Mixed emotions. On the one hand it's my least favorite driver leaving F1 - yeah! On the other hand, I suppose it might not be good for F1 in the US since he's so popular here. Oh well, I figure F1 will survive without JPM.....

 

I don't particularly see this as a huge loss . . . however for any F1 driver to willingly switch to the pro wrestling of motorsport is indeed bizarre.

He's probably just trying to eek one or two more contracts out of a dying career. My guess is that he'll run around in circles for a season or two then sail off on one of his new boats.

Obviously, I'm not a Montoya fan. I used to consider him one of the top five, but that was a long time ago. Personally, I find this outcome rather sad.

 

I look forward to seeing Montoya's results (you don't expect me to sit through NASCAR's 3-hour marathons, do you?).

Montoya is known to have excellent car control, so I think he is capable of performing well in anything with four wheels, but I don't think it will be an easy transition.

NASCAR drivers may not be able to turn right, but they certainly are very good at turning left, and Montoya is trying to win on their turf.

Plus, the Ganassi team is not in the top tier of NASCAR teams, and as much as pit strategy has determined F1 races the past few years, I think NASCAR is even more of a team sport.

Good luck to Montoya, though. This move takes some big attachments, and the swallowing of a lot of pride. I hope he does well.

Bottom line, I don't expect this move to be as successful as Nigel Mansell's jump to CART.

 

Bizarre move, especially for someone who seemed to be very unimpressed when he "swapped paint" with Jeff Gordon's car a couple years back. Oh well, good luck Montoya.

Pedro De La Rosa has taken his place on the team effective immediately. That should be interesting too. I thought McLaren my opt for Hamilton but maybe he's yet too green.

As for France this weekend, Schumi all the way. I think Ferrari turned the corner at Indy and it's gonna get REALLY tight as the championship gets closer to the end.

 

What is the NASCAR defection all about? - challenges, $$$, no more F1 bureuacratic and ego BS? I always assumed that if you are good driver seeking the holy grail of racing, you stay with Formual One, especially if you get a seat in a competitive car. And now Danica Patrick has been mentioned as another potential NASCAR driver next season. I guess I just don't get it.

 

Montoya and Danica could just be the beginning. Jacques Villenueve and Mika Hakkinen have also looked into NASCAR.

Money is the most likely thing attracting them to the series.

I can tell you what isn't, toothless moon shiners with mullets that are slicker than a duck's back

 

J-Stylez- "Montoya and Danica could just be the beginning. Jacques Villenueve and Mika Hakkinen have also looked into NASCAR.

Money is the most likely thing attracting them to the series."

It is obviously entertaining for many, but drafting and bumping around left-handers is not my idea of car racing. I still don't get it.

 

i'm at a loss for words. completely speechless. go from Indy 500 (awesome!!) to F1 (amazing) now go to NASCAR? no comment

 

For some, it is entertaining. Same with professional wrestling. NASCAR has as much in common with motorsports as WWE has to Olympic sport. They aren't "race fans", they are "NASCAR fans", and NASCAR treats them like an open wallet and the fans beg for more. It is truly (embarassingly) an American phenomenon.

 

What the eff is everybody so upset about? Montoya is a RACER, NASCAR independant of anything else it may be is a real RACING series, where vehicles actually pass one another on the track, and not just at the end of pit row. I for one am glad to see that one of the "tradin' paint" drivers (the other being Jeff Gordon) has actually shown the cojones to join the other's brand of racing. Now those Good Ole Boys will have someone to fear.

I'm with Juan Y'all!

 

And so is NHRA and the Boy Scouts of America Pine-Wood Derby if you wanna be technical. But let's be serious. The specific skills set necessary to be successful in NASCAR is a heavy foot, the ability to turn left, and the will to play bumper cars with family sedans while travelling at speeds sometimes approaching 200 mph.

The thrill in NASCAR to most spectators is most likely the carnage, not the "passing". The difference between NASCAR and demolition derby is justified by the following: NASCAR has a start/finish line with a specific race distance required to complete.

I'll say it again, good luck to ya Juan. Make tons of money for your wife and young child(ren). But I think it's a very dubious career move for a talented driver.

 

According to his televised interview on Speed, JPM's defection has to do with job satisfaction. In fact, it was pointed out that he was most likely accepting a pay *cut* going to NASCAR. He just wasn't happy at F1, didn't like being called an "animal" (his term) just for aggressive passing.

