Juan Pablo Montoya: Off to a Fast Start and On the Fast Track

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on October 5, 2006

Tomorrow night Juan Pablo Montoya will make his stock car debut in the Food World 250 ARCA race at Talladega, Alabama. 

Over the past couple weeks, Montoya has been practicing in various stock cars.  First, he drove an ARCA car at Talladega to test the new pavement (and his new ride).  Talladega is a fast 2.66 mile track, with its emphasis on raw horsepower, speed and avoiding a big wreck.  The track's importance to Montoya is two-fold:  he needs experience at a restrictor plate track to pass Nascar's requirements to race in the Daytona 500 next year, & he needs to gain experience racing a stock car.

Montoya then traveled to Iowa to drive the ARCA car at the new Iowa Speedway.   The Iowa Speedway is billed as a 7/8 mile track with an emphasis on the driving skills.  It is unclear whether Montoya will race at the ARCA race at Iowa Speedway scheduled for next weekend, but his lap times at the track indicate he would be a force to be reckoned with if he does.

On both tracks, it did not take Montoya long to adjust.  In a short time he was turning laps like a veteran driver.  In fact, Montoya qualified his ARCA car on the outside front row for the Talladega race tomorrow.

In addition to his ARCA tests, Montoya tested a Nextel Cup car at Kentucky in a closed session.  Presumably that went well.  Montoya has the benefit of veteran crew chief Brad Parrott to help him acclimate to the stock car. 

It shouldn't come as any surprise that Montoya is making progress in stock cars.  His whole career has been one success after another.  In his 137 starts in the CART, Indy Car and Formula One series, Montoya has 18 wins, 26 poles, 60 top five finishes and 79 top 10 finishes, including the 2000 Indianapolis 500 and a Monaco Grand Prix.  In his 5 complete F1 seasons, Montoya finished 6th or better. 

Montoya has now set his sights on Nascar, with hopes that he can continue his winning tradition.

His first big step will be tomorrow night.  The Food World 250 will be  broadcast on SPEED channel at 7 p.m.

 

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Smokin' It Up at Knoxville & Kansas

Originally Posted on October 2, 2006 on Foxsports.com

Thursday night Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader joined Late Model drivers at the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals.  Tony finished the night 12th in points, which he hoped would propel him into the A Main on Saturday night.  Schrader did not finish well on  Thursday night, so he did not race on Saturday.  Had Schrader run Saturday, he would have had to run the B Main and finish in the top 6 places to transfer into the A Main.  Since Stewart was committed to run the Busch race at Kansas for Keven Harvick, Inc., if he didn't make the A Main, he wouldn't be able to make the race.  Fortunately, he scored enough points to make the A Main.  On Saturday night, Stewart survived the 100 lap race (and I do mean survived) and finished second to Brian Shirley.

 

Saturday shaped up to be a long day for Stewart.  First, he had Cup practice, followed by Busch qualifying, the Busch race, a plane ride to Knoxville, hot laps, and the A Main at Knoxville.  Stewart arrived back at Kansas early Sunday morning.

With the 300 mile Busch race and 100 lap (50 mile) Late Model race behind him, Stewart was ready to run the Nextel Cup race on Sunday.   Stewart moved through the pack but never quite could catch the leaders.  When it came down to a question of gambling for the win, Stewart did not hesitate but told Zippy they should go for it.  And he promised to save fuel.

Stewart then proceeded to race Casey Mears, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jeff Burton  for position.  All the while, Zippy cautioned him to "save fuel" as he was a 1/2 lap short.

When he took the lead with  around 5 laps to go, Zippy told Stewart that he was over 18 seconds ahead of second place.  Stewart then started to race cars who had stopped for fuel - primarily Dale Jr.  Zippy ordered Stewart to "LET HIM GO" because it wasn't for position. 

When Stewart ran out of fuel, he was discouraged.  Zippy told him not to turn into pit road but to go to the start-finish line.  Meanwhile, cars passed Stewart.  Stewart finally came on the radio and asked who won. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zippy, somewhat incredulously told him "YOU did."   Stewart responded with "It's about time we won one of these."

 

Race All Night. Sleep All Day.

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on September 24, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last checked flag fell at 6:20 ...  A.M.  Despite Mother Nature's best effort to cancel, halt, or outlast the dedicated USAC race fans, and foil Tony Stewart's 2nd running of the USAC 4-Crown races, the races finished last night.  I mean this morning.

