JOLIET, Ill. -- In one of the most surprising driver announcements in recent memory, Chip Ganassi on Sunday named Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya to drive his No. 42 Dodge in 2007.

Montoya, 30, has no NASCAR experience. Ganassi signed Montoya to a multi-year deal, which makes him the first F1 regular to make the move to Nextel Cup. Montoya has been an F1 regular since 2001.

"Chip told me, 'You need to convince me that you need to do this,'" said Montoya. "'It is a matter of three years down the road, will you be excited doing what you're doing?'. I will be a lot happier here."

The No. 42 Dodge was considered by some in the Cup garage to be the best available car for 2007. Casey Mears announced last month that he was leaving Ganassi to drive the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Not long after Mears' defection, Montoya called Ganassi and asked for the job -- and Ganassi gave it to him. Just like that.

"It took us an hour to go through everything," said Montoya. "It was that simple. It is hard to turn it down."

Ganassi knows that Montoya will face a steep learning curve, but he also said that he expects Montoya to succeed at NASCAR's top level.

"I have seen this guy adapt to car like no driver like I have ever seen," Ganassi said. "No question, he can adapt to a Cup car. He will be doing Cup and Busch. I know my team is up for it. Is it not going to be a walk in the park."

Montoya is in the midst of the F1 season, which does not end until Oct. 22. After that is complete, Montoya will immediately begin testing for next season.

Because Montoya has no stock car experience, he will have to undergo a rigid program designed to get him approved by NASCAR for the 2007 Daytona 500.

"It is going to be a lot tougher than you think," Montoya said. "I am glad to be here. I had a couple of options in F1, but coming here and knowing I am going to be a rookie again, to be here in America is exciting. I couldn't turn this down. I couldn't throw it away."

Ganassi said that he has a structured plan to get Montoya cleared to race.


"We looked at the F1 schedule and we are working closely to get everyone involved," said Ganassi. "When the F1 season ends, we can squeeze a couple of things in. It is going to be a busy winter."

Montoya won the 2000 Indy 500 while driving for Ganassi, but Ganassi said that Montoya won't be doing the Indy-Charlotte double.

Still, Ganassi said that his team was ecstatic about the hiring.

"Everyone was surprised and yet, they were pleasantly surprised," said Ganassi. "Obviously, our team has had its up and downs, and we were sort of concerned about what type of driver was going to be available."

Izvor: http://www.NASCAR.com




Žao mi je Montoye,ali mislim da njegovom stilu vožnje nije odgovarala Formula 1,kakva je danas.
Montoya voli puno da rizikuje,da pretiče,da ide na sve ili ništa,a današnja F1 traži strpljivog vozača,koji će voziti i čekati svoju šansu,marljivo prikupljati bodove...
Nadam se da će tamo iduće godine ostvariti dobre rezultate.

nije vozio NASCAR, ali jeste onaj nekakav CART...

Ovo je jedna od lepshih vesti ove godine .,.,.,. najveci looser i gubitnik u F1 konachno uvidja da ovaj sport nije za njega.
Shto se mene tiche trebalo bi mu oduzeti i dozvolu za voznju bicikle ali poshto ide kod septika da vozi tamo neka im ga .,.,., i oni ce ga jako brzo shkartirati.

Mozda ste zaboravili da je on dosao u formulu kao aktuelni sampion iz NASCAR-A i vraca se u isti tim iz koga je otisao.

Iskreno, meni je pravo zao sto odlazi i mislim da ce F1 puno izgubiti odlaskom Montoye. To sto je imao slabu sezonu je jedna stvar, a njegov stil voznje totalno nesto drugo. Pruzao je on sjajne poteze, nekad.

Poteze da, kontinuitet ne... Ako ce se tamo moci boriti za titulu, nek' mu je sa srecom...

Inace on nije vozio prije NASCAR, to tek treba da nauci, jer je to nakon F1 tehnologije, pravi "Jurassic park"...

[attachment=5971]



Montoya je u F1 stigao iz njoj slicne CART serije...

[attachment=5972]

Montoya nikad nije vozio NASCAR, a to fino pise i u ovom tekstu. Vozio je Indy 500 i bio sampion.

Ma ako je mogao Paul Newman voziti moci ce i Pablo.

evo vam vise info


Kolumbijski vozač Juan Pablo Montoya je objavio da karijeru ne namjerava nastaviti u Formuli 1 i da će se na kraju sezone preseliti u američko tekmičenje Nascar.
Vijest je potvrdio i vlasnik ekipe Chip Ganassi i dodao, da će Kolmubijac u sezoni 2007. u prvenstvu Nascar voziti njegovo vozilo Dodge s brojem 42.

Montoya, koji nema nikakvog iskustva na utrkama s automobilima iz serije Nascar, prvi je vozač iz Formule 1 koji će nastupiti u tom takmičenju. Kolumbijac je s Ganassijem potpisao višegodišnji ugovor.

U ekipi će zameijeniti Caseyja Mearsa, koji će u narednoj sezoni otići u ekipu Hendrick Motorsports. Montoya je Ganassijem već surađivao prije nego što je došao u Formulu 1. Godine 1999. je osvojio je naslov prvaka u američkoj seriji CART i pobijedio na utrci 500 milja Indianapolisa 2000. godine, oba puta u vozilu Chipa Ganassija.

Montoya odlazi gdje mu je mjesto, njegovom nacinu voznje ne odgovaraju danasnji F1 bolidi, pogotovo Mclaren koji se vise od drugih bolida oslanja na aero grip sto znaci da vozac radi manje a Montoya voli praviti korekcije itd. Ipak 7 pobjeda u F1 i nije lose, preticao je kao nijedan drugi vozac zadnjih 6 godina. S obzirom da u Nascaru voze i do 50-te Monty bi mogao imati dugu i dobru karijeru tamo. Uz to Nascar napreduje svake godine, siri se ,a u f1 sve manje preticanja kako se nivo downforcea povecava sto je veliki problem, ako nesto ne promijene radikalno nova pravila, preticanje na stazi ce postati skoro nemoguce. Jos jedan razog vise za pracenje Nascara.