gracias MM por el aporte... pido disculpas si mis aportes son en ingles
http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/feature ... index.html
In the time required to utter the sentence, "We'd like to announce Juan Pablo Montoya as driver of the No. 42 car," no less than three pressing issues within the NASCAR community were at least softened -- and given some time, possibly vanquished.
• International Exposure: NASCAR's penetration of Mexico City and the addition of a second date in Phoenix, Ariz., are the direct result of the push to garner more Hispanic fans.
Montoya isn't just a Hispanic driver; he's the Hispanic driver on the world landscape today. If you think the Junior Nation is passionate, wait until the Montoya Nation catches on.
• NASCAR Diversity: Speaks for itself. If he's successful, this guy could do for NASCAR what Tiger Woods did for golf. He is a champion, a proven, renowned talent. Not a fabrication. If he comes in and has success, it will garner minority fans like no marketing push ever could.
• Driver Pool: The willing addition of a Formula One megastar does away with the shallow driver pool myth. Why? Because Montoya chose NASCAR over Formula One. He said Sunday he had F1 offers, but pushed them aside in favor on NASCAR because he wanted to participate in "real racing."
Moreover, Montoya's arrival gives NASCAR considerable international credibility. Stereotypically, NASCAR is viewed negatively among the Formula One crowd, as if it isn't true racing, more show than substance.
One wonders what the reaction will be in the F1 community that one of its most revered stars made the jump.
"I think a lot of people in Europe haven't seen it, and when you don't know something you try to avoid it," Montoya said. "What's your ultimate goal? For me it's racing. Yes Formula One is very exciting and the cars are very [technological]. But if you pass and touch wheels, you're an animal."
Your turn. What does Juan Pablo Montoya's arrival on the NASCAR scene signal?
Above all else, credibility. And if Danica Patrick ultimately decides to make the jump, too (I personally think the strenuous schedule will deter her from doing so) NASCAR will have successfully enticed two of the biggest names in the auto racing world at once.
Huge.
3KillerB's: I think that Montoya's move to the 42 for next year and Villenueve's statement last week that he would not consider taking a NASCAR ride a step down show that NASCAR has gained considerable credibility on the international level.
I am looking forward to see how Montoya adapts. I'm not particularly familiar with him but he seems to have a realistic idea of what he's in for and to understand that he will have to do a lot of learning and adapting. I suggest that he get that SIM program all the drivers use and start now. :-)
True enough. Montoya's stock car education must be conducted like an accelerated MBA program -- thorough yet swift. Certainly, the biggest asset Montoya has is time: Ganassi is committed to seeing Montoya's development through to fruition. Few drivers get that luxury.
Montoya is a champion, and transitioning from F1 to NASCAR might prove to be the toughest task he's ever experienced. The technology in NASCAR is archaic, light years behind that to which he's accustomed.
An F1 steering wheel costs roughly the same as a NASCAR engine.
MONTOYA TO DRIVE NO. 42
Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the No. 42 Dodge in 2007, team owner Chip Ganassi announced Sunday.
F1 drivers control as many as 12 aspects of the car with the steering wheel, including shifting gears, wing angles and traction control.
The only thing he'll be controlling with a NASCAR steering wheel is how often he cues the microphone to talk to his team.
"It's not going to be a walk in the park," Ganassi said Sunday during the announcement.
An aggressive estimate is 18-24 months before he's competing for wins on a regular basis. But once he gets it, lookout. Ganassi considers Montoya to be one of the most adaptable drivers in the world. He'll need to be. Back in 2003 he likened Jeff Gordon's Monte Carlo to "driving a school bus."
3x3: Yes, you will alienate a lot of deep-seeded NASCAR fans, and yes it will bring international support to an already growing NASCAR. But it really points out the fact that the NASCAR support system (Busch, West, East, Trucks) is truly lacking.
Why did Ganassi go outside the circle of drivers here? Because we are not developing young drivers in the "minor" leagues. Buschwhackers, big money and corporate greed are destroying the development programs. If NASCAR fails to support these "feeder systems", the young guys coming up don't stand a chance.
I wrote a column about the state of NASCAR Busch Series racing last Thursday. I'm in total agreement with Carson Palmer that the series needs an overhaul.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., a Busch Series owner, said Saturday that the series is suffering from too much Nextel Cup involvement. Jeff Burton said the same to me last week. It's a problem to which NASCAR is turning a blind eye.
But to lump Montoya into that argument is unfair. You certainly can't fault Ganassi for jumping at the chance to put a champion in the seat. Ganassi must have nearly fainted when this opportunity arose. He openly questioned Montoya -- "Are you sure about this?" -- and made Montoya convince him this was a good idea.
Again, I agree that NASCAR must address the infrastructure of its feeder series'. I don't believe there's a lack of drivers, rather a lack of opportunity thanks to the Cup Series' infiltration of the Busch Series and unspoken encouragement from the sanctioning body and sponsors.
You can't blame Cup owners or drivers for adding information or dollars or fun. You can't blame sponsors for wanting to align with established superstars. You can't blame NASCAR or the tracks for wanting all those rear ends in the seats.
