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Montoya's makeover will take time
2006 Rewind
Formula One: 10 starts, 5 top six finishes, 5 DNF's, 8th in pointsNASCAR: 1 Cup start, 4 Busch starts, average finish: 21st
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Has there ever been a bigger question mark riding on the back of a driver's arrival than the one placed squarely on Montoya shoulders this season? Even the most hardcore NASCAR fan knows very little about the man who has won a Champ Car title, an Indy 500 and seven Formula One races.
His relationship with the motor sports media has been a roller coaster, as has his relationship with former employers. Without getting into all the details, let's just say his departures from both the Williams and McLaren F1 teams were as cordial as a bunkhouse stampede.
But the one team owner who has always managed to keep him reined is Chip Ganassi, the man with whom Montoya had his previous run of success here in the States. And considering the fact that Ganassi hasn't won a Cup race since October 2002, having a guy who has won at Indianapolis, Monza and Hockehheim will be a nice change of pace.
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TOP 20 DRIVER COUNTDOWN
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Why He Will Finish 19th
Even with all of that international experience, there will still be a learning curve for Montoya, both in the car and out of it. There's no traction control in NASCAR, no seven bazillion counts of downforce and no hottie umbrella girls to follow you around and protect you from the shade.Then again, Montoya's biggest complaints about F1 always centered around the lack of passing — or as he calls it "overtaking" — and his competitors' fear of physical contact between cars. In his new ride, those won't be a problem.
Expect a quick start, a disappointingly slow spring and then a late rally of solid runs that will catapult the 31-year old into 2008. And put the fabrication department on alert... there's going to be some serious body work to do this year.
The All-Telling, All-Knowing Stat: 11th
That's where Montoya finished in his NASCAR debut last October, a Busch Series race at the three-quarter mile Memphis Motorsports Park. Seven of the 10 drivers who finished ahead of him were full-time Cup guys and an eighth was a former big leaguer. He started ninth, finished on the lead lap and kept his car in one piece, not bad considering he'd never raced on a short track in his entire life."He can drive whatever he wants whenever he wants," said third-place finisher Carl Edwards. "A lot of people didn't expect much from him today, but I think he proved he can do it."
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Fantasy Lock: Indianapolis
He's only raced on the world's most famous oval once in his career, the 2000 Indy 500, and he led 167 of 200 laps en route to the win. By the time we get there on July 29, he should have worked out any early-season growing pains, and with all the room that the Brickyard provides, he can navigate traffic with ease. Hey, until he loses there, you have to pick him, right?
Ryan McGee is the managing editor at NASCAR Images He can be reached at his e-mail address: rmcgee@foxsports.com.
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