By Eric Powell
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Juan Pablo Montoya's march to Indianapolis Motor Speedway history continued recently when he participated in his first official NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series test session, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Montoya, the 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner and a five-time starter in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, will become the first driver in history to compete in all three major events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway provided he qualifies for the 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, set for Sunday, July 29.
Montoya could reach loftier heights in IMS lore by winning the event, as no driver has won two of the Speedway's three events.
Montoya, a native of Bogota, Colombia, who lives in Miami, is scheduled to compete in the full 2007 NEXTEL Cup Series schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, driving the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge.
{{display_poll_14}}During a NASCAR teleconference on Oct. 18, Montoya discussed several topics that are key to his transition from F1 to American stock car racing, especially his level of comfort in the car and the major cultural differences between NASCAR and Formula One. Montoya spent four seasons with the WilliamsF1 Team followed by two years with Team McLaren Mercedes. Montoya's best finish at the USGP was fourth in 2002 with Williams.
"I think it's great to see how competitive it is out there (on track) when it comes down to business and how casual it is back here (in the garage area)," Montoya said. "It's a great atmosphere."
Teams in NASCAR are somewhat more willing to share information than teams in F1, Montoya said.
"You know, we don't do that in Europe," he said. "If you see somebody struggling in Formula One, you never going to go and say, 'You're making this wrong.' You actually go to your guys and you say, 'You see what they're doing wrong?'"
The Formula One World Championship returns to IMS for the eighth running of the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on Sunday, June 17 - six weeks before Montoya makes his much-anticipated return to IMS in the heavier stock cars.
As for getting accustomed to the different driving "feel" of the 3,500-pound stock cars, Montoya is pleasantly surprised at his level of comfort.
"There's always a concern (of) how comfortable I'm going to be in an enclosed car," he said. "I've actually really been comfortable in it. I get in it. I get up to speed pretty easy.
"So far this has been the hardest test for me, this Cup test. When I did the ARCA testing, you have spoilers that are a lot bigger than this one, the car is more forgiving. It's learning how far you can go with the car. That's probably been the hardest thing to learn in this car."
Montoya's stock-car racing experience to date has been on tracks featuring banking of at least 12 degrees in the corners, at Iowa Speedway, so it remains to be seen how he will handle the daunting, 9-degree banked corners and flat, fast and long straightaways of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
History is on his side, however, as Montoya dominated the field at the 2000 "500," leading 167 laps. The years 2000 and 2007 will have something in common for Montoya: They both will be his rookie years at Indy. And everyone knows how he performed at his "first" rookie year at IMS.
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Tickets: Tickets for the 14th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will go on sale Friday, Dec. 1.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office is accepting ticket orders for the race. To place an order for tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS Ticket Office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
The Ticket Office is located in the IMS Administration Building, at the intersection of 16th Street and Georgetown Road in Indianapolis. Business hours are from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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