As far as NASCAR, they've got a road course now (at least, that seems new to me... I haven't followed NASCAR much)! Maybe they'll go with that s'more.

Interesting...

 

Anybody heard about this guy ?????

http://www.nascar.com/news/headlines...bio/index.html

Boris Said, premier sports car driver is moving to NASCAR, now JPM, and possible Danica Patrick. Think of all the fans JPM will bring over. Have you seen the Columbian crowd at F1 Indy? Something is happening there. All opinions aside the have the marketing, money, sponsors, and they are creating "Rock Stars"! Yes it is boring, but more top racers are looking there for rides.
Cant you see it now "NASCAR, the NEW international racing" Maybe in a few years there will not be any americans racing NASCAR. All americans will be racing open wheel and sports cars.... Funny if you think about it

 

funny and yet at the same time sad

 

JPM will not be running the other McLaren for the rest of the season. Pedro De La Rosa will be running along side Kimi for the rest of the season...

http://www.mclaren.com/mediaroom/information/pressreleases/juan_pablo.php

 

I think it is very presumptious to assume that it doesn't take any driving skill to succeed in NASCAR. If that is true, Montoya should easily dominate the series, right? As I said before, I don't think that is going to happen.

I am not a NASCAR fan, but it is absurd to say that its drivers aren't talented. To control a 3000-pound car around an oval track with 40+ other cars around you certainly is not easy. Is it more difficult than making it through Eau Rouge flat-out? Who can say? I see them as different applications of the highly-tuned ability to control a racing car.

Also, there is a lot more to NASCAR than just cars turning left around an oval. Just as in F1, much of a driver's success is determined by the strength of his team and a good pit strategy.

Yes, I find NASCAR racing boring, but I don't think it's right to simply dismiss it as inferior to F1 just because the technology, tracks and fans seem outdated.

 

Rats,... I was looking forward to JPM causing some excitement the rest of this year. I guess there were afraid of that also, more carnage similar to last weekend.....

 

This is true...and like that, there are now two Spanish drivers with race seats in F1!

 

I am by far NOT a NASCAR fan. That being said I accepted a free ticket to a race and California Speedway last summer . Bottom line is those boys have huge ***** and are RACERS .If you haven't actually been to a race and watched 20 some guys go into the same turn at about 200 mph looking like they are on ice and inches apart please your opinions are really without merit. Take a chance and go to a race it is quite a event from the Nascar interactive " experience " outside the track to the traditional flyover and up to and including the start which is indescribable. Be sure to rent the scanner head phones which allow you to tune into specific teams and hear all the behind the scenes chatter , very enlightening. To summarize, in my opinion the race itself is not that impressive but the show sure is and those guys can drive ! Now for the best DRIVERS in the world lets start up the old WRC discussion LOL

 

Then I'm guilty of being presumptuous in this case (though I have little remorse).

Yes of course: success in NASCAR has a lot more to do than just the driver. That's implied when all they have to do is step on it and hold on.

In all seriousness though, that argument could be made for ANY race series, F1 included. A strong team and strategy are crucial. It just so happens that F1 truly requires a very rare and special person to make the car competitive. In NASCAR, if the car is fast, reliable, and you get lucky, anyone can win on any given day.

 

Has anyone watched Tony Stewart race in the Daytona prototypes? Last year the car he was driving lost the rear suspension on one side of the car and Tony was close to being 1 second off his normal race pace. I have never seen any other drivers race a wounded car that well. Tony went several more laps until the front suspension broke and the car would no longer move.
Many of the NASCAR guys can do more than turn Left...

 

Well I for one have been to stock car races and I used to enjoy it back before it was dumbed-down and commercialized. That's what angers me. How a uniquely American sport was ruined by greed.

 

I don't think anyone made the arguement that the NASCAR boys aren't racers.

I think a number of WRC drivers are among the driving elite and are far more courageous than the most hill billy of NASCAR drivers. One guy that comes to my mind is Ari Vatanen. Stud.

 

I don't think we need to get into the debate about how much NASCAR sucks. It's just a personal preference...

I'm not a NASCAR fan, but those guys work hard and the techonolgy is there too... not as much as F1 one though.

 

I was watching a show on Speed one day and they interviewed some jerk CRASHCAR driver trackside after his team was penalized for a tech infraction. When he said with a big toothy grin "it's thar job ta unforce the rules and it's are job ta break 'em" I lost the last shred of respect I had for the spectacle.