http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2514365

I'd never thought I'd see this happening

obviously going left then left then left then erm...... mayb another lrft is more fun.

its quite a big pay cut I'm wondering how long he will stay in nascar. No offense to nascar fans but this is quite a step down

That sucks, I hope no one else does.
Sorry if this is off topic but does anyone know where Kimi is going next year?

how many non americans are in NASCAR?

he is the only one so far

YES, finally the F1 get rid of Montoya!!! I never liked Montoya way of driving, the things he sayd and his overall attitude on and off the track.

YES, finally the F1 get rid of Montoya!!! I never liked Montoya way of driving, the things he sayd and his overall attitude on and off the track.

he is the most agressive pilote on the track... and i really like his style of driving but i dont like when he crash or when his engine blows coz he push too hard on it , but he is one of a kind

It will be a big change from him driving F1 cars to NASCAR cars. Since he's a good driver I'm sure he'll handle the change OK although it'll be alot different...

In the press conference today, Montoya praised the technical advances explored/perfected in F1. He also lamented the lack of excitement in too many of the races. Car tech has advanced to the point that NO driver has much chance of winning in an even slightly inferior car. He said he wants the challenge of driving on a level playing field. Montoya drove to the 1999 CART Championship for owner Chip Ganassi; so there will be no personality conflicts. He will drive said owner's #42 Dodge next year; provided they can get him into a couple of late season races and lots of testing.

Lots of F1 drivers watch NASCAR for the close competition. For the record; there have been a number of Brit and Aussie engineers/crew chiefs in Nascar series already, but no drivers yet.

CART and IndyCar combined have less than 5 US drivers. One of the latter, A.J. Allmendinger won his third straight CART road race today at Edmonton, Alberta CN today.

Polls are overwhelmingly in favor of a road course in the last 10 "Race for the Chase" races for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

Technosnobs, autoerotic pedestrian magazine page-flipping/spec-quoting whiners, and general Nascar haters can ***** all they want. If Europe doesn't come up with an affordable, marketable, competitive series; expect to see NASCAR on YOUR shores within a decade...

A1GP: if montoya went to that instead if will do wonders for the league!

Not a bad news since Alonso is taking his place in 2007 , so he should go to the other team or leave !

Mmmmm.... I donlt know what to think. Was this even speculated before because i have never heard it before and am quite surprised to hear this announcement.
It will be interesting to see how he compares to the top NASCAR drivers - i respect him for this change and wish him luck but i would like to see him try it out in other motorsports in the future.

its quite a big pay cut I'm wondering how long he will stay in nascar. No offense to nascar fans but this is quite a step down
I wonder about the pay? Some of these NASCAR guys make huge money - much (most?) from endorsements, etc. And, although I haven't been to a NASCAR race, millions do go and spend a lot of money doing so! Now if they introduced more road courses.....:)

If going "worldwide" meant NASCAR would have more road courses; I would be all for it!

Montoya had a sizeable Columbian fan contingent at Indy. Ya think they will go to a NASCAR race to see Montoya? Doh!

its quite a big pay cut I'm wondering how long he will stay in nascar. No offense to nascar fans but this is quite a step down
He's been unlcuky in F1 really, wrong place, wrong time and all that
good luck to him
what isn't a step down from F1?

If going "worldwide" meant NASCAR would have more road courses; I would be all for it!



Same here, I'd like NASCAR to have more road courses than boring ovals.....

Montoya has personality (unlike Schumi) and drive. He will be a marketing goldmine for Ganassi in the Western Hemisphere. He will make big bucks, no doubt. He doesn't come off as a cocky ex-F1 GOD. Like Boris Said; he humbly expects to get his butt kicked often in the learning curve.

NASCAR Busch series and Rolex Grand Am (driver Luiz Diaz didn't hurt) races in Mexico D.F. got HUGE attendance/press last year. CART does well at Monterrey.

