Montoya goes road racing; Analyzes Hamilton's success
Associated Press, Updated 2 hours ago
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - It won't be hard for Juan Pablo Montoya to improve on last week's result at Michigan - all he has to do is avoid finishing last.
Problem is, anything short of a victory might be considered a disappointment.
Montoya, who finished 43rd on Sunday for the worst showing of his short NASCAR career, heads to the road course in Sonoma, Calif., this weekend expected to score his first Nextel Cup victory.
The former Formula One star is regarded as one of the top road racers in the world, and solidified that reputation by winning the Busch Series road race in Mexico City earlier this season. But in Sonoma, he'll be racing against NASCAR's very best and a handful of ringers.
"He was phenomenal in Mexico, absolutely phenomenal," said veteran Mark Martin, who is sitting out the race. "Obviously (I'm) going to be watching with great excitement and enthusiasm to see how he stacks up ... with the best of the best, all of the best of the best."
Montoya insisted the expectations come only from the media, not his own team, and was nonchalant about any pressure he might be under to win.
"Everybody expects me to go out there and win, and I don't care, to be honest," he said. "Those races are so long and anything can happen. You can get tangled with somebody and all of a sudden you are 20th, and it takes awhile to come back.
"So I am not going to get involved with what everyone thinks the result will be."
Montoya is being realistic, knowing that his Chip Ganassi Racing team lags behind NASCAR's elite teams. He was disheartened at a recent road test at Virginia International Raceway when he arrived in the only Ganassi car, only to see Hendrick Motorsports bring five cars.
It's a complaint many drivers have had this season. Hendrick has used an intense testing program to rack up 10 wins through the first 15 races.
"There's not much you can do about it," he said. "We are backed up in the fab shop, we are behind. And how do you get on pace? You can't just go and hire 30 new people. If it's a business, you can't. If it's a hobby, you can."
Compounding the problem is that Montoya has yet to drive the course at Sonoma. He'll have roughly two hours of track time to figure out the course before qualifying, and doesn't have many people he can turn to for advice about the layout. Ganassi teammate David Stremme has yet to race at Sonoma, and Reed Sorenson has raced just once there.
"I don't know what to expect," he said. "We show up, gotta learn the track and then we'll see."
He's not too worried about figuring out the course, and said his reputation in F1 was as one of the fastest learners whenever the series went to a new track.
And asked if he was the best road course racer in NASCAR, he seemed fairly certain of the answer: "I would think so, yes. But Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are also very good, I am told, and Denny Hamlin was very good in Mexico."
Because he has never seen the top Cup guys race on a road course, isn't familiar with Sonoma and the struggles of his Ganassi team, Montoya isn't planning a victory party just yet.
"I think we are going to be very competitive," he said. "Do we have a chance of winning? Probably yes. Are we as good prepared as some of the teams like Hendrick or Gibbs? Probably no. So we'll see what happens."
---
Q: Lewis Hamilton has won the last two Formula One races for McLaren Mercedes, your old team. What do you think of Hamilton?
JPM: "I think the kid is doing a good job, they have the fastest car and he's clearly the No. 1 on the team. But there's always a No. 1 at McLaren. I mean, Fernando Alonso said it himself. Didn't he? That's what the media was saying. I don't really follow it too much, but Ron (Dennis) paid his whole career. He got to Formula One because Ron paid for his whole career. Aside from the kid having talent, Ron paid for him. Ron has told him where to go, arranged the deals for him, and paid for it over his whole career. He's been under Ron Dennis since the kid was 8 years old or something."
Q: Yes, but isn't Hamilton a good driver?
JPM: "Oh, he's really good. I am not going to say the guy is not good. The guy is really good. But he has an advantage that ... they are always going to say that it's equal stuff. But there really always is a favorite driver on the team."
Q: But Alonso is the two-time world champion. How could a kid like Hamilton be the No. 1 driver in his first season of Formula One.
JPM: "The long-term of McLaren is (Hamilton). That's the thing, they are both doing a really good job, and the car is really fast. So even if you do a bad job in a good car, you are still going to finish second or third. And (in Canada), everybody messed up but him, and he won the race. And he's been getting quicker and quicker. And I heard Fernando is not very comfortable in the car, either."
Q: OK, different topic: What did you get for Father's Day?
JPM: "A measuring device for golf. It's like a simulator that shows the trajectory of the ball."
Q: Did (son) Sebastian pick it out himself?
