Montoya finding it tough in NASCAR

Jonny Arson

20th yesterday in the NASCAR Busch series race Phoenix alongside 11th and 28th finishes in his other starts and doubt whether he'll make his scheduled Nextel Cup debut next week, it's not looking bright

Montoya, meanwhile, was frustrated with his finish because of the lack of give and take at the back of the Busch field.

He bounced off the wall during the incident that collected Hornish, and had several other bumps as he struggled to get much leeway on the track.


"It's tough passing these guys -- they seem like they don't see you, they just sort of play dumb," he said. "When you run up front, the guy up front runs a lot cleaner, a lot smarter. The guys in the back are just too dumb. I'm trying to keep the car in one piece and its very hard, because, yes, I am a rookie -- but no, I am not a rookie.

"I have probably more experience in this grade, I've driven more things than anybody here. I am being smart, I am trying not to cause any wrecks or anything, but it's got to stop."

It's not clear if Montoya will make his Nextel Cup debut next week in Homestead, Fla., as many believed he would. Although a car has been submitted for him on the entry list, he said consecutive struggles at Texas and now Phoenix have left things in flux.

"At the moment it's just Busch," he said. "If everything goes right, maybe. But at the moment just Busch."

http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/bg/11/11/bc.car.nascar.busch.ap/index.html

SouperComputer

Meh, he needs to just suck it up! I dont think he'l run Nextel fulltime next year, in which case I could be one of those mid-grid drivers heeding his progress

ToxicPaddy

You planning on racing next year then eh?

Is that the main reason you headed off to the US?

Tox

SouperComputer

ToxicPaddy wrote:

You planning on racing next year then eh?

Is that the main reason you headed off to the US?

Tox

Not the main reason as such. I just got the chance to come here (wife is from US) and figured id be mad to pass it by. So I sold the business and wrapped everything up. Ive gone from driving a 1.4 ibiza in Ireland (great car and all!) to looking at V12 BMW 750IL's in the US. So far life is good

I had hoped to do some testing at Daytona in December, but funds need come from my pocket so I'm not sure if its going to be a runner.........yet. Ive been playing the waiting game for a long time, so I'm used to it at this stage! Its a bit of a process to get certified to race, the test at Daytona was planned to be for my superspeedway licence.

You still thinking of racing Tox? You should, its good for your digestion, or sumthin.

ToxicPaddy

SouperComputer wrote:

Not the main reason as such. I just got the chance to come here (wife is from US) and figured id be mad to pass it by. So I sold the business and wrapped everything up. Ive gone from driving a 1.4 ibiza in Ireland (great car and all!) to looking at V12 BMW 750IL's in the US. So far life is good

I had hoped to do some testing at Daytona in December, but funds need come from my pocket so I'm not sure if its going to be a runner.........yet. Ive been playing the waiting game for a long time, so I'm used to it at this stage! Its a bit of a process to get certified to race, the test at Daytona was planned to be for my superspeedway licence.

You still thinking of racing Tox? You should, its good for your digestion, or sumthin.

Jeez, thats some jump, 1.4 - 5.0. Not bad alright.. Probably costing the to fill the tank as over here

Superspeedway costs are huge aren't they?? You hoping to land a place driving? Whats the cost of some testing these days?

Yeah still thinking about it. Looking to change jobs soon and if I can get back home out of Dublin then I'd say I'll be starting soon enough as will have the funds then.

Tox

SouperComputer

Yea, people look at me and say "oooh, what about the gas mileage" and I generally reply, "im used to paying over $80 to fill a 1.6 Passat and getting 300 miles to a tank, ill gladly pay $60 to fill a V12!" Oh, and its 5.4, not 5.0

That said, id probably the bimmer now for probably $50. They dont know how good the have it over here. At the moment we have a 3.0l V6 taurus, same engine as the Mondeo ST220. I filled it up with my irish credit card and it cost 24e to fill it. I get 300 miles a tank mixed driving and 375 on the freeway. Tax or "tabs" here was $90 for the year. So much cheaper its not even funny!

Im not fussed about wether I do superspeedway or not to be honest, although Daytona would be amazing. Ive been talking with two teams on and off about testing. Now that I have a visa, it helps the process a little bit.

Testing, full day about 10k + 10K damage deposit. Not cheap! Superspeedway race can cost anything from 40-60K, but if you start the race you should get about 6K in money. Still a lot of money though, id be prettymuch banking all of my savings on it just to go testing.


You should talk to a couple of karting teams about testing to get a taste of it. Its nearly 5 years since ive been around so I dont know what teams are running, but NikiMere might know someone.

ToxicPaddy

wrote:

...Oh, and its 5.4, not 5.0

...Tax or "tabs" here was $90 for the year. So much cheaper its not even funny!

Oh stop rubbing it in..

wrote:

Testing, full day about 10k + 10K damage deposit. Not cheap! Superspeedway race can cost anything from 40-60K, but if you start the race you should get about 6K in money. Still a lot of money though, id be prettymuch banking all of my savings on it just to go testing.

eeeeeeeeeeeeekkkk!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

wrote:

You should talk to a couple of karting teams about testing to get a taste of it. Its nearly 5 years since ive been around so I dont know what teams are running, but NikiMere might know someone.

Yeah I might do that.. will be waiting until the new year anyway as im still finishing off kitting out the house at the moment but the finishing line is in sight..

Jonny Arson

Well, that was firey start to Montoya's NASCAR bow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7twnhtd8Ps&NR

He drove a solid race, kept the pace with his teamates which bodes well for 2007, pity he drives for mid-field team though

gs39t

Congrats to Montoya for finishing 69th in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup points standings!

He'll be one to watch next year for sure; he led the first lap of the first stock car race he ran, led the second race too, then 11th in the Busch race at Memphis and was up to 13th at one point last night.

Also, Ganassi isnt a midfield team - they've won races in the past, its just the driver combination of Casey Mears and Reed Sorenson who havent managed to pull anything out of the bag; even in his first race Montoya was beating Mears..

AdMMM

As the commentators said, he'll wreck some cars before he becomes a success. Can't wait to see him at the plate races!

Kalina

Give him time, he'll get there!