Motorsports FanHouse

Video: Montoya Unleashes on Kyle Busch

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:33:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR Fights, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup

Juan Pablo Montoya's brutal honesty is so, so refreshing.

Following Sunday's Lenox 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, JPM fully admitted that he intentionally spun Sprint Cup point leader Kyle Busch late in the event under caution after the two had bumped on track. Before we go any further, watch below at 0:46:

As you can see, the discontent among the two began when Busch drove JPM up the hill in turn one. The two continued to make contact down the backstretch and when the caution came out for the crash between Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr., Busch banged into Montoya's drivers side.

That was enough to break Montoya's last straw.

He then turned his No. 42 into the right-rear of Busch's No. 18 Toyota. As Busch slammed on the brakes to avoid the wall, his car fishtailed back to the left, catching Montoya's rear wheel and spinning the No. 42.

The incident left Busch with a 25th-place finish and Montoya in 32nd.

Following the race, TNT caught up with both drivers, with Montoya offering the best comments after the wreck:

"It gets to a point where it's too much," said Montoya. "I thought we had a decent car today and I don't appreciate when people wreck me like that."

TNT's Marty Snyder then asked if he had intentionally spun Busch, to which Montoya replied "Well, yeah. The same way he did to me."

In other words, JPM might be the first NASCAR driver in a decade to actually admit to wrecking someone.

Kyle Busch wasn't too happy about it:

"I don't know what his beef is, but NASCAR should probably fix it," said Busch.

Pot calling the kettle black, anyone?

Video: Montoya Unleashes on Kyle Busch originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crash Video of the Week: Montoya's Cookout

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:28:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR Videos

Juan Pablo Montoya certainly wasn't expecting Clint Bowyer to spin out in front of him Sunday at Pocono Raceway, but I would imagine he was expecting a little more help from his friends in red jump suits once his flaming No. 42 Dodge stopped.

Yep, it's time to play "armchair safety worker" with Juan Pablo's marshmallow roast of a crash on lap 82. Watch below and you decide at 0:33 when JPM gets his car stopped and he scrambles out if the response was adequate.

After the TV announcers jumped on the case of those safety workers that were plainly in view of Montoya's car, NASCAR made sure to note that those workers -- the ones in the red suits with fire extinguishers -- were not responsible for going on to the race track.

To me, that's understandable, but I think one error was made in that Montoya's bumper continued to burn once the appropriate firefighting crew arrived because they couldn't see the flames. Shouldn't that be a radio call from the scoring tower?

"Hey, uh guys, make sure you douse that fire next to the gas tank. Might be good. Yep."

Just a thought.

Crash Video of the Week: Montoya's Cookout originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup Series Finishes Phoenix Test

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, J.J. Yeley, Sprint Cup, NASCAR Testing

As of a western swing through Fontana, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nev. wasn't enough, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series got its fourth official test session wrapped up in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon.

The test at Phoenix International Raceway was the fourth of six that teams suggested to NASCAR prior to the season, and joins Daytona, California, and Vegas as tracks the teams have tested at.

Only Pocono and Lowe's Motor Speedway remain on the official Sprint Cup series testing docket. Teams can otherwise only test on tracks that the Sprint Cup series doesn't compete on.

Juan Pablo Montoya -- who was fastest during the Las Vegas test prior to the season -- again led all drivers over the five different sessions offered. The No. 42 put down a lap of 131.459mph in the Tuesday morning test session.

From the looks of it, teams were given the same option they had at the Auto Club Speedway test in California. Of the five sessions that were ran, teams could only choose to compete in four of those. About half the teams ran the first session on Monday morning, with the other half running the final session on Tuesday afternoon.

Paul Menard, in the No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, had the second-quickest lap at 131.186mph. Phoenix-native J.J. Yeley was third.

The one-mile PIR track will host two Sprint Cup events this season with the Subway 500 on April 12 and the Checker Auto Parts 500 during the Chase to the Sprint Cup on November 9.

Sprint Cup Series Finishes Phoenix Test originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dodges Wreck to Start Las Vegas Weekend

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:55:00 EST

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup

After nearly 50 haulers passed through the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday afternoon, the Sprint Cup teams got off to a fresh start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday.

And yes, the weather for the weekend looks much, much better than teams were treated to at Auto Club Speedway last weekend. Sun is the only thing in the forecast with highs Friday topping at 77 degrees, and a high of 68 degrees expected for Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400.

Though the weather seemed plenty nice Friday afternoon, several Dodge teams had some significant problems during pre-qualifying practice, according to Jayski:

#77-Hornish scraped the turn two wall early in practice; #10-Carpentier (pictured) spun off turn 4 and looped around a couple times; #42-Montoya slammed the turn 2 wall hard and will go to a backup car. #41-Sorenson spun off turn 4; #9-Kahne smacked turn 4, unknown if they have to go to a backup, but little damage. Late in the session, #43-Labonte lost it in turn 4 and spun around, slapping the wall with the left rear and drivers side, the team will go to a backup car.

So the list of teams who will head to a backup car include Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte. Kasey Kahne could end up there.

The fastest laps of the practice session were turned by Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and David Reutimann. Busch's quickest lap of 179.946mph is just under five miles per hour slower than Kahne's pole-winning speed a year ago.

Qualifying starts with Travis Kvapil out first at 6:40pm/ET Friday on SPEED.

Dodges Wreck to Start Las Vegas Weekend originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Track Record Eclipsed During Vegas Test

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:51:00 EST

Filed under: Casey Mears, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, A.J. Allmendinger, Sprint Cup, NASCAR Testing

Juan Pablo Montoya made a big statement Tuesday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to doubters of the NASCAR's next-generation race car for the Sprint Cup series.

Turning a lap of 186.761mph, Montoya would have taken the official track record away from Kasey Kahne (184.856mph in 2007) had it been an official qualifying session.

But one thing Montoya did was to prove that the new race car isn't as slow as everyone thought, and that teams are adapting to the packages well. It should be noted, of course, that teams aren't loudly disapproving of the tires that Goodyear brought like they did last year for the race at Vegas.

As you may recall, Tony Stewart's approval of the tires in '07 terms for describing them was "crap" on the newly configured surface.

As teams, though, head into their travel/work day before testing at California Speedway on Thursday and Friday, the general consensus seems to be that teams are getting a handle on the car and the track in Vegas. That's only good news for race fans.

A.J. Allmendinger, Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson rounded out the five fastest cars at LVMS.

Jeff Burton tore up a race car early Tuesday while Tony Stewart scraped the wall and Michael Waltrip looped his -- all in turn three. The test session was ended a few minutes early after Jeff Gordon laid oil down on the track.

Keep it here at NASCAR Fanhouse for plenty of updates on the Sprint Cup testing in California.

Track Record Eclipsed During Vegas Test originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Montoya, Franchitti Win Daytona Rolex 24

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:04:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Penske Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Other Racing Series, Dario Franchitti

Winter has officially ended in the racing world.

Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas scored Chip Ganassi Racing's third-consecutive Rolex 24 overall win Sunday afternoon on the road course at Daytona International Speedway. The event marks the official beginning to the 2008 racing season and is a precursor to Speedweeks in Daytona that get started Feb. 8.

Though the team battled rain, darkness, a near-record of full course cautions and a slight overheating issue, the Ganassi entry led 252 of 695 laps. The car was powered by Lexus on a Riley Chassis.

The top-three overall finishers all had NASCAR drivers on the driving crews.

A.J. Allmendinger, racing in a Michael Shank entry, led 118 laps and looked very strong early. At around the 21 hour mark, the car broke a suspension piece, ending all chances for Allmendinger & company.

Jimmie Johnson finished second in the GAINSO/Bob Stallings Racing car two laps back of the Ganassi car with teammates Jimmy Vassar, Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney.

Kurt Busch teamed with Penske Racing's IndyCar Series drivers Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves to take third place 6 laps behind Ganassi.

Montoya, Franchitti Win Daytona Rolex 24 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR FanHouse Top 25 Year-in-Review:
Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Ganassi Dodge

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Dodge, Chip Ganassi Racing

Welcome to the 2007 NASCAR FanHouse Year in Review. Follow along each day until the end of 2007 as we look back on the top 25 drivers of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for the 2007 season. Heck, bookmark us if you have to! Today, we review the season of 20th-place Juan Pablo Montoya.

Driver: Juan Pablo Montoya -- Bogota, Columbia
Team: No. 42 Texaco-Havoline Dodge
Points: 20th (-3236)
2006: Left Formula 1's McLaren-Mercedes in July '06, Rookie in Cup for 2007
Key Stats: 1 win, 3 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s
Back in 2008?: Yes

For the first time, it seems, NASCAR finally has an international driver -- with Formula One experience nonetheless -- as a heady competitor in its premier Cup Series.

