"Sam Hayes Merritt, III" <sam (AT) themerritts (DOT) org> wrote

----------------------------

They'll undoubtedly start him in some Busch races, but why in the world
would Chip loan him out to an ARCA team?

Hal S.

In rec.autos.sport.f1 Hal S. <h.sanders (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote:

Look at his starts, last 4 races: 2, 9, 4, 1. Started 3 in his
3rd race.

His finishes have gotten better as time has gone on: 33, 34, 36,
23, 26, 27, 26, 18, 3, 19.

Consistently getting better finishes. Hasn't crashed out of a
race in awhile. Last 4 races finished on lead lap or 1 down.

I didn't say he's been perfect, but he has been getting
consistenly better which is what one hopes a rookie does.


sam

In rec.autos.sport.f1 Hal S. <h.sanders (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote:

Cheap experience with live cars. They aren't using top notch
equipment, they are using 5+ year old chassis. Destroying one
of those cars isn't as costly.

He needs to run laps, in races, in a stock car, on an oval.
ARCA is the bottom stepping stone of national series to do
that. And he can get out there and run with guys like Frank
Kimmel and find out why he's won 7 championships, maybe
pick up some pointers.


sam

"Sam Hayes Merritt, III" <sam (AT) themerritts (DOT) org> wrote

---------------------------------

As you know, it's not where you start; it's where you finish. You only
cited one finish that wasn't in the double digits.

Hal S.

Hal S. <h.sanders (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote:

I have a 2-part answer!

First, this one from TSN.
Montoya gets Michigan invitation

TSN.ca Staff

7/12/2006 12:43:51 PM

Juan Pablo Montoya's NASCAR baptism could come as early as next month among
some very familiar surroundings.

According to the Detroit Free Press, officials at Michigan International
Speedway have contacted owner Chip Ganassi about possibly running the former F1
star in the ARCA Re/Max race and Busch Grand National events in August.

The offer comes just a day after Montoya and his F1 team announced a mutual
parting of the ways, clearing the path for the Colombian to get some stock car
experience prior to his debut next season.



Then, this! (Where Ron Dennis has scuttled any chance of Monty racing in Stock
Cars this year).

Dennis: Montoya could return to F1 this year
TSN.ca Staff

7/14/2006 12:51:38 PM

Juan Pablo Montoya won't be making his debut with NASCAR until after 2006. In
fact, McLaren boss Ron Dennis went so far as to suggest the Colombian could
race again in Formula One before the year is out.

Last weekend, Montoya made a surprise announcement that he would be joining the
NASCAR series in 2007. A few days later, McLaren announced that it had come to
a mutual agreement with the Colombian which would see him leave the team. There
have since been reports that Montoya could make his stock car debut later this
year to gain experience for next season.

Dennis put a quick end to those suggestions on Friday.

"Juan Pablo is fully contracted to the end of the year and if we so choose he
will test and race again, that is our option and no one else's," said Dennis.

"A few races ago we had a conversation that was based on his desire to continue
with McLaren, his desire to stay in F1 and we came to a clear understanding
that it was immaterial whether his objective was to stay in F1, or whether the
team would keep him, or if he went to another team, the best way to achieve
that was to have the best results in the latter part of the season, that is how
we moved forward."



Dennis suggested that, despite paddock scuttlebutt, Montoya was still in the
running for the vacant seat at the Woking-based team in 2007.

"I felt if he was focused on having the best end of season, I thought it would
be easier for me to take the decision to keep him in the team, and better for
him to get a better offer, so common objective was to get the best out of the
season," he explained.

"Obviously that objective somewhat changed when he decided that in 2007 he was
going to race in NASCAR so the objectives became different. The appropriate
action was for him to cool off and think about his situation until we have a
common objective for the remaining races."

Dennis did not rule out a "commercial arrangement" between the team, Chip
Ganassi and Montoya which might allow him to run a few Busch series events
later this year.

Ironically, DaimlerChrysler - which owns Mercedes, a minority shareholder in
the F1 team - also owns the Dodge brand, which Montoya will drive for with Chip
Ganassi racing next season.

Pedro de la Rosa will drive for the team in France but his future beyond this
weekend has not been confirmed. Dennis did rule out promoting either Gary
Paffett or highly touted Lewis Hamilton.

"Their programmes are well mapped and they didn't include racing a Grand Prix
car this season. It is more likely that Pedro will continue in the car."
















--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"mark" <usenet1958 (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote


Two points related to Montoya:

1. Chip spent a bundle on JPM and he's not going to waste JPM and his money
on ARCA.

2. All of you cheering JPM's departure from F1 are forgetting one thing --
good or bad depending on your view. His F1 departure probably means the end
of the USGP. For the last USGP, more than 18,000 Colombians (read that JPM
fans) were in attendance. I doubt if they'll be back, and the loss of that
many customers in one fell swoop is probably enough to cause Tony to decide
to not renew the race.

Hal S.

On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:26:12 -0000, "Sam Hayes Merritt, III"
<sam (AT) themerritts (DOT) org> wrote:

I thought everything was at least 20 years old on those donks ! :-)


--

Regards, Frank

Da Frank <fajp (AT) ooptushome (DOT) com.au> wrote:

in a North American showroom since 1988. Carbureators, push rods, et al.

I'll add that former F1 mechanic for Benetton Steve Matchett once mentioned
that the NASCAR engine designers have taken that old technology to a "new
level" though.



















--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 2006-07-14, mark <usenet1958 (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote:
Good god, you are dense... A Cup car doesn't pulll 5-gs through a corner or
in braking. That's the hard part. That's the part Gordon figured out in seven
laps. Steady state 200mph is not a big deal for anyone professional racer.
That's why top NASCAR drivers like Gordon hate restrictor plate racing. It
takes all the skill out of superspeedway racing. Everybody is flat out,
regardless of skill level. But, that's the parity that NASCAR wants.

No slower is easier. That's why F1 is the top level car racing series
in the world. Notice how a lot of F1 rejects become very good sports
car racers. The cars are slower. It suits their level of talent.
Hell, even Alex Yoong had a respectable showing at Le Mans.

A WOO car weighs about 1000lbs and has 700-800HP. What other types of race
cars can you think of that have that type of HP to weight ratio? Gordon knew
how to make those things go fast, too.


--
"I have to decide between two equally frightening options.
If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.autos.sport.cart.]
On 2006-07-14, mark <usenet1958 (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote:
Ha! You keep typing as if you know what you are talking about. Even if
Juan was leaving 5 seconds, which I doubt (probably a lot closer to two), it
was still 30 seconds a lap faster than Gordon had ever gone on the Speedway
road course, which he had never driven until that demo run. So, in a
car he's never driven and that's over half a minute a lap faster than
the car he's use to, at a track he's never been at (albeit a easy track
to learn), he gets within two seconds after seven laps. Nobody would
have believed it. Getting within four seconds would have been
respectable. Two seconds just confirmed that his talents have been
wasted in NASCAR.

Gordon has been humble enough to say finding the last second would be quite
difficult. He should've be the one representing the USA on the
world stage, not Michael Fuckin' Andretti. Even at this stage in his career,
his driving ability is still at a world class level. CART owners fucked up
letting him get away. Now you see where openwheel racing in America is at.
"Irrelevant" seems like a good way to describe it.

FWIW, one of the Busch brothers got within two seconds of Michel
Jourdain when Bobby Rahal offered him a test in a Champ car when Rahal
was still in Champ car racing. But, I think he spent most of the day
(if not two days) getting there. There's plenty of talented American
drivers... they're just all in NASCAR.

--
"I have to decide between two equally frightening options.
If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman