[PenelopePitStop]

So here I sit ... waiting ...

All season long, every time there was a thread related to Montoya's performance and his driving "style", if you can call it that, there were many responses pointing out that he will excel on the road courses. Well, here we are. A 32nd starting spot is none too impressive.

Don't get me wrong. Though I am obviously not a Montoya fan thus far, I was definitely looking forward to a road course (not my favorite type of racing) to see what he's got. Fat flippin' chance he can get a top-five finish starting back as far as he is.

Then there's Robby ... like Montoya, another accident waiting to happen, but he does well on road courses and has a good starting spot. Still hate him.

Then there's my Baby Dale ... great starting position. I hope he gets a top-five finish, but Sr. was never good at turning right. Perhaps Jr. can turn the Earnhardt road-course legacy around. That would be nice.

Jeffey Poo and Johnson? Glad to see them bringing up the rear ... enough said.

By the way, I may have missed it, but I didn't see Mikey anywhere. Did he not even attempt to qualify?

I will semi-focus on Montoya tomorrow and give him the benefit of the doubt. In a spin on the words of Sinatra, "If he can't make it there, he can't make it anywhere." I don't care what he accomplished prior to coming to Cup.

[simple simon]

ok lets not mince words PPS

i think you left out a few key points here:

#1 Montoya has NEVER raced this track before in any car let alone a Cup car

#2 Montoya was the fastest car in Saturdays practice session (so in less then 24 hours he went from 32nd fastest, to fastest)

#3 Montoya is the rookie points leader right now

seem like fairly crucial points to me (then again im a Montoya fan)

[LSC9901]

My turn ...


Gotta give you credit Penny. You jumped right in the fire with this one. That's not a bad thing. Differences of opinion are what makes the world go around. Keeps us on our toes also.

I'm not a big fan of Juan but I don't dislike him either. I still feel he is yet an unproven commodity. Someone has to be ROY and good for him for holding that title at this point in time. It isn't anything that I get all warm and fuzzy over.

Now fastest in practice will still get him 32nd place at the green flag. I'll be watching him with the hopes that he doesn't bull his way forward with the same drive as he did in Mexico. Gotta tell you Simon that your #1 statement seems like a CYA statement. Either way I do wish him good luck but I just don't want to see him push bad luck onto the unexpecting. If that happens there is a good chance he'll never be on my "I like that driver" list.

[King43STP]

Originally Posted by PenelopePitStop

So here I sit ... waiting ...

All season long, every time there was a thread related to Montoya's performance and his driving "style", if you can call it that, there were many responses pointing out that he will excel on the road courses. Well, here we are. A 32nd starting spot is none too impressive.

Don't get me wrong. Though I am obviously not a Montoya fan thus far, I was definitely looking forward to a road course (not my favorite type of racing) to see what he's got. Fat flippin' chance he can get a top-five finish starting back as far as he is.

Then there's Robby ... like Montoya, another accident waiting to happen, but he does well on road courses and has a good starting spot. Still hate him.

Then there's my Baby Dale ... great starting position. I hope he gets a top-five finish, but Sr. was never good at turning right. Perhaps Jr. can turn the Earnhardt road-course legacy around. That would be nice.

Jeffey Poo and Johnson? Glad to see them bringing up the rear ... enough said.

By the way, I may have missed it, but I didn't see Mikey anywhere. Did he not even attempt to qualify?

I will semi-focus on Montoya tomorrow and give him the benefit of the doubt. In a spin on the words of Sinatra, "If he can't make it there, he can't make it anywhere." I don't care what he accomplished prior to coming to Cup.

Terry Labonte is driving the 55 for both road races. As for Montoya there are a lot of drivers that he's ticked off to do much better than 20th. Personally I think he's going to be taken out.

[Nevadastars]

Where he finishes will tell more of what he's got, than qualifying did. All of the Ganassi cars had a tough time in qualifying, much worse than their practice speeds. But he does have his work cut out for him.

[Mike24]

Be patient with Montoya.

When he wins about 2-4 races next year, we will come back to these comments about how Montoya can't make it.

[jks812]

I think Montoya will do alright race day. He might not have qualified good, but he might can make up for it on the track. Everybody talks about how boring it is and how they can't really pass that much. But I've watched Robby come from the back to the top 10 three times in one race. As for Jr, has he ever done very good at this track? For some reason I was thinking he don't.

[Mike24]

Originally Posted by jks812

I think Montoya will do alright race day. He might not have qualified good, but he might can make up for it on the track. Everybody talks about how boring it is and how they can't really pass that much. But I've watched Robby come from the back to the top 10 three times in one race. As for Jr, has he ever done very good at this track? For some reason I was thinking he don't.

Jr's average finish at Infenion is 23.2, and his best finish was 11th. This isn't one of Jr's best tracks that's for sure.

[jks812]

Originally Posted by Mike24

Jr's average finish at Infenion is 23.2, and his best finish was 11th. This isn't one of Jr's best tracks that's for sure.