Juan Pablo definitely showed he had the talent in 2007 to race in NASCAR, and he also showed he had the gusto to make it in the business. Numerous times on track saw Montoya banging fenders with other drivers and ruffling their feathers, too.

Montoya picked up his first career NASCAR win in the most appropriate of settings in Mexico City with the Busch Series. Controversy was present in victory lane, though, after Montoya dumped Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Pruett with less than ten laps to go for the lead.

Montoya jumped into the Cup Series win column at the road course in Sonoma, California for his lone victory of the year. His season wasn't as much defined by his entrance into the group of NASCAR winners as much as his take-no-crap nature on track. NASCAR stars Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, and others all got a little heated under the collar after run-ins with the Columbian at Watkins Glen and Texas, respectively.

For Montoya, 2008 could be an interesting season. Ganassi Racing gave the driver his first shot into NASCAR, but are they going to step up performance to a level of NASCAR's top teams? To keep a guy like Montoya -- with an often short temper and a demand to win -- satisfied behind the wheel, that performance increase will be a necessity.

NASCAR FanHouse Top 25 Year-in-Review:
Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Ganassi Dodge originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR FanHouse Power Rankings:
Happy Thanksgiving at 190 MPH

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 11:58:00 EST

Filed under: Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Juan Montoya, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR Fights, NASCAR Power Rankings, Nextel Cup, Craftsman Truck Series

It's definitely been a while since we've rolled out the power rankings at the 'House because of the revolving door at No. 1 between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Let's face it, down the stretch, that's all we could do!

Anyways, seeing as today is Thanksgiving and all, it's only right to tell the world what the NASCAR FanHouse is thankful for. Agree? Disagree? Leave us some love on what your take is on what we should be thankful for in the NASCAR world, and don't forget to pass the turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

1) Fighting Without a Fine - Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya got into a bit of a skirmish at Watkins Glen in August that involved some pushing and shoving. Harvick said he wanted to kick Montoya's ass, and Montoya didn't think he was to blame. Regardless, NASCAR actually enjoyed the fracas, with Cup Series director John Darby being quoted later as saying he thought the whole incident was "cool as hell".

Baby steps, right?

2) FOX Sports - If you've ever set foot in the FanHouse before, you know that we aren't the biggest fans of ESPN on ABC. With that, we are extremely thankful for the entire NASCAR cast of FOX Sports including Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds, Steve Byrnes, Dick Berggren, and Matt Yocum.

Complain about DW all you want, but you know deep inside that he his infinitely better than Rusty Wallace. Thank you for being rockin' awesome with NASCAR, FOX!
3) Tony Stewart - From spouting off about NASCAR on his radio show to blaming Denny Hamlin for being in front of his bumper at Daytona, Stewart has definitely given the FanHouse plenty to talk about over the 2007 season. For that, we do indeed thank you, and silently hope that the antics persist for a long time.

I don't think there's going to be a problem with that...

4) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - These guys get a nod, especially Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday for constantly keeping it real in the racing world. From SPEED Channel's true racing coverage to plenty of unpredictable passes, crashes and whatever else, the Truck Series has been a shining light of all that is good in NASCAR in 2007.

There's a reason SPEED Channel's ratings are going up, and it's not because people are leaving their TV's on at home.

5) Bruton Smith, Speedway Motorsports Inc. - Smith gets a nod in the FanHouse because, well, we don't want to make the guy mad. When the Concord [NC] City Council did, he threatened to tear down and rebuild a crown jewel of NASCAR in Lowe's Motor Speedway. Wednesday evening though, word got out that he was decided to keep LMS right where it is, and of course, with a new drag strip, surrounding roads, tax incentive, and his own boulevard.

If that's not a good businessman, I don't think there are any left.

NASCAR FanHouse Power Rankings:
Happy Thanksgiving at 190 MPH originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 11:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Montoya Named Top Nextel Cup Rookie

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:52:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Chip Ganassi Racing, Nextel Cup

Juan Pablo Montoya's open-wheel-killing first NASCAR Nextel Cup Season has earned the former Colombian Formula One star a title held by many of the sport's greats in the past.

Rookie of the Year.

Montoya's rookie campaign brought his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge his first career win at Infineon Raceway in June his first Top-5 at Atlanta in March. His final stat tally included 3 Top-5's, 6 Top-10's, and race winnings of over $4.8 million.

