NASCAR gets F1 Driver...

Juan Pablo Montoya, currently one of the current crop of decent F1 drivers, and a former Indy 500 winner is jumping ship. Heading to Chip Ganassi's #42 car in NASCAR for next year.

How startling of a move that is....

Not startling at all really , its been widely discussed for quite some time that he was struggling to get an F1 drive next year, and crashing into his team mate last race just sealed his fate.

I think that he will find out that there is a rather steep learning curve. Paul Tracy hasn't done all that well in his outings.

NASCAR is certainly a different style of racing, but I've seen some very good driving from those that have cut their teeth on open-wheel racing like Indy & F1. Got to learn how to bump & bang, though. It's like going from open Colorado interstate driving to becoming a New York cab driver.

I don't think Montoya will have any trouble learning how to "bump & bang".

He's been doing it in F1 for long enough, he won't be missed

Montoya has been a waste of a seat in F1. There should be a few more shown the door at the eand of the season with any luck - Coulthard (stale), Button (not agressive enough), Ralph (useless at anything) and if I had my way Michael (cheat).
We need fresh blood. It is getting harder to stay awake during the races and I hate pit stops being used for overtaking because drivers have forgotten how to.

Can't argue much with KennyGs comments, but I don't think it was a waste of a seat. he is long in the tooth but was okay for years in F1. Michael Andretti on the other hand was a waste of a seat.

And I think comparing Paul Tracy's ability" in NASCAR to what Montoya could do is not appropriate either. Tracy isn't bad at driving, but he hasn't won an Indy 500 has he? And he wasn't good enough to waste a seat in F1 either from what I remember.

I can however name about 20 NASCAR drivers that are a waste of a seat

do you have any articles for this? i googled it but its not showing me any.

http://www.thatsracin.​com/mld/thatsracin/150​01283.htm

Surely he's going to get bored going round, and round, and round, and round, and round...

adam* wrote:
Surely he's going to get bored going round, and round, and round, and round, and round...

ooo you got me all excited I'm gonna have to get out my Days of thunder dvd

Seriously I think hes made a good move , its sad seeing drivers who have been in big teams and won races plod around in the back of the grid. F1 hasnt really worked out for him and I hope he gets the racing he craves.

Clark wrote:
http://www.thatsracin.​com/mld/thatsracin/150​01283.htm

sorry, it was just hard to believe.
but...wow.

adam* wrote:
Surely he's going to get bored going round, and round, and round, and round, and round...

A reporter once asked (I think) Carl Edwards what he thought about when he was driving around at 180 mph. His answer, "Left, left, straaaaaight... left, left, straaaaaigt..."

At least in NASCAR he'll have 42 other cars running round and round out there to keep him company. After the first few laps, F1 seems more like a simultaneous time trial than a race. You only have like 20 cars at the start and know a good chunk of them are going to be taken out in the obligatory first corner crash. They need about 40-50 more cars to fill up those long race tracks so they can have some real racing instead of playing follow-the-leader for a couple hours.

adam* wrote:
Surely he's going to get bored going round, and round, and round, and round, and round...

Wait till he gets to one of the NASCAR road tracks, no paddle shifting on a Go-Fast Breadbox.

That's quite a drastic change in career... not in the direction one would have anticipated...