Gregster

Can he be making a real Nascar Sprint Cup title run? He sit's on the pole for tomorrows race and seems to be the no.1 dark horse pick.

Discuss

Circuit Motorsports

Yes. But not with this team. Ganassi doesn't seem to have it figured out as well as he does in IRL.

He is really quite consistent and can run with the leaders and considering how often he has been near the front one would have expected that he'd have won on an oval by now. However considering he hasn't I think is as much of a testament to the team not ever giving him a car that can just walk away from everyone else like most every other person has had at some point in the last couple of years.

Going into the chase in 11th is just too far back unless something drastic happens and he starts winning races. If he was 3rd-5th I could see consistency getting him to the top but from this far back there are just too many people in front of him that at least a couple of them won't falter.

songhoh

He's a contender. Absolutely. He's my pick right after old Smoke. But Jimmy is pretty tough for these last 10 races. And Jeff is still real good. Mark Martins due. And..
I watched this years NASCAR season and realized these guys are not only great drivers, but also great racers. And to hear Montoya say this form of racing is the hardest he has been involved in is priceless. Take that F1.

BrianKeithSmith

JPM is pretty good on the flat tracks... NH is pretty flat, so I'd say, yes, he's got a good shot at a good points day. This chase deal seems to fall into the hands of those who finish the 1st 3 races very well.

If he can do that, he's got a shot.

LDadrenaline

the first thing Mark Martin said after last week's race was to watch out for Montoya... Mark is probably the smartest man in the chase right now and has seen 4 championships slip away and definitely knows what it takes to do it. I would really like to see Mark win, but you have to realize that if he says to watch out for Montoya, that JPM could be making a serious bid for the cup.

FredC

Man.... It has taken a long time... He is for real it seems.

Kurt R

No, he's not.
Yes, he made the chase.
Yes, he's on the pole.
But he doesn't have the respect of all the other drivers, and respect is what gets you through traffic.
He also doesn't know the term "Shake and Bake"

kfyork

Good points all.

I believe that Ganassi's JPM team - under the guidance of the 42's crew chief, Brian Pattie - have been intentionally seeking/planning to peak in the Chase.

With Pattie's calming influence, Monty can - and very likely will - shine now.

I disagree that JPM doesn't have respect in the garage. I believe he does. Just maybe not the jovial, overt kind...

Yes he does, it simply comes to him as "Sacudir y hornear"

cgomez

Fully agree. JPM has a better personality / respect fit with the Nascar boys than the F1 crowd (that's one of the main reasons why he made the move and quit F1). He's happier now, and it has taken him 3 years to earn to get earn his stripes. If he had made the Chase in the first year, it would have been a demolition derby against him for sure.
However, today , let's see how the fields behaves when it becomes obvious he is in contention and how open everyone is to the idea of a Non-Us driver winning the Cup.

He has always been the real thing skillwise, and now he is a lot more mature than even in his later years in F1. Gone is his WIN or DNF mentality.

BrianKeithSmith

JPM got a 2nd place finish today... Good start to the chase...

007DT

But of course when interviewed he immediately whined about Martin who beat him... I'm tired of his bitching.

VaSteve

That was a helluva a race. JPM was eating up the competition. A lot like some of those guys last week at Richmond.

A.Wayne

Another great race last weekend and the first time i watched an Oval race in it's entirety .. Go JPM

Mikelly

You and a lot of NASCAR fans out there...

I don't think JPM has the respect some claim. You never see humility in him. Every time a microphone is in his face, he's complaining about what went wrong and who caused him problems...

I'll never be a JPM fan, no matter what series he drives in...
Mike

cgomez

He s the real deal (as it was in F1). He has a good chance of winning the Cup, and will pick the points rather than a win.
How can you not endorse / support the better driver...