I didn't think he did to good here. Seems like he usually has a accident. Oh well, he's starting 3rd tomarrow, but I'm sure he'll figure out a way to blow that.

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by simple simon

ok lets not mince words PPS

i think you left out a few key points here:

#1 Montoya has NEVER raced this track before in any car let alone a Cup car

#2 Montoya was the fastest car in Saturdays practice session (so in less then 24 hours he went from 32nd fastest, to fastest)

#3 Montoya is the rookie points leader right now

seem like fairly crucial points to me (then again im a Montoya fan)

I agree with all your points, Simple. And, yes, during the brief time that I watched practice, Montoya was pretty quick, but I don't think he was the fastest. I could be wrong. However, qualifying, practice, and racing in traffic are not equal.

As far as where he is in the rookie points, I don't think he has all that much competition. His competition is just coming up, as far as I understand. Montoya has a successful record. Again, I think he has been way too hyped. Beyond that, though I don't like his personality, I could grow to respect his talent ... maybe not.

I'll be watching him tomorrow. If he wrecks, or wrecks someone else, trust me, you'll be hearing from me.

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

My turn ...


Gotta give you credit Penny. You jumped right in the fire with this one. That's not a bad thing. Differences of opinion are what makes the world go around. Keeps us on our toes also.

I'm not a big fan of Juan but I don't dislike him either. I still feel he is yet an unproven commodity. Someone has to be ROY and good for him for holding that title at this point in time. It isn't anything that I get all warm and fuzzy over.

Now fastest in practice will still get him 32nd place at the green flag. I'll be watching him with the hopes that he doesn't bull his way forward with the same drive as he did in Mexico. Gotta tell you Simon that your #1 statement seems like a CYA statement. Either way I do wish him good luck but I just don't want to see him push bad luck onto the unexpecting. If that happens there is a good chance he'll never be on my "I like that driver" list.

In case you haven't noticed, jumping into the fire is my style! If not controversial, why bother?!

I'm ambivalent about Montoya at this point. The only reason I am paying attention to him is due to other members of GTG. I'm trying to discover what others find in his talent, but have yet to find it.

Like you, I don't want him to bully his way through the field, but that's all I've seen so far. If he finishes well tomorrow, respectfully, and without wrecking anyone, I'll back off.

My prediction is this: He may be even more aggressive tomorrow because he is expected to do well at a road course. He may try to prove something. We'll see ...

[jks812]

Originally Posted by PenelopePitStop

My prediction is this: He may be even more aggressive tomorrow because he is expected to do well at a road course. He may try to prove something. We'll see ...

I totally agree with that statement. Since everybody has made such a big deal about it, he'll feel like he has to prove them right.

[wingkey1]

Looks like that all teams in JPM's group were out to lunch for qualifying. Could well be that 32nd start spot was spectacular effort that no one else could have even come close to by someone working with a crap car. Mind ya now - "could well be".

"fast in practice" - Yawn. Could indicate setup improved. Would have to at least look at qualifying lap time compared to the "fast" practice lap time to get a feel. Could indicate everyone else slowed down. And the "could's" go on, and on ---

Lotta eyes (mine too) will watch with interest the race.

Gotta wonder what 'ol Juan thought/felt about that hikein' up that 'ol tire as the suspension reached it max travel point accelerating up out of the turns. I was lovin' it and I'd be close to likely to bet some of the dirt boys were gettin' a kick out of it too. Could be tricycle was not in Juan's agreement, or in line with his comfort zone.

Hope Juan does get a decently set up car to race today. And honestly, I like "deep in the field" as a means to judge the driver. Many is the time we'd draw "pole pill" in a qualifier and purposely get out of the way at the green, pick up the tail and see if we could get to the top 50% to qualify for the A Main. We was havin' fun. We was racin'. It was more than good.

[atown85]

BRILLIANT THREAD!!

Fat flippin' chance he can get a top-five finish starting back as far as he is.

Yeah, he won.

Jeffey Poo and Johnson? Glad to see them bringing up the rear ... enough said.

7th and 17th respectively, and no way the penalties to be levied on the 24 will take away his points lead. Jeff increased his lead to 274.

Then there's my Baby Dale ... great starting position. I hope he gets a top-five finish, but Sr. was never good at turning right. Perhaps Jr. can turn the Earnhardt road-course legacy around. That would be nice.

I will give ya that. It was a good drive to 14th.

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by atown85

BRILLIANT THREAD!!

Fat flippin' chance he can get a top-five finish starting back as far as he is.

Yeah, he won.

Jeffey Poo and Johnson? Glad to see them bringing up the rear ... enough said.

7th and 17th respectively, and no way the penalties to be levied on the 24 will take away his points lead. Jeff increased his lead to 274.

Then there's my Baby Dale ... great starting position. I hope he gets a top-five finish, but Sr. was never good at turning right. Perhaps Jr. can turn the Earnhardt road-course legacy around. That would be nice.

I will give ya that. It was a good drive to 14th.

i think i made a new friend