Most importantly, though, was the fact that Montoya was able to keep the No. 42 within the top 35 positions of the point standings, guaranteeing a spot in each race. Sure, he started the season with points accumulated from Casey Mears in 2006, but after five races, that guarantee is out the window.

Juan Pablo finished in the season standings a respectable 20th.

The season definitely didn't come without any excitement for Juan Pablo. Most noticeably, Juan sent a message to the NASCAR world that he wasn't about to back down simply because he was the new guy in town after wrecking Tony Stewart at Texas in April. That flared up again at Watkins Glen with Kevin Harvick.

Without a doubt, Montoya has also kicked the door open into NASCAR for guys like Patrick Carpentier, Sam Hornish Jr., and Jacques Villeneuve -- with many more to come.

Love him or hate him, I say, it's fun having a guy like Montoya around in the Cup series.

Montoya Named Top Nextel Cup Rookie originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Juan Is Crazy in the Pits

tallglassofmilk — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:35:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Nextel Cup, Pit Crews

Seems the track is not the only place that Nextel Cup rookie Juan Pablo Montoya is aggressive ...

#00 front tire changer Dennis Terry:

"The only pit road issues that we had [at Richmond] was from ol' Juan Pablo Montoya. It seems that Juan is becoming a regular subject on this blog and along pit road as other teams deal with his pit road recklessness.

"On the third stop of the day Juan tried to drive over our pit crew "brushing" our jackman, me and my front carrier ... having that crazy Columbian [sic] drive the side of his 3,500 lb race car down the back of your ass at 45 miles per hour gets a little distracting when you are trying to earn a living changing tires."

Is JPM competing with Kurt Busch for the title of "Pit Road Kill King," or what?

Juan Is Crazy in the Pits originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blaney Can't Finish and Other Regurgitations

tallglassofmilk — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:49:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Dave Blaney, David Ragan

Blaney Confused, But We Know
Dave Blaney can't believe his team is still struggling for a spot in the top 35:

"Honestly, with 10 races left, I can't believe we're sitting here fighting for a spot in the top 35 because this Caterpillar team has run so much better than that so many times. Tommy has done a great job of bringing good cars to the track every week, but we've just had so many problems either finishing races at all or finishing them in one piece."

Um .. yeah. I think that's what I said. I'll be rooting for Ken Schrader this weekend.

Ragan 14, Montoya 11
I meant to include Lead Lap Finishes in my rookie chart the other day, but forgot. I was reminded today when I read The Juan Pablo "Crash" Montoya Running Incident Report on The Black Flag Blog.

He gets what in his contract?
The Nemechek//Marlin suits against Ginn/DEI provide a rare inside glimpse into the structure of drivers' contracts.

DEI Engines Blow
Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't the only one who gets bad engines at DEI. Martin Truex Jr. blew one in testing at Talladega on Monday ... and another last month at Iowa. Those are the engines they give Junior on race day.

Blaney Can't Finish and Other Regurgitations originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2007 ROTY Contenders a Narrow Field

tallglassofmilk — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:05:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Nextel Cup, David Ragan

Remember the beginning of the season when there were five contenders for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award?

#42 Juan Pablo Montoya
#6 David Ragan
#15 Paul Menard
#00 David Reutimann
#84 A.J. Allmendinger

Yeah ... me neither. With 10 races to go, only two remain in contention for 2007 season rookie honors: the most-talked about rookie, former F1 winner JPM, and former Roush development driver Ragan. Between the two of them, they've scored the top rookie honors in 22 of 26 races.

On the surface, it appears that Montoya has turned out better performances:

Montoya: 1 win, 3 Top 5s, 4 Top 10s
Ragan: 0 wins, 2 Top 5s, 2 Tops 10s

But heading to New Hampshire, Montoya and Ragan are running fairly head-to-head.

Montoya		Ragan
Points Standings	20th 2,479	Points Standings	21st 2,431
Best start	2nd (Indy, Bristol)	Best start	3rd (Richmond)
Poles	0	Poles	0
Best finish	1st (Infineon)	Best finish	3rd (Richmond)
Wins	1	Wins	0
Top 5s	3	Top 5s	2
Top 10s	4	Top 10s	2
Laps led	7	Laps led	1
Top Rookie Honors	11 races	Top Rookie Honors	11 Races
Earnings	$3,642,314	Earnings	$3,558,455
Rookie Points	218	Rookie Points	204

(More: rookie scoring.)

