Montoya at Talledega-Spoiler

I haven't had this much fun in a race for a long time," he said. "I 'm not saying F1 is bad or anything, I think is great racing as well, the cars are unbelievable and everything; but as far as enjoying racing personally, I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

Montoya is scheduled to test his team's Car of Tomorrow on Monday at Talladega and is also expected to test his Nextel Cup car at Memphis on Tuesday and Wednesday.

He also plans to enter ARCA's final race at Iowa Speedway, on October 15th.

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Hope he gets pole and wins this one!

Carol

 

You are as ignorant of NASCAR as you are of F1.

Mark my words, JPM will win next season in Nextel Cup, probably more than once. If there is one thing JPM has proven throughout his career, it is his ability to become immediately competitive in every category he has raced in.

He has already won on ovals (ever heard of the Indianapolis 500?) in top-level competition and his demonstration event at Indy with Jeff Gordon has shown that he can adapt to the characteristics of Nextel Cup cars. He is very highly regarded and well respected in US racing circles, he will be welcomed by both racers and fans in Nascar and he will be highly successful his first year in Nascar.

 

I saw his last CART appearance at Laguna Seca, and you can bet I'll see his first NASCAR appearance at Sears Point (Infineon). I've never understood the snob factor of some motorsports fans....F1, CART, Indy, Drag Racing, Road Racing, Off-road Racing, NASCAR, Sprint Car......it's all internal combustion engines making a lot of noise going as fast as they can. What's not to love?

 

I dont believe its snobbery per say, its the level of challenge. Nascar is the only form of competitive racing that has remained virtually stagnant for the last three decades. I can admit I was an idiot at 16 and 17 years old, I drove flat out in anything I could steer as long as or as far as I could. I got really used to driving way over 100 all the time, and I can admit I am a lot less comfortable today doing it that I was then. But please dont try to argue that a 3500 pound roll cage with a 700 HP engine producing power in a narrow RPM band, is anywhere near the level of a 900 pound car with an 800 HP engine with wide band power. Driving at fairly steady speeds in that 700 HP roll cage around an oval track is far different than driving that 800 HP feather, braking down for corners, constantly changing gears, having turns in oposite directions with different radius, or altering radius, and having a car that accelerates like a freakin rocket. The Nascar boys dont have thier wheel out there to catch each other either, something else to be very aware of piloting an open wheel car around in traffic.

 

Don't get me wrong. In no way was I saying all forms of motorsport take equal or even comparable skills. All I was saying, and I truly believe this, is that the level of F1 snobbery far outweighs the snob factor found in other series. I also believe that most of the 'snobs' (as opposed to 'fans') haven't taken the time to understand the other series.

Personally, nothing excites me more than watching old footage of the '66-'70 Trans-Am Series. That doesn't mean I don't get a lump in my throat at the drags, or sit in awe, marvelling at the skill, focus and required intellect of a modern F1 driver.

But you have to admit, there are an awfull lot of "F1 is the highest bracket, therefore all other forms aren't worthy of my time" thinkers out there.

 

First off.... I dont care for NASCAR. I find it boring.

But to anyone who doesnt think NASCAR requires huge skill or that its not as competitive or "hard" as F1.... give me a break.

F1 demands incredible concentration and physical effort to get the absolute most from the car. In fact, just driving the car to its limit demands so much effort that often nothing is left to enable a pass. So you dont get much passing and when you do have a pass its usually because one car is clearly faster than the other.

NASCAR is the total opposite. Driving the car on the limit is tough, but nowhere near as demanding. But in NASCAR the Racing is a whole different ball game. In any race, there are 15-20 cars capable of winning. Everyone runs extremely tight, nose to tail and its all about STRATEGY.

NASCAR is chess. No win is possible without impeccable strategy in an environment that is constantly changing. Passing isnt just about getting the pass done now, but how will the improved track position change things 2 laps from now? 5 laps? Who else will pass at the same time? How will it impact tire wear? Will the guy currently drafting YOU pass with you and then set you up to be passed the next lap?

The two forms of racing as so different its hard to even compare. Yes, NASCAR is not a technically advanced series and the cars are anything but innovative. But there is no argueing that the racing is extremely close. And thats what NASCAR is all about: the racing.

F1 is all about the money and the technology. The actual racing is rare. In any given event, there may be 2-3 cars capable of a win and most passing is done via pit strategy.

I think Montoya is going to do very well.




Terry

 

Unfortunately this is very true. I am a huge F1 fan and have been for a couple of decades but even I have to admit that Grand Prixs these days are, for themost, part, boring and processional.

