Jan
28
Well, That Didn’t Take Long, Mr. Montoya
January 28, 2007 | Posted by VroomDude
I don’t think anyone exactly expected Juan Pablo Montoya to flail around miserably racing full-time in the US, but he’s off to a pretty decent start, teaming with Scott Pruett and Salvador Duran to win the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Confession time. I didn’t see a single second of the race, which is all the more embarassing given that there were, oh, 84,600 seconds of racing that just occured.
That might prevent a normal person from waxing eloquent about the result, and exactly what it means, but nay, I shall plow ahead.
Well, waxing eloquently is a bit too strong. Simply stated, I think Montoya is going to have a pretty good year, and it wouldn’t shock me at all to see him win 2-3 races.
He’s proven that he can win in just about any car on any given day, and it’s hard to find many chinks in his armor. Some pundits have tried to insinuate that he’ll have a hard time adjusting to the fender rubbin’ and bumping and grinding of a day at the races in NASCAR, but I have a hard time believing he’s going to wilt like a precious flower. If you take him at his word (and there’s no reason not to), one of the main reasons he left F1 was because he preferred a more physical style of racing, with plenty of contact.
While some fans, drivers, and owners may have a hard time accepting the new world order of NASCAR, what with Japanese cars circling the track and Colombians celebrating in victory lane, it’s very likely a sight everyone is just going to have to get used to.
(Yeah, Jack Roush, I’m looking in your direction.)
Comments
5 Comments so far
It was a great race, particularly between the top 3 DP cars…JPM could be a force in Nascar, he conquered Daytona at the 24!
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Juan race NASCAR this season.
He almost has it all. An already great racing career. He’s good looking. He’s from far enough south of the border to be embraced by all. (He’s suddenly my sister-in-laws favorite driver.)
I’d like to see him move directly to Roush and switch with uuummm…how about Jamie McMurray?
PS: I DVR’d the 24 and haven’t watched it either.
Juan is, in my opinion, champ material and a nice guy too. I watched parts of the race and was not a bit surpised. Nascar having it’s southern roots with the core of it’s early fan base being good ole boys, the slow acceptance phase or lack there of is not a surprise either. Albeit, I am surprised at the level of acceptance so far. This country has come a long way and yes.. Toyota has deep pockets Jack, but that’s because America loves their product. Is there an “I” in the future for Nascar? IN{ternational}ASCAR
I like Juan a lot. I am looking forward to watching him race this year.
Loving the blog, keep it up. I have added you to my blogroll. Thanks for linking mine.
Makes me proud of NASCAR fans in general, as far as the consensus being that most people want to see JPM do well.
I can’t help but think that there’d be a lot more snarkiness from F1 fans if some uncouth redneck from the US had the gall to come over and try to give F1 a whirl after racing in NASCAR.
Thanks for dropping by all, as far as comments and links and all that good stuff.