Montoya certainly has a more aggressive style vs. Ragan and has definitely made an impression in the series, especially with a win in Sonoma. But despite more than his fair share of spins ala J.J. Yeley, I much prefer Ragan's patient approach and humble attitude. DR gets my vote for personal appearance and relationship with the media, too. My vote for 2007 ROTY still goes to Ragan.

As for the rest of the rookie class, I'll get back to ya when one of 'em cracks the top 10.

2007 ROTY Contenders a Narrow Field originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kahne, Montoya Start Out Front at Bristol

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:28:00 EST

Filed under: Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Juan Montoya, Bristol Motor Speedway, Nextel Cup, Dave Blaney, Ward Burton, David Ragan, Gillette-Evernham Motorsports, Car of Tomorrow, NASCAR Tracks, Chase for the Sprint Cup

I don't think I could ever pick Kasey Kahne to win at Bristol after seeing him crash out of his first Nextel Cup race at the track during his rookie season. Needless to say, Kahne was so shook up from the experience that he was literally shaking on camera.

Friday night, though, he apparently found a good way to calm down.

Kahne won the pole for Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway with a lap of 16.016 seconds, or 119.805 mph.

Juan Pablo Montoya will line up on his outside with Jamie McMurray, David Ragan and Dave Blaney rounding out the top-5. Virginia-native Ward Burton dropped a nice lap and will start 14th.

Bristol just got a facelift over the summer with a brand-new concrete repaving job, and it really set back the lap times at the track. Jeff Gordon won the pole at BMS in April with a lap 125.453 mph in the first Car of Tomorrow race, obviously much quicker than Kahne's lap.

Slower speeds, though, could add up to better race Saturday night with more side-by-side racing because cars are more even.

As if Bristol really needs to get any better though.

Kahne, Montoya Start Out Front at Bristol originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rubbin' Is Racin': NASCAR Lets 'Em Play

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:49:00 EST

Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Juan Montoya, Dodge, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing, NASCAR Fights, Nextel Cup, Richard Childress Racing, Car of Tomorrow, Chase for the Sprint Cup

In case you missed the bajillion replays on SportsCenter and ESPN2's NASCAR Now, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick got into a little bit of a dust up in turn 1 at Watkins Glen on Sunday.

Here's the evidence, starting at about 0:54:

So, seeing that two drivers showed some emotion and that Kevin Harvick called Juan Pablo Montoya a slang term for a donkey, penalties are bound to come, right?

No -- and NASCAR did the right thing.And boy, did they make the right call.

The whole incident between Montoya and Harvick was just exciting -- and exciting because it was fresh. We've known all year that Juan Pablo wasn't going to back down to any driver and at Watkins Glen he completely backed that up on the race track.

Could he have let Truex go? Or not given Jimmie Johnson so much trouble? Sure.

But that's just not fun.

And for once, NASCAR allowed the two guys to actually settle some differences at the track, without the fans having to wait til mid-week rolls around and a release comes out detailing that two said drivers called each other and made up and might invite their new pal to dinner tonight.

Instead, we know that Kevin Harvick got mad, Juan Pablo Montoya got ticked that he was getting blamed by Happy, and that the two of them were postively pissed off at each other.

In other words, exactly what NASCAR needs more of right now.

I think now that a precedent has been reset by NASCAR concerning on-track altercations outside of the race cars, we're going to see a lot more emotion heading in to the Chase.

The most reassuring news? NASCAR officials even enjoyed the minor fracas.

"I don't think they were fighting," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. "They were discussing things."

Said series director John Darby, "I thought it was cool as hell."

Both seemed to be fine with the issue for a few stern reasons. Neither car made contact with the other after the wreck, there were no punches, there was no dirty language on TV (yes, the word 'ass' is allowed on TV), and most importantly, nearly every news network showed the clip.

Any publicity is good publicity, right?

In this case, it's a loud and resounding yes.

Rubbin' Is Racin': NASCAR Lets 'Em Play originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harvick, Montoya Scuffle at the Glen

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:38:00 EST

Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Juan Montoya, Chip Ganassi Racing, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR Fights, Nextel Cup, Richard Childress Racing, Car of Tomorrow

When the heads of NASCAR skated through Saturday's Busch race at Watkins Glen without much incident, their sighs of relief were premature.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick scuffled in turn one Sunday with about 20 laps to go after both had their days ended in a four-car incident.

Helmets were grabbed, shoves ensued, and tempers flared -- all over a big misunderstanding on behalf of Kevin Harvick.

