Montoya Winning at Sonoma, an Article by Bruce

Juan Pablo Montoya's first NEXTEL cup win has generated more headlines across more newspapers than any other event, barring Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s contract news. It's nuts how many newspapers have covered this and how some of them have devoted whole pages to the articles and pictures!!

I'm not sure I can expound on all the virtues of Montoya, who has won the Indy 500, and an F1 championship, and what he will bring to the ranks of NASCAR if he in fact, continues his endeavors of winning. And with his winning, comes notoriety and recognition for NASCAR

Post updated 6/26:
Juan Pablo Montoya is the 3rd foreign born driver to win a NASCAR Cup race. Mario Andretti (Italy) won the 1967 Daytona 500, and Earl Ross (Canada) won at Martinsville in 1974.

This is Montoya's 2nd win in NASCAR, being his first was on a road course in the Busch series, in Mexico.

As of late, Juan Pablo Montoya has been building up the ire of his fellow Cup competitors as he's been known to race them hard, and take chances, even when he's not on the lead lap. But if anyone knows of Montoya, his Formula One reputation was no different as he was known for aggressive driving, and difficult and risky passes. Of course, in NASCAR, that kind of behavior gets frowned on by some of the drivers and the sanctioning body, as other drivers expect lapped cars to move aside upon their approach, or "slower cars" are also expected to move aside, or the sanctioning body pulls drivers aside to suggest tamer, more politically correct methods of winning, competing and conflict resolution. You know, the stuff that makes the headlines more exciting the next day.

Montoya's win also was quite the chess match. By lap 92 of the 110 lap race, we were all hearing from his pit crew that he did not have the fuel to make it. Thus, Kevin Harvick let himself get passed without much of a challenge, because the intel said Montoya was going to run out, so Kevin didn't fight it, assuming he would inherit the lead later on. Bzzzz.. NOT.

A funny tidbit that's come from this is, being that Montoya has been so aggressive to date, when he came on the radio to announce it was "too early to race these guys", the crew chief and team owner looked at each other, and in a mild state of confusion, assumed they just picked up someone else's radio chatter.

Montoya has raced internationally around the world, he's raced locally no dirt tracks in El Dora in a dirt car, he's competing in Busch events, and now, he is a Cup winner. He's obviously tamed that which we have come to expect, the road courses. Now, it's time to see if he can turn this passion for racing into some oval wins. I think in time, he will get that. I am just not sure it will be this season, but I've been surprised before, and it would be a good surprise indeed.

Now that we have an international racing star, we have to wait to see of the racers from the motorcycle world can make their mark too! But that's for another article.

Here's a google link to Juan Pablo Montoya.
To see all the google hits on his win, here's a google link: Google Link


by Bruce Simmons, the Fan Reporter