# JPM to NASCAR in 2007!



## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

:yikes: :yikes: :yikes: 

HOLY SILLY SEASON BATMAN!

Just say the press conference on ESPN. He will drive for Chip Ganassi(spelling?) next year.


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

*Montoya Moves to NASCAR*

This guy needs to get his medicine adjusted.


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## Robsa (Jan 20, 2005)

woody underwood said:


> This guy needs to get his medicine adjusted.


Nope, he just wants to race for real.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155097


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Major shock announcement!

Wow... well, it should be interesting!

I saw some interesting comments from Paul Tracy, who raced against Montoya in CART. It was to the effect of that Montoya is all "attack, attack, attack" and the Nascar machines take a lot of finesse. Wouldn't necessarily think that, but it's true... they're heavy, under-tired, lots of HP and no traction control. Mistakes will make you pay. 

It will be interesting to see how he adapts. He's effectively replacing Casey Mears, who has done a decent job at times. Don't forget, Mears had no stock car experience before this either, and Montoya is light years above Mears in terms of talent and results.

As far as pure driving ability, Montoya is immediately in the top 3 or so in Nascar... Stewart, Gordon... not sure who else to put in that category. 

The fun part will be to see how he adapts to the "yestertech" cars and idiosyncracies of stock car oval setups.


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## Robsa (Jan 20, 2005)

Next year he will struggle. Tony Stewart spent his first year in NASCAR driving the Busch Grand National circuit. Montoya is going straight to Nextel Cup.


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## govtec (Jul 20, 2005)

what a wuss, when schumacher might be retiring soon.


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Robsa said:


> Next year he will struggle. Tony Stewart spent his first year in NASCAR driving the Busch Grand National circuit. Montoya is going straight to Nextel Cup.


Yes, but he also will be racing the Busch series too. I'm not saying that he won't struggle, but he'll at least be getting as much seat time as possible.


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## bjf123 (Oct 6, 2005)

At least he'll now be able to get away with bump drafting. Lately, he seems to have a problem with running into the back of people.


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Some good reads from Planet F1:

http://www.planet-f1.com/News/Story_Page/0,15909,3210_3261_1325222,00.html

http://www.planet-f1.com/News/Story_Page/0,15909,3210_3265_1325360,00.html


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## bjf123 (Oct 6, 2005)

I wonder how many people JPM will bump draft out of his way? He still hasn't figured out that car to car contact is usually a bad thing in open wheel racing. At least he'll be in a little more forgiving car for that.


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

JPM just likes to race. I bet you will see him get a top 5 by mid-season, and I bet he might race for a win or 2(2 road courses :angel: ). It should be very interesting and he will be fun to watch. It might actually get me to watch a few races next year.


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## armaq (Apr 18, 2003)

Just heard Peter Windsor on Speed saying JPM's options were quite limited. None of the top teams are interested in him, meaning he'd have to sign with a mid-range/back of pack team. That means he will not have a competitive car next year, nor will he get paid as well as he is now.


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

armaq said:


> Just heard Peter Windsor on Speed saying JPM's options were quite limited. None of the top teams are interested in him, meaning he'd have to sign with a mid-range/back of pack team. That means he will not have a competitive car next year, nor will he get paid as well as he is now.


VERY FEW drivers in F1 are actually paid by the team! The usual case is you bring your own money with you via sponsors or whatever.


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Test_Engineer said:


> VERY FEW drivers in F1 are actually paid by the team! The usual case is you bring your own money with you via sponsors or whatever.


That is not actually true, quite the opposite in fact.

New drivers to Formula One may have to bring money, or then those in bottom of the pack teams who "buy" their seat.

Even Sato gets paid to drive/crash for the worst team in Formula One.

.


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

Patrick said:


> That is not actually true, quite the opposite in fact.
> 
> New drivers to Formula One may have to bring money, or then those in bottom of the pack teams who "buy" their seat.
> 
> ...


I guess times have changed. :dunno:


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## WildKarrde (Jun 14, 2006)

Robsa said:


> Nope, he just wants to race for real.
> 
> http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155097


Oh please. :rofl: I wouldn't say "real" racing is going around the same oval track a couple hundred times, with cars from 3-5 different manufacturers that all look identical, and have extremely similar performance marks. All with about 80% drunk ******** cheering you on. Nascar hasn't been real since the '70s.


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## Gh0sT (May 20, 2006)

Test_Engineer said:


> I guess times have changed. :dunno:


Biggest example of an F1 driver "buying" his way in is: Narain Karthikeyan Friday driver of Williams.

Basically long story short he needed a sponsor TATA to get any chance of landing a seat on the Williams.

And back on track of Montoya. Remember kids he won Indy 500 and won CART. He did also did a "testing" day with Gordon in his Monte Carlo back in 2003. And Gordon did a test in his Williams. To sum up what happened, both drivers were 1 second behind in their best test run that day.

The way I see it is that it is harder to gain the last second in Formula One. It is harder to manage the pack and tactics in NASCAR. With Montoya's colorful background he should be able to do well, only if the car is good. But it is NASCAR right?


