[Pepsi One]

Originally Posted by simple simon

time for Juan Pablo Montoya to have a fan thread here at GTG ...... as many of you know, i have been a fan of his since before the season started and i have cheered for him all along this year

last week he won at Sonoma and now he is starting 5th at Loudon .... on top of all of that it would seem he has Rookie Of The Year all locked up barring a melt-down

With Montoya a meltdown is possible, i like him until he gets into one of my drivers! Then all bets are off!

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by Pepsi One

With Montoya a meltdown is possible, i like him until he gets into one of my drivers! Then all bets are off!

and who are your drivers ?

[SpaceCadet]

I thought JP was ok right from the start. Like most, however, I thought wrecking his teammate was just plain stupid. Sometimes I think part of his problem is that the bumping and banging associated with "stock" car driving is new to him and just plain fun. Obviously, that doesn't go on in open wheel. He did not overstep the "respect" boundries when racing at Infineon. Watching him race Johnson was a real pleasure. No dirty play, no backing off, just real racing. If he can withstand a 36 race schedule, more if he runs some Busch races, and pass those anger management courses he needs to take, I think his proven skills in open wheel will carry him right to the top of the "who's who" of NASCAR list. I enjoy watching him and very much like his passion for racing and winning.

[LSC9901]

I won't say I was impressed with his win at Infineon because that is supposed to be his strong area. I think he was expected to do well there and he did. I'm glad he has that monkey off his back now. His obvious next challenge is to win on an oval. Time will cure that problem. It won't take him a lot of time because he has a lot of natural abilities. My biggest issue with Juan is his attitude. When he lowers his level of anger behind the wheel his abilities will take him to the front. He reminds me too much of Tony. Tony is, in my view, one of the very most able DRIVERS out there on the track, but when he gets irritated he looses control and allows his attitude to take over. Hopefully Montoya can put a stop to that right away before he gains a reputation for being a hot head. It wouldn't surprise me at all if all of the media hype about him has added extra pressure to perform. Sometimes outside forces can be difficult to deal with.

[Nevadastars]

Put Montoya in the 24, 48, or even the 5..........and I bet he would be in Victory Circle much quicker than in his Ganassi car. I believe a lot of his crashes are from overdriving an inferior car.

[LSC9901]

Realistically MOST any good driver could become a great driver in an HMS car .... if Rick wants them to be great.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

if Rick wants them to be great.

There's the key ingredient.

[Pepsi One]

Originally Posted by Quality88

There's the key ingredient.

I think its a combination of hiring the finest talent known to man and spending money to build great cars, Terry Labonte lost his edge the last 5 or 6 years of his career so he lost his ride "retired".

[Nevadastars]

Originally Posted by Pepsi One

I think its a combination of hiring the finest talent known to man and spending money to build great cars......

You forgot to mention they are also masters at cheating, or shall we say, "bending the rules".

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Nevadastars

Put Montoya in the 24, 48, or even the 5..........and I bet he would be in Victory Circle much quicker than in his Ganassi car. I believe a lot of his crashes are from overdriving an inferior car.

a great driver is one who:

• is patient,
• without overdriving, still gets more out of the car than seems possible,
• doesn't abuse the car ("shoving" matches, "git outta my way!", "I'll get ya for that!", etc.),
• is focused on the end of the race (ya can't win if ya don't finish!)

so far JPM hasn't met those criteria...except maybe at Infineon. maybe his "latin blood" boils to quickly???

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Nevadastars

You forgot to mention they are also masters at cheating, or shall we say, "bending the rules".

Better known as "knausing"

[NASCAR Gnome]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

a great driver is one who:

• is patient,
• without overdriving, still gets more out of the car than seems possible,
• doesn't abuse the car ("shoving" matches, "git outta my way!", "I'll get ya for that!", etc.),
• is focused on the end of the race (ya can't win if ya don't finish!)

so far JPM hasn't met those criteria...except maybe at Infineon. maybe his "latin blood" boils to quickly???

It's rather funny you mention the Latin blood and boiling quickly...

I was listening in on the driver to pit crew broadcast (on Sirius satellite radio) during a race earlier this season and I don't recall if it was Las Vegas or California but there was an incident coming off pit road between Montoya and (I believe) Gilliland during a caution that made me laugh!

I guess Gilliland and JPM were racing off pit road and for some reason or other, Gillilland flipped Montoya the "bird" and Montoya apparently not used to being dissed that way, was screaming over the headset:

"Did you see that?!?" He said "The driver of the 38 just flipped me off!!!" (or something to that effect...)

Montoya's crew chief, Donnie Wingo, comes on with "What happened?"

"The driver of the 38 JUST FLIPPED ME OFF!!!" "He's <BLEEP>ing crazy!" "That guy wants to play that game?!?" "I'll put him in the WALL!"

Wingo: "Juan, keep calm... we don't want any of that! Remember we have to bring the car home in one piece so don't go wrecking anyone!"

JPM: "I just can't believe he flipped me off!"

At this point, I was laughing out loud because it was like I was listening to kids arguing on a playground! Montoya also heard from his spotter but after cooler heads prevailed, they went back to racing and I was entertained by something other than the race itself!

[Nevadastars]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

a great driver is one who:

• is patient,
• without overdriving, still gets more out of the car than seems possible,
• doesn't abuse the car ("shoving" matches, "git outta my way!", "I'll get ya for that!", etc.),
• is focused on the end of the race (ya can't win if ya don't finish!)

Your list of qualifications would put a lot of guys out of the "great driver" catagory, including Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and even Jeff Gordon at times. I would also add the late DE to your list as well. Of course this isnt, every race, but all of these guys have been known to lose their temper on the track. If these guys aren't "great drivers", I dont know who is.

JPM didnt win the CART Championship, Indy 500 and several F1 wins by being a mediocre driver.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Pepsi One

I think its a combination of hiring the finest talent known to man and spending money to build great cars, Terry Labonte lost his edge the last 5 or 6 years of his career so he lost his ride "retired".

Finest talent... nope... if that were the case Jerry Nadeu, Brian Vickers and Casey Mears would be better than mediocre. Your only a great driver at Hendrick if Rick wants you to be.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Quality88

Finest talent... nope... if that were the case Jerry Nadeu, Brian Vickers and Casey Mears would be better than mediocre. Your only a great driver at Hendrick if Rick wants you to be.

Hey Dustin, have I missed something? Is it just my imagination or does almost every thread recently seem to get around to revolving around The Felon and/or Jeffy-Pooh?