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Montoya to Switch to NASCAR!
From Atlas:
Juan Pablo Montoya has decided to turn his back on Formula One at the end of the season and will make a switch to NASCAR next year, autosport.com can reveal.
The McLaren driver's future has been the subject of intense speculation for months, as it appeared his options to remain in Grand Prix racing were narrowing.
But Montoya has now inked a deal with Chip Ganassi Racing to compete in Nextel Cup as of next year - and autosport.com understands that it is a long term one.
Montoya enjoyed a successful relationship with Ganassi when he captured the 1999 CART championship and the 2000 Indianapolis 500 crown.
Recently Ganassi said he would be interested in recruiting the Colombian, but it had been thought that this was for his Indy Racing League outfit.
However, sources close to Montoya have revealed that talks between the driver and his former team boss have focused on a move to NASCAR, with Chip Ganassi Racing having been looking for a replacement for Casey Mears.
Those talks have culminated this weekend in a deal being signed, with Montoya taking over the No. 42 car from the start of next season.
Although Montoya has never raced a NASCAR, he did spend some time behind the wheel of Jeff Gordon's Monte Carlo during a promotional activity at Indianapolis in June 2003.
Sources close to Montoya have indicated that Montoya became excited by the option of NASCAR when it was presented to him last month. "He's just glad to be going back home," said one source.
Montoya said recently that he was far from concerned about his future in motor racing - and admitted that 'anything was possible' in terms of where he would be racing.
"Well I am quite relaxed," said Montoya when asked about his feelings on getting a deal for next year. "I am looking at my options and we will see what happens. I am not too worried about anything. Nothing is sure but I am pretty happy."
When asked if he was confident he would remain in F1, Montoya said: "I don't know. I am looking at all my options and we will see what happens.
"I am not too worried about it. I am trying to put myself in the best position of where I am going to be happiest."
Ganassi was unavailable for comment about the deal, but speaking recently he said that his target for Mears' replacement would be in simply signing the fastest guy possible.
"You have to take the best guy that is available to you, whoever he is, wherever he is, whatever he is," he said. "There are a lot of teams looking for drivers.
"Am I happy about this? No. Am I happy to be in this situation? No. Is it a disaster? No, it's not a disaster, either. It's just part of the business."
Single seater drivers have had mixed success in making the switch to NASCAR.
Former Champ Car champion Jimmy Vasser competed in a few Busch Series races before calling it quits, as did Paul Tracy who subsequently signed a five-year contract extension to remain in single seaters.
Michel Jourdain Jr. left Champ Car for NASCAR but failed to make an impact in Busch or the Truck Series.
The one exception to the rule is former IRL champion Tony Stewart, who has two Nextel Cup championships to his name and shares the same kind of aggression on the track that is a hallmark of Montoya.
Only last weekend, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve said that he would consider a switch to NASCAR once his F1 career was over.
"Going to NASCAR might not be such a bad career move because it's the most exciting race series in the U.S. and it's a very different discipline to F1," he told the Red Bulletin.
"I would not consider it a step down. Would I consider a move to stock cars? I would."
Comments
[Edited on 9-7-06 by Stan]
Never forget Interlagos 2001.
when i read the news this morning I thought it was some kind of joke, I'm sure the salaries in Nascar are amazing but come on...
Ah well, Bye Bye Juan.
2001, or at least 2000
Jos did it in an Arrows. In 2003 Jos was in a Minardi.
It's now being reported on grandprix.com that he could be replaced by De la Rosa for the rest of the season with preesumably Paffet stepping into the main testing role.
2001, or at least 2000
Jos did it in an Arrows. In 2003 Jos was in a Minardi. [/quote]
Yeah, I assumed we we talking about when Jos went offtrack in the rain when he could have won the race !!!!
Maybe they could try Hamilton/Paffett in later races?
Wurz must be kicking himself for not staying with Mäkklärren
I predicted this back in the day. Indy drivers just can't make the switch.
I think he will have a hard time in NASCAR as well.
Johnson - California. Not southern.
Kenseth - Wisconsin. Not southern.
Earnhardt - North Carolina. Southern.
Burton - Virginia. In-between.
Kahne - Washington (state.) Not southern.
Martin - Arkansas. Southern (but he's not.)
Stewart - Indiana. Not southern.
Busch - Nevada. Not southern.
Harvick - California. Not southern.
Gordon - California. Not southern.
You're 2/10 on your geography.
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Enough disproving other people's points, here's what I think:
A top 20 in points next season would be a victory for Montoya. Ganassi isn't a top team anyway, and he'll have two inexperienced teammates (both are rookies this season.) The 42 is historically the best Ganassi car though. It will be a big transition for him, but he's good enough to do it.
The entire "good ole' boys" thing pisses me off more and more every time I hear it. Just like all soccer fans are violent rioters, all NASCAR fans are rednecks, right? I can go through the rest of the standings driver by driver if you'd like. I saw someone say basically the exact same thing talking about the possibility of JV going to NASCAR, and it's just completely wrong. I've seen close-minded people before, but it's baffling to think that fans of another racing series would be that dumb.
[Edited on 12-7-06 by Rekart]
Maybe in dear Emmett's defence, he was thinking of DaMatta, along with Montoya. Or perhaps Christian Fittipaldi (same theory in reverse).
In any event, he is gone, gone, gone. My theory is that he has the Alan Jones syndrome - too fat to build a car for.
So the steroetypes in Stock Cars are apochryphal, eh?
Hey-ell, Ah don't care which way you went around Indy last year Juan. You git thet Sharpie Car turned around lickety split, ya heeyah!
Oh....I dunno. Some of them necks is lookin a teeny bit rosy to me.
Yep, Prince Albert did exactly the same thing at Monaco last year.
Next thing you know, they will be banning fans from taking Confederate Flags to the rounders.
Sad day......................sad day.
o be fair - F1 to NASCAR has not gone well either...
Lease - you forgot that there is another significant difference between DTM and NASCAR. Two actually. NASCAR still uses carbs and has no idea what an overhead cam is.
[Edited on 12-7-06 by MinardiP1]
--Second picture is Martinsville. It and Bristol are the two shortest, yeah. Bristol has highly banked turns though, Martinsville is more flat. Bristol also usually has a lot more crashes.
--Third picture is a tradition for the Brickyard 400 at Indy.
As for Indy to F1, not many have done well, yeah. JV did, and Montoya isn't as bad as some of you make him out to be, but da Matta, Zanardi, and others didn't do very good. The switch from F1 to indy has worked out lately, but to be fair, there wasn't much competition in either indy series. F1 to NASCAR has barely ever happened.