JPM: "Yes. Can't you tell?"
Associated Press, Updated 2 hours ago
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - It won't be hard for Juan Pablo Montoya to improve on last week's result at Michigan - all he has to do is avoid finishing last.
Problem is, anything short of a victory might be considered a disappointment.
Montoya, who finished 43rd on Sunday for the worst showing of his short NASCAR career, heads to the road course in Sonoma, Calif., this weekend expected to score his first Nextel Cup victory.
The former Formula One star is regarded as one of the top road racers in the world, and solidified that reputation by winning the Busch Series road race in Mexico City earlier this season. But in Sonoma, he'll be racing against NASCAR's very best and a handful of ringers.
"He was phenomenal in Mexico, absolutely phenomenal," said veteran Mark Martin, who is sitting out the race. "Obviously (I'm) going to be watching with great excitement and enthusiasm to see how he stacks up ... with the best of the best, all of the best of the best."
Montoya insisted the expectations come only from the media, not his own team, and was nonchalant about any pressure he might be under to win.
"Everybody expects me to go out there and win, and I don't care, to be honest," he said. "Those races are so long and anything can happen. You can get tangled with somebody and all of a sudden you are 20th, and it takes awhile to come back.
"So I am not going to get involved with what everyone thinks the result will be."
Montoya is being realistic, knowing that his Chip Ganassi Racing team lags behind NASCAR's elite teams. He was disheartened at a recent road test at Virginia International Raceway when he arrived in the only Ganassi car, only to see Hendrick Motorsports bring five cars.
It's a complaint many drivers have had this season. Hendrick has used an intense testing program to rack up 10 wins through the first 15 races.
"There's not much you can do about it," he said. "We are backed up in the fab shop, we are behind. And how do you get on pace? You can't just go and hire 30 new people. If it's a business, you can't. If it's a hobby, you can."
Compounding the problem is that Montoya has yet to drive the course at Sonoma. He'll have roughly two hours of track time to figure out the course before qualifying, and doesn't have many people he can turn to for advice about the layout. Ganassi teammate David Stremme has yet to race at Sonoma, and Reed Sorenson has raced just once there.
"I don't know what to expect," he said. "We show up, gotta learn the track and then we'll see."
He's not too worried about figuring out the course, and said his reputation in F1 was as one of the fastest learners whenever the series went to a new track.
And asked if he was the best road course racer in NASCAR, he seemed fairly certain of the answer: "I would think so, yes. But Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are also very good, I am told, and Denny Hamlin was very good in Mexico."
Because he has never seen the top Cup guys race on a road course, isn't familiar with Sonoma and the struggles of his Ganassi team, Montoya isn't planning a victory party just yet.
"I think we are going to be very competitive," he said. "Do we have a chance of winning? Probably yes. Are we as good prepared as some of the teams like Hendrick or Gibbs? Probably no. So we'll see what happens."
---
Q: Lewis Hamilton has won the last two Formula One races for McLaren Mercedes, your old team. What do you think of Hamilton?
JPM: "I think the kid is doing a good job, they have the fastest car and he's clearly the No. 1 on the team. But there's always a No. 1 at McLaren. I mean, Fernando Alonso said it himself. Didn't he? That's what the media was saying. I don't really follow it too much, but Ron (Dennis) paid his whole career. He got to Formula One because Ron paid for his whole career. Aside from the kid having talent, Ron paid for him. Ron has told him where to go, arranged the deals for him, and paid for it over his whole career. He's been under Ron Dennis since the kid was 8 years old or something."
Q: Yes, but isn't Hamilton a good driver?
JPM: "Oh, he's really good. I am not going to say the guy is not good. The guy is really good. But he has an advantage that ... they are always going to say that it's equal stuff. But there really always is a favorite driver on the team."
Q: But Alonso is the two-time world champion. How could a kid like Hamilton be the No. 1 driver in his first season of Formula One.
JPM: "The long-term of McLaren is (Hamilton). That's the thing, they are both doing a really good job, and the car is really fast. So even if you do a bad job in a good car, you are still going to finish second or third. And (in Canada), everybody messed up but him, and he won the race. And he's been getting quicker and quicker. And I heard Fernando is not very comfortable in the car, either."
Q: OK, different topic: What did you get for Father's Day?
JPM: "A measuring device for golf. It's like a simulator that shows the trajectory of the ball."
Q: Did (son) Sebastian pick it out himself?
JPM: "Yes. Can't you tell?"
