Montoya vs. The Media vs. NASCAR
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 9:47am CST
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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Well, it’s already starting. Juan Pablo Montoya, as you’ve most likely heard by now, grabbed a win last weekend with his team in the Rolex 24 down at Daytona. Well, that’s naturally added fuel to the fire that JPM is going to blast onto the Cup scene and make a huge splash. The expectations are being heightened, and Chip Ganassi is warning the media to hold their horses.
For reference, you may find this article over at the Associated Press of interest.
When I saw the title, the first thought that came to my mind was, “Great, another article pimping JPM for the title again”, but I was surprised to be proven wrong.
It’s one of the few that takes what I consider to be the correct approach to this whole situation. Take [the Rolex win] for what its worth, respect the fact that Montoya had earned his name being placed in the history books along side the only other driver to win the Indy 500, a CART title, a F1 race, and the Daytona 24hour event. Oh, the other driver to do that? Mario Andretti.
So yes, it is quite an accomplishment. It’s no surprise that Juan Pablo Montoya is a very talented driver. It’s just not time to blow reality out the window when it comes to the Cup series.
We still have a situation here, where Ganassi hasn’t seen Victory Lane in the Cup series in over 4 years, struggled with their program as a whole, and isn’t exactly running like the top caliber organization they are. The addition of Juan Pablo Montoya will not change this. There’s a lot of work to be done, and an awfully big learning curve on the road ahead.
That being said, let JPM does his deal. I don’t expect anything more than keeping the car in the top 35, to be honest, based on Ganassi’s performance last season. JPM has the skills, that isn’t an issue. The issue is an organization that’s struggled recently, and no matter how good a driver is, that issue has to be solved first. So has that been solved in the off-season? We’ll find out a piece of that puzzle come February 15th, but the puzzle won’t come together to give us an idea of the big picture for many months to come.
Filed Under: Nascar, Nextel Cup
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C’mon dude, don’t spam your forum here.
I’m removing your entry (which will be why this seems like the first comment).