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Threads merged.


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

Just saw a news article that said Danica Patrick is also considering a switch to NASCAR. If she thought she got a hard time being a woman in an openwheel car, wait until she gets down south.


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

racerdave said:


> Major shock announcement!
> 
> Wow... well, it should be interesting!
> 
> ...


Add Boris Said to that list, he took a pole and finished 4th in his last NASCAR outing, I hesitate to call it racing BTW. (He also "raced" that Isetta in my avatar...so the guy really can drive everything!) I don't see Juan doing very well, those good ol' boys are going to be all over that "ferriner". Seem's he just looking for a venue where he can bump people and get away with it.


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

It now is being reported here (Finland) that JPM's career with McLaren is already over - Pedro De La Rosa will take his seat at this weekend's race in France, and drive for the team for the rest of the season.

I hope so!


.


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

JPM will be fine. He's got TONS more talent than any of those other open-wheel/road-race guys that flamed out, plus he's won on ovals of all sizes, albeit in open-wheel cars. He had to learn on ovals in CART, and adapted quickly. And the Indy 500 he won was in the crapwagons (thank you, Paul Tracy, for that term) that had much lower downforce than today... and he was able to drive it *much* freer than anyone else. 

And as far as other people pushing him around... some might try at first. Let's just say I don't think it will happen very long if at all.

Because for all of you who bellyached about him not knowing how to drive without hitting anyone, he was the only top driver in F1 to actually pass people for position on a very regular basis. He was the best in overtaking. And do you recall from a few years back when Kimi and JPM ran side-by-side for about 1/2 a lap at Hockenheim? He learned how to give people room while still racing hard on the CART ovals, and that trait will serve him well in Nascar as well.

Hopefully now he'll start racing this year in Busch. Especially at the Glen! :thumbup:


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Sounds like he is taking the next month off and will stay at home in Miami with his wife - she is expecting bambino #2 soon.


.


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Good riddance. 

He was wasting his time in F1, IMO. 

I wish him all the best there. This is also going to be a good alibi for me to watch NASCAR.


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## WILLIA///M (Apr 15, 2002)

Patrick said:


> Sounds like he is taking the next month off and will stay at home in Miami with his wife - she is expecting bambino #2 soon.
> 
> .


I might have to watch NASCAR now, .....to get some more glimpses of Connie. :angel:


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## flexstar (Sep 16, 2005)

*Montoya's Crew Chief*

If he and his crew chief get along and communicate well he'll do fine. I have been following NASCAR for thirty years now and the chemistry between these two people is most important. Look what Jeff Gordon did when his friend and partner Ray Everham left to form his own team.

I hope Pembleton (crew chief) goes with Casey to Rick's garage. If he does Casey will do well.


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

flexstar said:


> If he and his crew chief get along and communicate well he'll do fine. I have been following NASCAR for thirty years now and the chemistry between these two people is most important. Look what Jeff Gordon did when his friend and partner Ray Everham left to form his own team.


VERY important if the driver doesn't have a clue how to set-up a car. If they can talk and be on the same page about what the car is actually doing, they will be successful.


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## Artslinger (Sep 2, 2002)

I think he will find it much harder to set-up and drive fast in NASCAR than in F1.


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## Artslinger (Sep 2, 2002)

Montoya will be racing for the Chip Ganassi team. Ganassi team joined NASCAR in 2000 and has been an unimpressive average team, which is not good in a big field like NASCAR and the deep pockets of Target as a sponsor. The team did manage to win one race. Here is where the drivers are in the points this year. Sorenson and Stremme are both rookies, and Mears has only been at it a few years so there is not much experience on the team. 

13 - Casey Mears 
21 - Reed Sorenson 
37 - David Stremme 


Montoya will have a rough couple of years IMO.


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

McLaren officially "fired" him today. I agree with Alex....adios amigo, go waste somebody elses engines and cars.


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

For all you "adios JPM" folks... would you really rather have Nick Heidfeld, Christian Klien, Jarno Trulli, Ralph Schumacher or DC still in F1 rather than JPM?

Montoya at least brought some zest to the series, not to mention being faster than about all but Kimi, MSchumi and Alonso.

On another note... I agree with Artslinger for the most part. The setup will be very different... there are far fewer things to change on a Cup car, but there are some "black art" aspects to it in that there are a number of different chassis they hand build, each being slightly different than the other. Not the consistent F1 tub. Plus, from everything I understand about Nascar setups, it's all about keeping the tire alive for the duration of a run. You might be able to setup a car and drive it really fast for a few laps, but you need to lose the least amount of time later in the run. I can only imagine it takes quite a bit of time to master that. 

Also agree about Ganassi... they need to step it up. But Montoya has way more natural ability than any of the guys he currently employs.

Should be interesting... and hopefully very soon now in Busch, now that he's out of McLaren.


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## WILLIA///M (Apr 15, 2002)

racerdave said:


> Montoya at least brought some zest to the series, not to mention being faster than about all but Kimi, MSchumi and Alonso.