The annual 4 Crown races are the pinnacle of the USAC series.  There are bonus available to drivers who compete in all four divisions.- midget, sprint car, Silver Crown, and modified.  Win more than one division, and the bonus is big ($25,000 each).  Three divisions, bigger.  Four divisions - massive.    Have the right motor (Mopar) and you could add $200,000.  Stewart himself captured two of the 4- Crown races one year.  The only man to win all four divisions in one night, who naturally is revered by the USAC crowd, is Jack Hewitt.  To all this, add in the races are held at the historic, fast, and dangerous Eldora Speedway, and you have a recipe for fan adoration.

The weather forecast was not good.  Large hail.  Winds.  INCHES of rain.  All scheduled to arrive at Eldora Speedway during the midget, sprint, Silver Crown and modified races.  A similar forecast and actual rain stopped the show on Friday.  USAC and Stewart prepared a contingency plan that was to run the whole two day show on one day.  Or maybe over the next two days.  Or maybe in late October (don't they know it can snow then?). 

 But Saturday started with the qualifications that had been run on Friday.  Yes, they started over from scratch.  It helped some drivers.  It hurt others.  A new track record was set in sprint cars by Jerry Coons, Jr.  At the end of the "Friday" program, the plan was to clear the stands, and then admit the people who had Saturday tickets.  That plan was scrapped and all ticketholders were allowed to remain.  (Savvy business move if you ask me).

Rain stopped things several times on Saturday.  JJ Yeley arrived with Stewart fresh from his Busch race.  Yeley prompted won his midget heat, but didn't finish well in the A Main. 

Fans took shelter from the intermittant rain under the grandstand roof.  Some napped while waiting for the rain to clear, the track to be ran in, and the cars to be brought back out on the track.  Rumor has it at one point a push truck slid into the wall, providing additional excitement for fans. 

The final race finished at 6:20 a.m.  Tracy Hines, a former Busch series regular, won the midget and sprint car races.  Mat Neely won the Silver Crown series and Jerry Bowersocks won the modified division.

 

Answers to Nascar Questions You Didn't Even Think to Ask

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on September 21, 2006 

Does the laser etched rim tire scandal that targeted Harvick & Burton explain the mysterious tire problems that plagued teams at tracks earlier this year?  Maybe it wan't Goodyear that messed up the tires.  Maybe it was "innovations" by the teams.

Which teams probably aren't running a laser etched rim?  MB2, Yates, Ganassi, Petty.

Why was Tony Stewart OK with not being in the Chase?  More time to play at dirt tracks and other venues.  Case in Point, he and Ken Schrader have entered the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals at Knoxville Raceway on September 28-30.  And he's racing in the Arena racing league in October in Concord.   And the USAC Four Crown races are at Eldora this weekend... 

Elliott Sadler's incentive for better finishes?  No more free dog food from former sponsor Pedigree.  And he has over 30 dogs to feed.

Is RCR's resurgence due to Jeff Burton's influence?  Maybe.  But I'd look a little deeper to the R&D guy Childress snagged out of England last spring who happened to work in Formula One.  Remember, F1 is touted as the most technologically advanced motorsports series.  And it was shortly after his arrival that RCR surged.

Who will be bitter rivals by the end of the 2006 Chase?  I'm betting on either Harvick-Gordon, Busch - Hamlin or a revival of Kenseth-Earnhardt.  I'm partial to the last one, having watched Matt & Junior battle it out for 2 years in the Busch series and then for 2000 ROTY.

Doesn't Tony Stewart realize that we already have a two race format for the Championship?  One is for those running for the championship, and one is for those who aspire to the championship one day.  The first is called the NEXTEL CUP SERIES and the other is the BUSCH SERIES. 

Will Talladega's new surface create more "Big Ones" or will the crashfest fizzle out?  Or will there be more tire problems?  The tire test was within the last week, and those who drove it said it was very smooth.  The true test will be when 43 cars are on it at once. 

Who will get arrested in Phoenix this year?  I would have bet Stewart  or Kurt Busch- they seems like the most likely to aggressively drive on the road, but as they're not in the Chase, I may have to go with Chad Knaus or Kyle Busch.

With Texas coming up on the schedule shortly, will the Eva Busch - Nicole Landers feud heat up again?  Neither Kurt or Greg made the Chase, so they have nothing to lose by settling that score before the end of the year.

