NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
Home / News /


Montoya Ready for NASCAR Debut

He terminated his contract with McLaren and ran his first tests with Genassi in Alabama

By Ovidiu Panzariu, Sports Editor

27th of September 2006, 08:35 GMT

Adjust text size:


Juan Pablo Montoya's vacation is over. The Colombian will start his NASCAR career on Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway track next month. Montoya is likely to make his debut on the same track that he ran tests this Monday. Although he could have started his new racing adventure a lot sooner, Montoya asked for more time to prepare from Ganassi's team officials.

"I think a lot of you are expecting me to win my very first race, but I don't think that's
going to happen. It's going to take time. It was like 'Oh, my God'. I came out of the pits and went full throttle. It felt quick
", said the Colombian after his first testing day with Ganassi.

Still, he wanted to assure his fans that NASCAR will take all his time for the future, since he's aiming to make it work: "I'm 100% committed to this, and this is the only thing I'm going to be doing. I think you have to have a very open mind about it. It's going to be difficult and it's going to be a challenge".

Although he left McLaren Mercedes in July, the Colombian was not given permission to test for Ganassi. The reason is very simple. Mercedes refused to release Montoya of his contract. Therefore, despite Pedro de la Rosa being allowed to replace him in Formula One, the Colombian was still under contract with Ron Dennis.

Once the deal was terminated, Montoya can focus on NASCAR. The Colombian failed to make a great impression in Formula One, never being able to challenge Michael Schumacher or Fernando Alonso for the world title.

His debut in the Great Circle happened under Frank Williams' guidance, along with teammate Ralf Schumacher. After a few seasons with BMW, Montoya switched to Mercedes, but was unable to keep peace with teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The Colombian finally decided to look elsewhere for success, and signed a deal with NASCAR team Genassi.


Rating:
Fair (2.5/5) 7 vote(s) so far    

Read by 712 user(s) | Add comment | Link to this article
Subscribe to news | Print article | Send to friend

© Copyright 2001-2008 Softpedia
Contact:

 

 

SEARCH THE NEWS ARCHIVE :




Today's News
| Yesterday's News | News Archive


MORE RELATED ARTICLES:


Juan Pablo Montoya Leaves Formula One for NASCAR

Montoya Will Not Continue Competing in Formula One This Season

Montoya Leaves NO Formula One Regrets Behind

Montoya Is Keen On Beginning His NASCAR Adventure

Villeneuve Might Race in NASCAR Too

Schumacher Thinks NASCAR Is "a Bore"

McLaren Gives De la Rosa a Second Chance

Jacques Villeneuve Will Retire from Formula One

User opinions:

No user comments yet.
Be the first to express your opinion using the form below!

Share your opinion:

Your Name:
Your Email Address:
(will not be used for commercial purposes)
Solve this to prove you're not a bot: =
Your review/opinion:

 






SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   ENTER NEWS SITE   |   ENGLISH BOARD   |   ROMANIAN FORUM