Have to agree there. Man has skills. Best passer *on track*. Too bad things didn't work out better for the team when he was at BMW/Williams. I can still remember watching him in his first year getting pole after pole. The Williams never had the race pace of the Ferraris that year but in qualifying he could bring it.


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## RiDE (Jun 1, 2006)

So much for Ron Dennis supposedly being able to make the most of JPM. :dunno:

I'm not the biggest Montoya fan but count me in as one of the people who think the guy still deserves a seat in F1. We'll see how Pedro does this weekend. Heh.


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## Artslinger (Sep 2, 2002)

Anyone who would call JPM not a top world racing talent would be wrong.

His career highlights include an International F3000 title, a world title in the CART FedEx Championship Series, and race victories in the Indianapolis 500 and Monaco Grand Prix, with a total of 7 wins, 13 poles in F1. 

In my opinion he has the talent to win a championship in F1, but has unfortunatly drove for both the Williams and McLaren teams in their down cycles.


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## KU Ned (Apr 23, 2003)

Now that McLaren has released him and allegedly paid him over 2.0MM Pounds I wonder if there is any chance we may see JPM on either the Busch and/or Nextel circuits this year? Watkins Glen is in August!

With that said, maybe his biggest adjustment in NASCAR will be on the road courses. Muscling around a softly sprung POS NASCAR tub around a road course will be different than anything he has ever done in professional racing.


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## gslracing (Jul 12, 2006)

With the current aero package I think JM will have a tough go at it. With the car of the tomorrow coming soon for NASCAR, he will probably be able to handle it better than cup drivers.


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## indyzhp (Mar 29, 2004)

racerdave said:


> On another note... I agree with Artslinger for the most part. The setup will be very different... there are far fewer things to change on a Cup car, but there are some "black art" aspects to it in that there are a number of different chassis they hand build, each being slightly different than the other. Not the consistent F1 tub. Plus, from everything I understand about Nascar setups, it's all about keeping the tire alive for the duration of a run. You might be able to setup a car and drive it really fast for a few laps, but you need to lose the least amount of time later in the run. I can only imagine it takes quite a bit of time to master that. QUOTE]
> 
> no disrespect, but quite the contrary, there are many things to change on a Cup car. Those beasts are so different from car to car that you really have to understand what changes make a difference. That is the "black art" aspect to stock car racing. The cars may all look the same, but there are subtle differences that can make tiny improvements. But in a field of "matched" cars, it is those small differences that can make a huge difference at the end of the race. Keeping the tires alive does account for performance (you lose 0.3 seconds a lap at the Brickyard due to tire degredation), but as with all race cars, everything from aero, to mechanical to pit strategy and driver talent are major pieces of the puzzle.
> 
> ...


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

KU Ned said:


> With that said, maybe his biggest adjustment in NASCAR will be on the road courses. Muscling around a softly sprung POS NASCAR tub around a road course will be different than anything he has ever done in professional racing.


How will it be any different from where he started in racing....Trans-Am series in Columbia? :dunno:


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

indyzhp said:


> no disrespect, but quite the contrary, there are many things to change on a Cup car. Those beasts are so different from car to car that you really have to understand what changes make a difference. That is the "black art" aspect to stock car racing. The cars may all look the same, but there are subtle differences that can make tiny improvements. But in a field of "matched" cars, it is those small differences that can make a huge difference at the end of the race. Keeping the tires alive does account for performance (you lose 0.3 seconds a lap at the Brickyard due to tire degredation), but as with all race cars, everything from aero, to mechanical to pit strategy and driver talent are major pieces of the puzzle.


That essentially was my point. 

Think of all the things in F1 you can change with just the *steering wheel*. The number of things you can change has to be greater in F1 with all the gadgets and technical latitude (in comparison to Nascar).

But as you correctly point out, Cup cars are far from being simple. And because everything is so close, as you say... the little things are what separate the top from the bottom. The challenges are different for sure than F1, but they are still huge challenges.


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

Test_Engineer said:


> How will it be any different from where he started in racing....Trans-Am series in Columbia? :dunno:


Yeah, road racing will be the least of his challenges. He already drove one at Indy (which BTW, they're replaying Trading Paint at 10:30 EST Friday on Speed!) and knows what the Cup cars feel like. Braking, apexes, etc... are all second nature to him on a road course. Yeah, the cars are hugely different, but that's the only adjustment for him on a road course... he already knows how to drive the road courses.

No... the biggest challenge will be the small to mid-size ovals... the Dovers, the Bristols, the Richmonds, the Loudons, the Martinsvilles and of course, Darlington. It will be the car *and* the track he has to figure out. There you have to know how to make the car work, as well as how to drive it just hard enough without overdriving it. You're doing real braking upon corner entry. Those will be the "odd ducks" for Montoya.

I don't think the mile-and-a-half "cookie cutter" tracks will be as hard to adjust to... they're fast, don't require much if any braking and seem to be the tracks new guys adjust to the quickest. (look at Edwards, McMurray, Mears, R. Gordon... all went the best on those tracks first) Plate tracks will be a challenge too, but more from other drivers not wanting to work with him.

Should be interesting.


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