Jul 24, 2006

Montoya Not Ready for NASCAR Yet

Last week we commented on the very recent and very shocking decision of driver Juan Pablo Montoya to leave Formula One racing to begin his career anew in NASCAR Nextel Cup.  Yes, Nextel Cup, you know, the cars with the big American V8s equipped with those leading-edge carburetors?  Yeah, those behemoths that pretty much look alike and pretty much only turn left.

Well, it seems that reports of Montoya's imminent arrival in NASCAR (even my own) were, like the reports of Mark Twain's death, premature.  Oh, we have it on pretty good authority that Montoya will, indeed, drive in Nextel Cup racing, just as those reporters of yore had it on good authority that Mark Twain would, eventually, die. The question question, then and now, is when.  And the answer to that question is still up in the air.

Frankly, the McLaren F1 team seems to be toying with the impetuous Colombian, who once made a mark in North American open-wheel racing before he moved to F1 with Williams in 2001.  After essentially showing him the door last week, replacing him for the French Grand Prix with test driver Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren boss Ron Dennis subsequently maintained that Montoya is still a McLaren employee and held out the possibility he could race again in Formula One this season.

"Juan Pablo is contracted through to the end of the year," Dennis told the Associated Press at the French Grand Prix. "And if we so choose, he will test and race again."

Oh, really?  That's just what I'd want, a disgruntled race driver on the way out piloting my multi-million-dollar racecar.  Perhaps Dennis is just trying to extract (extort?) some cash from Montoya's soon-to-be employer, Chip Ganassi. That was hinted at when he said, "He still is contracted to us, unless there is some other commercial arrangement between ourselves and the NASCAR team or Juan himself."

What this means is that the possibility of Montoya competing in both F1 and NASCAR Nextel Cup during this season is becoming more remote.  McLaren might insist that Montoya spend the rest of this season as a team test driver -- nirvana to some but undoubtedly punishment to Montoya -- and that would probably prevent the Colombian from getting the seat time he needs before starting a Nextel Cup race, probably pushing his NASCAR debut to 2007.  It's also a sad chapter in Montoya's racing career, which blossomed so bright in 2000 and sent him on his way to Formula One.