel drivers," Fernandez said. "I think Juan Pablo will be surprised at how competitive it is and how hard it is to get used to these cars. The same goes for Villeneuve if he gets it. It's been a problem in the past for open wheel drivers to get used to it. It's quicker than you think. Look at Paul Tracy when he tried it, or Scott Pruett, or myself."

Greg Biffle highlighted how NASCAR demands a different driving style and approach, implying that Montoya and Villeneuve will have to be willing to make big adjustments to suit the heavier machines. According to the NASCAR pro, the F1-converts will be surprised "how unresponsive they'd be compared to a Formula One car."

Villeneuve, who struggled even when he returned to F1 after a season out last year, won the prestigious Indy 500 in 1995 but is yet to sign a NASCAR contract despite much speculation. Montoya, on the other hand, has signed for Chip Ganassi's NASCAR outfit and has left McLaren already this season to start focusing on his switch to NASCAR.

[Kevin M]

Aw, weak. I was deceived by the article title, I was expecting something like "watch your cornhole, bud" coming from some backmarker redneck Cup driver.

[Nick Koan]

From nasioc:

JPM will be making his race debut in a stock car next week, October 6th, in the ARCA/ReMax Food World 250 at Talledega. He'll be in the No. 4 Texaco/Havoline Dodge.

Speed will air the race delayed on Oct 6th, at 5:00 Pacific.

Should be interesting to say the least

[MPREZIV]

I can't believe you just used the word "interesting" in the same sentence as a reference to watching Nascar...

[Ezdno]

I know everyone thinks Nascar does not take very much skill to make left hand turns, but has anyone here driven for hours at a sustained speed of 100 plus mph in and out of traffic. As I watch more and more F1, Auto-X, Can Am racing I can see its physical. But at least give some credit where credit is due, driving 500 miles at those speeds still takes skill and endurance. I think the after the race antics of the drivers is sometimes more interesting than the race itself. And does anyone else see a Ricky Bobby parallel to this?

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by MPREZIV

I can't believe you just used the word "interesting" in the same sentence as a reference to watching Nascar...

lol, actually thats part of the quote from Nasioc.

[tysonK]

They showed him in a cup car during F1 practice coverage.



edit: sperry says it's not a cup car.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by tysonK

They showed him in a cup car during F1 practice coverage.

ARCA/Remax car.... not even a Cup car.