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I, too, would like to see more NASCAR road races. A Busch race in '87 and a recent Vintage Stock Car class at Rd ATL shook me to the core! A huge majority of poll respondents during the Sears Point NASCAR race favored having 1 road course race in the 10 Race Chase. Co-workers mowed their lawns instead of watching "sissy" racing. It will be tough plowing getting these guys to open their minds.

Currently NASCAR Nextel Cup runs 36 (that's Thirty-Six!) points races. With testing + personal appearances; these poor(sic) boys work their arses off! 12/14/16 race series drivers come off looking wimpy in comparison. I can concieve of a future combined stateside/offshore NASCAR series that counts points for a limited number of events; much like pro golfers pick and choose. Not that long ago; F1 scored best 4 of 8 finishes in each half of the season.

My brother raises 2 daughters solo and works odd hours running a newspaper dist. office. An attendee of many SCCA, IMSA, and Petit LeMans races at Rd ATL; he NEVER watches NASCAR except for the 2 road races. He ALWAYS watches "Inside Nextel Cup" every Monday at 8PM EDT on SPEEDTV. Stateside Nascar haters should watch it for humor alone. There might be a podcast for the rest of you'un's, LOL!

Currently there is a 3 day test session ongoing at Indy. The only live driver on tonight's show was jr. Hendrick #25 driver Brian Vickers. He's a sharp guy! "F1 has wings; we got bumpers" needs to be engraved in stone, LOL!

LMAO Montoya just got released from McLaren!

this is the biggest motorsports news after the death of Senna

Man, that came as a shock to me...

I thought he would stay in F1 but go to a team which wasn't at the sharp end of the grid and he would try to help them to get there....like Red Bull, for example.

Now they have Newey, Red Bull should be a bit furhter up the field than they are this year.

Anyway, Montoya might have Jacques Villeneuve company in America next year, allwe have to do is wait and see.....

Anyway, Montoya might have Jacques Villeneuve company in America next year, allwe have to do is wait and see.....
I read that today, and for that I'm impressed and disspointed also, I mean what the hell happened that people like Jacques Villeneuve are considering going to Nascar!?! I don't care about Montoya but come on!, Jacques running on an oval!?!?
But the worst part isn't that...It seems that Mika Hakkinen is also considering Nascar as an option. Can someone tell me why would you change DTM for Nascar?

I don't mean to offend any Nascar fans, but I really don't get the fun/exiting part of turning, turning and turning again for 123543135465 laps...

PS: Montoya is not a McLaren driver anymore (Yeah!!!), the rest of the season he will be replaced by Pedro De La Rosa.

EDIT: here you have the articles about Montoya and Villeneuve-

Montoya out of McLaren: http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/060711113156.shtml

Villeneuve and Nascar: http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/060711095726.shtml

If going "worldwide" meant NASCAR would have more road courses; I would be all for it!

Montoya had a sizeable Columbian fan contingent at Indy. Ya think they will go to a NASCAR race to see Montoya? Doh!

Sorry but what is a steet corse in Nascar? I though that it was all just going around a steeped oval?

there are actually a couple tracks with right and left turns now

Dont wory about Montoya ... He will not go broke going to Nascar. HE will get MANY endorsment deals. This is a whole new potential audience for Nascar and they and their partners will take full advantage of this.

i personally dont like nascar, if i was him i would stay with F1, cuz nascar is boring, u juss drive in an oval, in F1 u need skill to drive at very fast speeds and in roads that turn. You know what i mean lol

This has been said time and time again. IM not a big racing person. I dont spend my weekends in front of the TV or going to events. But if you think for one moment it does not take skill to drive nascar your mistaking. I would love to see you get in a Car and run a Oval at 180+ mph

Nascar and F1 are to entirely different things. Nascar is basic. By basic I mean Chassis, Motor, wheels, etc and no fancy electonics. JUst a car and a good driver. F1 has as many electronics a a damn fighter jet...lol ( I really dont know that)