If Junior is still in the hunt for the Championship by Homestead, can his team get things turned around there so he finishes well?    Guess we'll all have to wait to find out.

Iowa Speedway, World Records, Formula One & Loudon

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on September 19, 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa opened last weekend.  The $70 million facility was designed by Rusty Wallace.  Wallace was no absentee designer, as he came to Iowa on several occasions to test drive the track - first on gravel, then on each layer of pavement. 

A Hooters Pro Cup race christened the track Friday night, with Woody Howard, Denny Hamlin's "replacement", sneaking away with the win in a three-wide finish.

Nascar was well represented, with two Joe Gibbs affiliated cars running the race, as well as entries fielded by JR Motorsports (Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s company) and Tony Stewart Motorsports.  Johnny Rumley, Jr's driver, finished 6th, while Shelby Howard, Tony's driver sat on the pole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, USAC took over the track, and speed records began to fall.  Bobby Santos III set a new USAC midget record, clocking a lap  at 139.553 mph.  Shortly thereafter, Darren Hagen set a new world record for a sprint car lap at 146.145.

Santos's record broke the mark set by Ryan Newman.  Think it is ironic that Ryan's nine year old record was broken at Rusty's track?

Neither Santos or Hagen could maintain those speeds during the races.  Dave Steele won the midget and Silver Crown races, while Jay Drake took the flag in the sprint car race.

Next up at Iowa Speedway:  ARCA and ASA late models in October.

Formula One

I wonder if non-Formula One fans realize the amazing career Michael Schumacher has had, and what his retirement will mean for motorsports. 

Schumacher is only 38.  And he is in the hunt for his eighth world championship.  He leads all Formula One drivers in virtually every statistic kept - poles, wins (90), & championships.

Will we ever see another driver with his success?  People said no one would match Fangio.  But they did.  They said no one could match Senna's pole record, but Schumacher did this year.  Regardless, Schumacher will go down as one of the greatest drivers of all time.  Even if he doesn't run ovals.

Loudon

Loudon turned into the crashfest that Bristol & Richmond were not.  And now a few people have big holes to dig out of.  Personally, I'd rather have the bad luck early, to have time to fix it, than have the big wreck at Homestead (ie Johnson last year).

Harvick appears to be on a roll.  In my mind, the true test will be the intermediate tracks.  While he hasn't finished lower than 15th since Daytona in July, Harvick had horrible finishes the first time around at Atlanta and Charlotte, and a 23rd place showing at Talladega. 

We'll see if the tire controversy escalates into something or not.  There were reports as early as July that teams were playing with innovations to mess with tire pressure.  However, this appears to be a "gray" area in the Nascar rule book and not a technical violation of the rules.

And I don't think we've seen the last of the Chasers having major trouble.  Remember Jr at Atlanta in 2004?  Stewart at Charlotte last year?  Martin at Talladega last year?  Kenseth overshooting pit lane at Dover in 2004?  Sometimes I think the Chase is a test of which team will choke first.

How to Keep Your Name in the News Without Being in the Chase: A Primer, Part II

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on September 13, 2006.

5.  Be a Former Champion.  If there is an appalling lack of news, the media will come for a former champion's reaction.  Don't worrry, your status as Champ guarantees that you still get paid a lot more money than other drivers in each and every race.  Regardless where you finish.

6.  Return to the Scene of the Crime.  Deliberately start a tradition of freaking out at a particular track.  Throw your helmet.  Crash out a couple chasers for no good reason.  Just plain crash, ruining your championship hopes (in a prior chase).  Get arrested or stopped by the police.  The media loves to report on "what went down" last year at the track. 

7.  Make crew changes.  Switch crew chiefs.  Fire  a tire carrier.  Injure someone else's crew member, thus requiring their crew to change.  Nothing will get you more time in the nascar media than the drama of "newness" on a crew.

8.  Announce a great charity contribution.  Produce a book, calendar, or make a big donation.  Aside from the tax benefits, you make actually make a difference for someone.

9.  Start a satellite radio program.  XM or Sirius radio will pay you handsomely, and your fans will support it - regardless of whether you are in the Chase.  Plus, you can air your grievances without giving the rival equal time.

10.  Race for the 35th in owner's points.  If your season is really going bad, racing for the guaranteed starting spot is a way to get into the news.  Basically, the media covers the top 10, the 11th place race, and the race for 35th spot.  If you are running 20th, forget about getting on air.

11.  Win a race in the Chase.  They HAVE to interview the race winner...