But ultimately it's up to NASCAR. If they don't step in and make changes that discourage the current trend it'll never change.
cmat33: I don't know that it means that much. Montoya, from what I have read, had some issues over in F1 and wasn't a hot commodity with the top-tier teams. I don't believe he was all about making it to NASCAR until he found out that no major F1 teams wanted his services in 2007.
For me this is no different than getting an IRL guy (or gal). Only a select few will make the transition work while others will drive a season, tuck their tails and go back to open wheel.
It might be different if he was going to a top ride but if drivers with talent couldn't ever make the 42 car a winner how will this guy? I expect major struggles, especially after Montoya gets 'bumped' or 'moved' out of the way on a regular basis.
This will become more of a "Ha ha F1, we stole one from ya" type of thing instead of it actually being about racing.
I, too, anticipate frustration initially. Even Tony Stewart struggled with the transition during the 1998 Busch Series season, wrecking out of six events in the Shell Pontiac. And at that time NASCAR wasn't as competitive as it is now.
But this isn't a farce. Montoya may bomb. Who knows? No F1 driver has ever made this transition full-time before. It's hard not to question whether he'll be Stewart or Scott Pruett.
And with all due respect to Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears, their resumes are simply incomparable to Montoya's, be it open wheel, closed wheel or Ferris Wheel.
Maimee: I say if Jeff Gordon can bring in international talent, i.e. Ingrid, then so can NASCAR. I welcome it. My husband has always wanted to see some of the NASCAR guys (Gordon) drive in Formula One. I think it will bring more interest to Formula One racing. Plus if you've seen the picture of this guy posted on your website? Hello Cutie!
I cannot lie: I eagerly anticipate the arrival of Juan Pablo groupies.
Rhowdydog: It means very little to NASCAR. Our short attention spans prevent it from meaning anything at all. I think a fair comparison would be to World Cup soccer -- If the U.S. won the World Cup, soccer would be popular as long as the novelty lasted.
The first season the team faltered, the wave of popularity would subside and we'd all go back to our normal lives. I have been a cycling enthusiast all my life, and saw the same thing happen twice with the Tour de' France. When LeMond won, cycling was popular.
Nobody cared until Armstrong started winning it. I bet the numbers are way down now that Lance has retired. Montoya will be a big story for the first few races he competes in, then we'll all go back to complaining about the Car of Tomorrow, Toyota, crooked crew chiefs, and crybaby drivers.
He'll be just another driver before next year's All-Star event.
This is one helluva great response. Though I personally believe Montoya will thrive given a proper adjustment period, I am also among the contingent to whom Kyle Busch refers: the Lance factor made me watch cycling.
I couldn't care less this year. Great points made there, KB.
bigE_lives_on: I think this just proves what most NASCAR fans already know: NASCAR racing is the most competitive and best racing anywhere. Formula One has two or three drivers that win 99 percent of the races.
It's next to impossible to pass, and unless there's pit strategy that comes into play, whoever is leading after the first turn usually wins the race. It's boring to watch, and I'm sure that Juan Montoya thought it was not that exciting to race in.
This is a huge step for NASCAR in terms of shedding their reputation as a bunch of rednecks turning left all the time. Here's a driver that could have landed a ride in just about any series out there, and he chose Nextel Cup. That in itself speaks volumes for what NASCAR has become.
Another very well-said response. NASCAR couldn't ask for a bigger coup, largely because Montoya's decision is genuine. This isn't a marketing scheme. This is a guy who's seen it all and decided that NASCAR is where he wants and needs to be.
F1 is man vs. machine. NASCAR is man vs. man in machines.
skerr: I knew it was inevitable that foreign drivers would realize how big NASCAR is to the American people. NASCAR draws the crowds, and there's big money involved.
For years, I faithfully went to the Indy 500, but each year more and more foreign drivers took over driving that category of race cars. I couldn't pronounce their names and I lost interest. Since then my focus has been on NASCAR. I really hate to see the invasion of foreign drivers enter into this area of racing.
Soon it will be like all other races, foreigners only. I think the 'good old boys & gals', just want to see their hometown heroes. I guess money talks and when greed takes over who cares what the fans think. There is more than enough talent among American drivers who want to race in NASCAR.
I personally don't have anything against these foreign drivers, but I don't want to watch them on the racetrack. Don't we have enough foreign crap taking over our country, without letting them invade our racetrack?
I passed over several responses like this one, but there were too many to ignore it. Many folks feel this way.
3Man: It means many things. Who knows how long the list is? No one in NASCAR has many fans outside the U.S.A. Montoya has a huge international fan base that, as we see in the World Cup, can be quite passionate.
I could see these fans following his progress in NASCAR, especially those from his home country. There is also still many in the open-wheel group who still look at NASCAR as glorified bumper cars.
Montoya's struggles to succeed, or lack of dominance, will give a little more credibility to the fact that NASCAR is just as tough (maybe more so on the driver) as any other top-notch racing series in the world.
The list goes on. NASCAR has never really had a foreigner that has succeeded and helped give them more of an international feel. You can bet they're praying Montoya finds success with the No. 42.
Something like that, yes. Mike Helton showed up at the press conference. That says all that needs to be said.
The opinions expressed are solely of the writers.