Do you think it will be a easy transition for Montoya? I sure dont. I think this might possibly show you Nascar bashers that its not as easy as it looks.

i personally dont like nascar, if i was him i would stay with F1, cuz nascar is boring, u juss drive in an oval, in F1 u need skill to drive at very fast speeds and in roads that turn. You know what i mean lol

Now i dont think Mercedes will win the team chapionship and probally they will gwt anew driver next year

I want Gary Paffett to take the McLaren seat next year, although with Pedro de la Rosa there is a strong possibility he might get it...but anyway I want Paffett in there because it would be good to see a British driver driving for McLaren.

yeh nascar is boring i mean it is just an oval

Some of the races in the calendar are proper track courses, like Watkins Glen.

I am a huge fan of NASCAR, and the driver I look for is Jeff Burton aka number 31. NASCAR has been pushing for a long time now to get diversity within due to the fact that it was just white American males that raced. There were a couple of African-Americans in the past that raced and there were a few women but none that became big time performers. In today's NASCAR we have a little bit of diversity like Bill Lester, Erin Crocker, Marcos Ambrose and Michael Jordain. The news of Montoya and now possibly Danica Patrick would boost the sport big time since more people will watch and have a driver they can relate to. I do admit that some races are very, very boring due to the length. Yet except for one or two out of the year, the last 20 or so laps are always exciting, and other races are amazing to watch the entire time. If they shortened the races it would be more exciting. Montoya among a few other things is whatt would improve NASCAR.:)

Excellent, because it does need a bit more improving.

Clutch, what are the cars that race in the series, and how many racing courses, not ovals, are there in the NASCAR calendar?

Dam, grand Prix star going to race on Nascar. Good for him and probably gonna win lots 2.

he is allready out of F1 guys......

Personally, I think this is a huge step up for Montoya. He had some drive in F1, but as far as statistics go, he was on a downward spiral. Perhaps he just doesn't like playing second fiddle to Kimi anymore.

Either way, Nascar is a great series. I used to think it was really just a redneck sport, but it's gotten to be quite an event to watch. I mean, it's still not amazingly exciting, but neither are F1 races anymore. And it's nice to see some cars that can take some abuse. I believe it was Australia where Montoya was retired because he ran into the grass for a couple of seconds. I mean, they're just like toothpicks.

Montoya will be welcomed, and if he shows that he has some talent, he'll be a house-hold name by the end of the decade. No way could he have done that with F1, at least not in the US. And so freaking what if he doesn't get as much money? Jeez, you think the guy is on the street begging for nickles? He's probably a multi-millionaire. He could retire right now and live very happily for the rest of his life.

Bennyboy, to answer your questions, there are 3 main series in NASCAR the Craftsman Truck series where they basically race vehicles that sort of look like their real world counterparts, there are four, Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Dodge Ram, and Toyota Tundra, they only race on ovals of diffrent size and have 25 races in a year. The Busch Series have three manufacturers that have exact same boady styles except for the nose and rear of the cars and the rear windows. There is the Chevy Monte Carlo, Dodge Charger, and Ford Fusion. These cars have less horsepower, a taller spoiler, and have a shorter wheelbase than that of the cars of the main series called the Nextel Cup. The Nextel cup cars are in the form of Chevy Monte Carlo, Ford Fusion, and Dodge Charger. In the near future Toyota will have the Camry on track, and next year and in the years to come NASCAR will phase in a Car of Tomorrow, which is a new version of its stock cars, this car will have a larger window for saftey reasons, a front splitter, a rear wing instead of a blade for a spoiler, and the driver will be place closer to the middle among other changes. In the Busch series, NASCAR races in Mexico at the Autodromos Hermanos road course and they race at Watkins Glen. The Netel cup races at Infineon (Sears Point), and they race at Watkins Glen. The Busch series might race in Canada at the Villeneuve circuit, next year. Hope that answers your question, sorry for the long post. The cup series race 36 races a year and the busch 35.