Harvick was asked about what he and Montoya discussed by ESPN:

"I was talking about his kicking his ass because that's how I felt about it," said Harvick

On the restart, Montoya ducked low to block Martin Truex Jr. The block worked -- but a little too well.

Truex got into the read end of Montoya, loosening the No. 42 at the end of the straightaway. Montoya never regained full control and half-slid into Harvick on the outside. Harvick made contact with Jamie McMurray and Jeff Burton's No. 31 plowed into the rear end of Montoya.

Harvick then maneuvered his wrecked race car in front of Montoya's wrecked beast and contact ensued.
Could the wreck had been averted had Montoya not blocked? Sure, but Montoya really wasn't to blame and he's said all year that he wasn't just out there to watch the other guys race. And for that, you can't fault him for wanting to show he belongs. Montoya wasn't too happy with Harvick's treatment.

"I don't appreciate it. When it's not my fault, don't come and push me around like I'm not anybody," said Montoya.

For the sake of penalties, it is worth knowing that Harvick instigated the physical activity by grabbing Montoya's helmet first. The two weren't exactly friends after that.

It may be a good thing that NASCAR won't hit any more road course races in 2007 -- that probation box might find itself a little too large.

Harvick, Montoya Scuffle at the Glen originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fanhouse Power Rankings: Pennsylvania 500

tallglassofmilk — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:14:00 EST

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Juan Montoya, NASCAR Power Rankings, Nextel Cup

Nextel Cup returns to Pocono Raceway on the way to the Chase. Only a dozen or so current drivers have managed to bring home a win at the tri-oval and only a handful of them have done it recently.
1. Denny Hamlin. He ruined his perfect record at Pocono when he finished 6th in June despite leading the most laps. But Hamlin's had three wins in his young Nextel Cup career and two of them came at Pocono. The only driver to keep him out of victory lane this weekend might be his teammate.
2. Tony Stewart. The second half of the season has begun and apparently Smoke wants to win races now--and he'll move whoever he needs to out of the way to get there whether it's his teammate ... or his Busch boss ... or ...
3. Kurt Busch. It hasn't all fit together for Busch this season, but he's only one spot away from Chase contention. They've put together a few solid runs of late and this weekend should be no exception.
4. Jeff Gordon. Won here in June and is probably bringing the same car back for a repeat. Ella would like to see the inside of victory lane, please.
5. Ryan Newman. He led 20 laps and brought home a 2nd place finish here in June. He's only got a few more weeks to prove he's championship material. He needs at least a top 10 finish at Pocono or those championship hopes are right out the window.
6. Martin Truex Jr. He was on a roll for a minute there, but that seems to be over. Still, he finished 3rd here in June and has quite a desire to hold on to his position in the Chase. That desire ought to drive him right to the front.
Long shot. Jimmie Johnson. Remember when he swept here in 2004? Yeah, me neither. And he finished 42nd here in June. If only Chad were there. He'd ~~have something up his sleeve~~ pull something out of his a** to discontinue Johnson's downward slide. I wonder what he has in store for The Glen.
Wild card. Juan Pablo Montoya. Ugh. I really wanted to give the wild card to the #42's former driver, Casey Mears, who finished 4th here in June. But my instincts had other ideas.

Fanhouse Power Rankings: Pennsylvania 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stewart's Seconds at Indy Anything but Sloppy

tallglassofmilk — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:15:00 EST

Filed under: Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Juan Montoya, Chip Ganassi Racing, Nextel Cup

Tony Stewart fans hope that the road to the championship does indeed begin with the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Stewart started closing in on race leader Kevin Harvick with 15 laps to go today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The friendly competitors rubbed each other around the track for a bit and with eight laps left Stewart was finally able to pull by Harvick and ran away with the win in front of a pro-Smoke crowd of 200,000.

The win at his home track was Stewar'ts second in a row, his second on the season and his second at the track where wins mean the most to the Indiana native.

The #29 car was a little worse for the wear and Harvick was relegated to a 7th place finish. He gave Stewart a lil' love tap after the checkered flag and was invited immediately to the hauler by NASCAR ... Are they serious? Was he?

Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the first Indianapolis 500 he ran in a Chip Ganassi IRL car, was hoping for a repeat in NASCAR and barely missed with an impressive 2nd place finish. His teammate, Reed Sorenson, brought home his second top 5 finish of the season.

It was a rough day for a few drivers hoping to compete in this year's Chase for the Nextel Cup. More to come ...