I always hated the 1-mile ovals in CART...at least until I went to Nazareth one year. As boring as they are on tv, they are unbelievably exciting to watch live, constant action everywhere on the track.

Motorsports are motorsports and the top level drivers in each series are as remarkeably talented at their specific speciality as the top Grand Prix drivers are in theirs. I don't dispute for a second that driving a Nextel Cup car at speed is entirely different from driving an F1 car and the skills required very different but that in no way means that Nextel Cup drivers (or rally drivers or endurance sportscar racers or drag racers) are not as adept and skilled at their sport as F1 drivers are. Different form of racing but a top driver is still a top driver. I love to watch exciting racing first and foremost and F1 has been anything BUT exciting these past few years. I hope 2007 proves different but the last thing I want to see is a drag race to the first corner, followed by processional racing and passing in the pits, if at all.

Until one of you Nascar critics steps into a car and wins the Nextel Cup, I would advise you to temper your criticism.

 

Driving and racing in a circle or oval is a huge waste of skill, time, and energy!

I wish all those skilled racers and engineers would race on tracks where their skills could actually be utilized!

 

obviously a critic on this forum will never win the nextel cup. that is a silly statement. something like this may well happen with montoya though. an f1 driver moving to nascar and winning. i can promise you the reverse will never happen. that speaks volumes about the driving skill needed in each sport. it ain't called the pinnacle of motor sports for nothin.

 

the deep end? hardly. i think these guys drive their cars to the track, race and drive home. Third string would be a generous description of this race.

 

Take a Richard Petty Driving Experience at a local NASCAR track and then post about how much skill it took to handle a 3500 pound car going 140mph on the banking...and then remember, the pros are doing it at 190+mph with 30 other cars bumper to bumper...

 

He is too busy on his Big Wheel, Franklin.

 

Of course, both series require differnet skill sets. Adopting to a F1 would take a lot more time due to technology. Plus, the developments series are geared towards each of these type of racings.

 

Exactly why I want the skilled pros from oval racing to stop wasting fuel and time in NASCRAP. They are so skilled and so good that they should come and race on tracks where their skills are truely tested!

So if a lousy F1 driver can do well on his debut and adopt to the developments geared towards racing stock car in a circle, then a lousy driver from stock car should be able to end up on the podium in his first race in F1?!

Whay not!? It takes the same skill set to adopt!?

 

And what does it say when a CART/IRL driver (JPM) rolls into F1 and wins there? Obviously F1 must be easier and require less driving skill than CART...

F1 isn't the pinnacle of motorsports anymore, it's just Another Spec Series -- just like CART, IRL and ARCA.

 

I did the Nascar experience at Pocono and was able to get the car up to 175. Nothing will make you respect the skill of Nextel Cup drivers than an experience like that.

It is as eye-opening as attending Skip Barber and finding out that road racing is not as easy as it looks on TV

 

No, it was a rhetorical one.

I guess you missed Jeff Gordon's performance in Montoya's Williams at the Indianapolis demonstration event...

A lot of people far more knowledgable about the sport than me (and clearly you) seem to think that Gordon has what it takes to suceed in F1...***coughFrankWilliamscough***

 

I'm not impresed by a good finish at Talladega. Granted, he did well. But it doesn't really show much. I'll wait until he hits the tracks like Martinsville, ect.

 

He was using it as a practice session. When he was mid-pack, he was told to stay there to learn to use the draft. Only til towards the end he started to move towards the front. They were planning to get to first, but the race was called short because the sun was down.

 

That is definately what it looked like, either way it ought to make it very interesting for next season.

 

LOL.


First the slander was that JPM would get smoked in a stock car. then he does well in his first race, so now the rhetoric is that he did OK at Talladega but wait until he gets to a short track??

Take a look at Montoya's record in CART on the bullrings and tell me he won't be successful at Martinsville. Montoya is a lock for rookie of the year and I would not be surprised at all if he is one of the 10 finalists for the championship.

 

I can't wait for JPM to go on the Cup circuit and their 2 (or more?) road courses. Most of the Cup drivers have coaches for those specific tracks since they're not too fond of road racing. JPM should tear those places up.

 

+1, did anybody think Denny Hamlin had a chance for the cup at the beginning of the year?

 

I never said he wouldn't be successful. I just am saying Talladega isn't a great track to judge a driver due to the restrictor plate, big wrecks that can take out half of the field, and that it's more about drafting than anything else. You can go from 3rd to 20th in one lap if you get hung out of the draft.

I think Montoya will be solid in the Cup Series.