I read that today, and for that I'm impressed and disspointed also, I mean what the hell happened that people like Jacques Villeneuve are considering going to Nascar!?! I don't care about Montoya but come on!, Jacques running on an oval!?!?
Why not ??
Jacques ran the Champ Car series in 1994-95, was champion in 95 with around 30% of the races being ovals and also won the Indy 500 in 1995....The truth is, he's probably the most likely to do well if he goes to Nascar, believe me !;)

@SteveFX : I listen to "Inside Nextel Cup" regularly on Speed and it truly is entertaining ! :D

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3139/11397888000601hh3345jpgpicture.jpg (http://imageshack.us/?x=my6&myref=http://imageshack.us/)

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/1422/5651374712me.gif (http://imageshack.us/?x=my6&myref=http://load.imageshack.us/)


The picture above is that of the Car of Tommorow the fully painted one is that of the car that is raced today. So you can see the diffrence.

NV85: "I don't care about Montoya but come on!, Jacques running on an oval!?!?"

Doh! What crossle32F said; plus Montoya was 1999 CART (oval+road/street course) champ. Also; Nigel (Il Leone!) Mansell absolutely SPANKED in CART his 1st post-F1 season. He would have had the Indy 500 in his resume if hadn't gotten snookered on the last restart. He was a rookie.

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PS. I will comment (expound/bloviate) on current NASCAR vs. the Car of Tomorrow in Technical. Future marketing plans may have had influence.

The way to go is: indy/nascar/cart--->F1. Going from F1 to nascar is going backwards imo, that's what I've been traying to say.

The way to go is: indy/nascar/cart--->F1. Going from F1 to nascar is going backwards imo, that's what I've been traying to say.

That's your opinion. You say it as though it's a fact.

You are completely LOST, NV85. The ONLY driver that came UP from IRL/Indy success was Tony Stewart. He was '02 and '05 NASCAR champion. EVERYBODY else with a name in IRL/Indy came DOWN from elsewhere.

Who came from IRL/Indy to F1? Nobody.

Who came from NASCAR to F1? Nobody.

Who came from USAC/old Indy/CART to F1? Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Mark Donahue (RIP), Michael Andretti (he shoulda gone to more drag races!), Jacques (call me JACK), and Montoya!

Does what you are "traying" to say mean you will empty the ashes in my company vehicle? j/k

Montoya makes me think of Micheal Owen...

Starts off very strong and succesfully, but then, it all goes down-hill. Montoya started off very well with BMW, but now you hardly ever see him doing good in a Gran Prix. Same goes to Micheal Owen in my opinion... He played one World Cup and also did great with Liverpool, and now he's ended up in Newcastle and you hardly ever hear of him either... That's also a big step down IMO.

it will b a shame to loose montoya, but i hope he doe's well. thats really all i hav to say.

Personally, I think this is a huge step up for Montoya. He had some drive in F1, but as far as statistics go, he was on a downward spiral. Perhaps he just doesn't like playing second fiddle to Kimi anymore.

Either way, Nascar is a great series. I used to think it was really just a redneck sport, but it's gotten to be quite an event to watch. I mean, it's still not amazingly exciting, but neither are F1 races anymore. And it's nice to see some cars that can take some abuse. I believe it was Australia where Montoya was retired because he ran into the grass for a couple of seconds. I mean, they're just like toothpicks.

Montoya will be welcomed, and if he shows that he has some talent, he'll be a house-hold name by the end of the decade. No way could he have done that with F1, at least not in the US. And so freaking what if he doesn't get as much money? Jeez, you think the guy is on the street begging for nickles? He's probably a multi-millionaire. He could retire right now and live very happily for the rest of his life.

First of all, thanks Clutch, that post did answer my questions and it was really informative.

Secondly, Mopar, did you see the incident? It was more than a mere run off onto the grass, his back end slipped out to an almost impossible angle, he rescued it, he bounced and bumped over the rumble strips, damaging the underside of his car and his car only stopped because it shut itself down for safety reasons because the car thought it was going to have a major crash and roll over!