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Results | Nextel Cup Standings

Stewart's Seconds at Indy Anything but Sloppy originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Juan Wins in Wine Country

tallglassofmilk — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:48:00 EST

Filed under: Juan Montoya, Dodge, Chip Ganassi Racing, Nextel Cup

No race winner at Infineon Raceway has ever started deeper than 13th in the field, but Juan Pablo Montoya changed that today.

After a disappointing qualifying run, Montoya climbed his way from 32nd and got to the front when it mattered. He called his first Nextel Cup win the "biggest thing he's ever done," but he's still not satisfied:

"To get our first win in our first year is huge. We know we're a little behind at some of the ovals, and we still need to work hard, but I think this is a big boost for everybody working in the shop."

At least he's got some bragging rights, now. Montoya joins Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney as the only drivers to win in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR Nextel Cup.

And he did it without wrecking anyone despite making a driver or two nervous along the way, like Dale Earnhardt Jr. who said as much on his in-car radio when the Comobian was on his tail. I suspect Montoya's Busch road course win was fresh on his mind.

Montoya's win was the first of the season for his owner, Chip Ganassi Racing, and his manufacturer. The Dodge win is also the first COT win by a non-Chevrolet.

The Chevys of Richard Childress Racing all stretched fuel mileage and Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer claim 2nd through fourth respectively.

Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results | Standings

Juan Wins in Wine Country originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:48:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Charity Dirt Race Tidbits

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:09:00 EST

Filed under: Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Clint Bowyer, Juan Montoya, Nextel Cup

After penning that piece about how incredibly fascinating Wednesday night's Nextel Prelude to the Dream was, I realized that there was much I couldn't include that needs to be told somehow.

And, I guess, the adrenaline rush from the night still has kept every memory fresh.

Here is what the Associated Press' general story about Carl Edwards' win mostly forgot to tell you.

Bill Elliott did flip his race car after contact with Ryan Newman on the last turn of the last lap in the first heat. Elliott's car rode up the wall then rotated onto it's lid, while Newman's rode the dirt for awhile on its side before settling down. Tony Stewart, track owner and host, raced from the infield at a quick trot to make sure Bill was OK. Elliott was fine, and even jumped on the crumpled roof with as big of a grin as one could give after getting out.
For the older generation of fans, you can't deny that having Red Farmer show up for the event and run competitive compared to the other racers of today is a pretty neat deal.
Not surprisingly, it didn't take long for Juan Pablo Montoya to adapt to this new game of racing on dirt. Like him or not, that guy can drive anything and drive it well if you give him a few laps.
Jeff Gordon nearly made it two-in-a-row at Eldora Speedway. The last time Gordon stopped by, he won a race there in 1991. He definitely hasn't lost much since then as he battled past Tony Stewart and others to challenge eventual race winner Carl Edwards for much of the A-main.
Ken Schrader brought his own race car to the event and it happened to be the No. 99 -- the same as Edwards. At the start of the A-main, Edwards ran first and Schrader second, leaving everyone, or at least me, to wonder what in the world the No. 99 was so lucky for. It turned out to be an omen.

Kyle Busch, who finished second, didn't start the night well. Just a few laps in to practice, Busch got loose, then tight, and then struck the wall with his right-front. The impact ruined the suspension, but thankfully for Kyle, his crew for the evening got a new right-front suspension back on in time for qualifying.
Kevin Harvick was the butt of a lot of jokes about dirt track racing skill on the P.A. system. I have a feeling Happy brings that on himself -- especially after going on during FOX's rain delay and talking about how bad is he on dirt.
I'd imagine Carl Edwards' normal NASCAR team was relieved to see him do a victory flip on to dirt instead of rock-hard pavement. However, Eldora's dirt wasn't exactly soft, either.
Tony Stewart made light of how nearly every car on the speedway was a loaner from the normal dirt modified series teams that run there. Can you imagine the bill he has to pick up as a result? Several cars had minor damage while others like Cruz Pedregon and Kyle Busch had some significant damage.
Darrell Waltrip was downright funny all night. Not only did he get to pilot the water truck before qualifying, but he also understood that dirt track racing wasn't his specialty when it came to analyzing it. Instead, Waltrip kept the HBO telecast lively and approached it from pavement methods while keeping the mood light. Man, I'm going to miss that FOX booth. And here's my vote again for anything Kyle Petty ever wants to do in covering NASCAR.
I can't imagine right now that any of the drivers that showed up for this year's third Nextel Prelude to the Dream won't be back next year. The event is such a rousing success that it can only grow and prosper which means one thing for me -- it's going to be harder to buy tickets next time. And for Tony Stewart, the crash bill is only going to go up, as well.
Finally, from my seat three rows off the track at the start of the frontstretch, its easy to understand why dirt track racing is so popular. Not only is the constant swirling dust in the lights a magical site, but getting caked in the airborne dirt as cars maneuver everywhere through the corners -- high to low -- really gets the adrenaline pumping for racing the way it used to be.
And no, to the race fans waiting in line for Matt Kenseth's autograph, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. souvenir hauler was on-site to make a buck, instead of, as you're impressive tale told, to announce with Tony Stewart at the end of the night that they would be teammates next season. That didn't happen, although it may happen later. Not even Dale Jr. (who wasn't at the track) knows that yet, and certainly Eldora would be an interesting place to announce that. Thanks for the laugh, though.

More Charity Dirt Race Tidbits originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stewart's Prelude Quite Simply Unbelievable

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:55:00 EST

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Mike Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Clint Bowyer, Juan Montoya, Nextel Cup

Sometimes, when you're around something so much, things can start to run into a pattern. Read this news, write that blog post. Research this rumor, digest as much more news as possible. Repeat.

I've gotta say, although I didn't know it at the time, that my love of all-things NASCAR had turned into one of those patterns. Nothing shocked me, nothing surprised -- I was just along for the ride.

Until Wednesday night at tiny Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, that is. And boy, do I feel sorry for anyone follows NASCAR to any extent that missed the race either in person or on HBO.

From watching Bill Elliott flip his race car on the frontstretch after a last lap duel with Ryan Newman for the transfer spot in a heat to seeing Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon finish under a blanket at the checkers -- Wednesday's Nextel Prelude to the Dream was the most fun I've had at a race track in years, and possibly ever.
I can't leave out, however, how Elliott, once his car was flipped right-side up and he climbed out to jump on the roof while raising two fists in the air, was told by Ryan Newman that he indeed did not win the battle despite his car being a mangled miss 50 yards past the start-finish line.

Simply, it took a night like this to help me realize that through all NASCAR has become today, it boils down to one thing. The drivers race for fun and to win regardless of the prize at the end of the day. As Clint Bowyer put it, they'd race for a six-pack if need be.

And that's damn entertaining.

If NASCAR wants to grow a fan base 20,000 people at a time, all they ever need to do is run the event that Tony Stewart's team put in Wednesday night in rural western Ohio. Bring your stars, throw them in neutral equipment, and let them race. Repeat that all over the country a few times a year and Brian France wouldn't be needing to diversify his fan base. That'd handle itself.

Tony Stewart (Eldora's owner) did it right this time around. The inaugural year was qualifying and a feature. Now, the format reads like a real bust-em-up drag-em-down Saturday night at the local dirt track. Each driver qualifies, races in heats with some inversions, then races in the A or B mains. And oh yeah, the do it for nothing more than for a few dollars to someone else and the gratitude of their fans.

What a combination, huh?

The product of that equation is fans that don't leave their seats. After all, how could you dare missing out Tony Stewart sliding the car sideways on a restart while Carl Edwards rides the cushion? Or what about the infinitely different driving styles that each driver changes infinite times going low, kinda low, high, or somewhere else in each turn. And you can't beat

Wednesday was the definition "had to be there". If you didn't see it, you didn't know how funny it was watching Darrell Waltrip drive the water truck or how neat it must be for Juan Pablo Montoya to live a life now where he can walk his young child hand-in-hand down the length of a frontstretch without so much as a soul bothering him as he makes his way to his racecar. (Which, by the way, JPM learned very, very quick how to handle the 800hp ice skates that are dirt modifieds.)

Was it cool that it was for charity? Definitely. But the most amazing thing was how fun Wednesday night was for everyone involved.

Edward's backflip and bragging rights will go down as the main story, but because you could feel the atmosphere in the farmland of Eldora, you know that Wednesday's race has done wonders for everyone involved -- drivers, fan, and even TV commentators -- because of one thing.

It was crisp, cool refreshing fun as everyone let their hair down, so to speak, and forgot about the demands of everyday life.

And that's something everybody needs every once in a while, even those racing heroes on TV, and especially you and me.

Stewart's Prelude Quite Simply Unbelievable originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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