Secondly, Mopar, did you see the incident? It was more than a mere run off onto the grass, his back end slipped out to an almost impossible angle, he rescued it, he bounced and bumped over the rumble strips, damaging the underside of his car and his car only stopped because it shut itself down for safety reasons because the car thought it was going to have a major crash and roll over!

I did see it, but mind you, I'm an old man. My memory is shot.

I still think that's rather fragile. I mean, it's was just a couple of rumble strips. Granted, the cars are about a millimeter off the pavement, but they're still made out of carbon fiber and tons of other strange man made materials. That shouldn't effect it.

And I thought it was the officials that shut it down. I didn't know the car shut itself off. I thought it was some sort of outside source.

If going "worldwide" meant NASCAR would have more road courses; I would be all for it!
yeh nascar is boring i mean it is just an oval

I love road racing and circle track racing, But if I want to see twists and turns on a road course, just watch F1. If something isn't what you want it to be PLEASE don't try to change the ENTIRE sport to suit your needs, just change the channel!
Trust me I've been to Sonoma many times, but I've also been to Fontana, Las Vegas, and Pheonix several times. I enjoy them all, but I wouldn't be surprised if NA$CAR made the majority of the tracks road courses, just to try to win more fans, from different series.
I'd break my heart to see The Daytona 500, be replaced by The "Roadcourse" 350.
I like the fact that NASCAR has a 2 roadcourses, but it pisses me off to hear F1 fans saying NASCAR needs more roadcourses. When I watch drag racing, I don't say "Gee they need some turns in that 1/4 mile."

If something isn't what you want it to be PLEASE don't try to change the ENTIRE sport to suit your needs, just change the channel! I'd break my heart to see The Daytona 500, be replaced by The "Roadcourse" 350.
I like the fact that NASCAR has a 2 roadcourses, but it pisses me off to hear F1 fans saying NASCAR needs more roadcourses. When I watch drag racing, I don't say "Gee they need some turns in that 1/4 mile." Hahahahaha, well said ! :D ;)

I did see it, but mind you, I'm an old man. My memory is shot.

I still think that's rather fragile. I mean, it's was just a couple of rumble strips. Granted, the cars are about a millimeter off the pavement, but they're still made out of carbon fiber and tons of other strange man made materials. That shouldn't effect it.

And I thought it was the officials that shut it down. I didn't know the car shut itself off. I thought it was some sort of outside source.

I agree, the cars are too fragile, one top on the rear and the rear suspension is buckled (I think the FIA might be looking into solutions to make the rear suspension even more durable).

I think the car did shut itself down, yes, because on ITV's coverage of the race, one of the engineers said the car's on board computers (not sure which one of them lol:p) shut itself down because the car thought it was going to crash.

You are completely LOST, NV85. The ONLY driver that came UP from IRL/Indy success was Tony Stewart. He was '02 and '05 NASCAR champion. EVERYBODY else with a name in IRL/Indy came DOWN from elsewhere.

Who came from IRL/Indy to F1? Nobody.

Who came from NASCAR to F1? Nobody.

Who came from USAC/old Indy/CART to F1? Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Mark Donahue (RIP), Michael Andretti (he shoulda gone to more drag races!), Jacques (call me JACK), and Montoya!

Does what you are "traying" to say mean you will empty the ashes in my company vehicle? j/k

Didn't Robbby GORDON ALSO TAKE THE ROUTE FROM INDY CAR RACING TO NASCAR?

Robbie Gordon was originally a SoCal off-road racer.

I saw him smoke the field before belt breakage at an IMSA GTO Race at RdATL. His ride was called a "Whistler (Radar Detector Maker) Mustang." It was actually a rebodied German Zakspeed Capri with a 2.1L Cosworth 4 w/twin turbos + twin IC pushing near 600 HP. Car/Team owner was Jack Roush. RG was runner-up in GTO '90-'91.