Juan Pablo Montoya: Racecar Driver. If there’s ever a
biography written about current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo
Montoya than that should be its name. I have the utmost respect for Montoya
because he’s proven throughout his illustrious career that he can drive and win
in anything he pleases. He’s a true racecar driver. Give him something with
wheels and a motor and he’ll kick your ass.
Montoya has won in many major forms of auto racing. In his
one and only Indianapolis 500 in 2000, he won. He was a champion in the CART
Series. He was a champion in the Formula 1 Series. He’s won the Rolex 24 @
Daytona twice in the Grand-Am Series. He’s also won twice in NASCAR’s top
series, which is the most popular motorsports series in the United States.
Not only is Montoya a fantastic wheelman, but he also has
that true racer persona, like many greats that came before him. He’s going to
do whatever it takes to succeed and win, even if that means knocking another
out of his way. Some people just can’t stand Montoya because of his driving
style, which many wrongfully call “reckless”, because he’s relentless when
racing their favorite drivers. Fellow Sprint Cup racer Kyle Busch is “reckless”,
he loves to win, but he also loves playing the heel. This bad guy act that he
loves so much leads him to want to do reckless things. Montoya loves to win,
but he doesn’t give a damn what you think about him. He’s not intentionally
trying to ruin your day (unless he thinks you deserve it); he’s just trying to
make the most out of his.
That’s why I like Juan Pablo Montoya. Now, here’s why I
really want to see him in Victory Lane on Sunday after the Brickyard 400 at the
famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Sometimes in racing a track just owes you one.
Despite Dale Earnhardt winning at Daytona more than any
driver that ever competed there he never had a Daytona 500 win prior to 1998. The
track owed him one. He finally got it. Like Earnhardt, Tony Stewart has won in
almost everything at Daytona, but not the Daytona 500. Daytona owes it to him.
Montoya, as previously mentioned, has won at Indianapolis in
his truly dominating Indy 500 victory. However, the Brickyard, desperately owes
him one.
Despite winning at both of the Sprint Cup Series road course
races (Watkins Glen and Sonoma) in his career, Montoya has yet to win on a
NASCAR oval track (in this his sixth full season), However, Indianapolis, has
arguably been his best track in the sport. He’s never had the finishes at the
track that he’s truly deserved (other than a second place finish in his rookie
season of 2007) with an average finish of only 22.4 at the track, but as far as
I’m concerned Montoya should’ve won the Brickyard 400 twice by now.
In 2009, Montoya had likely his finest performance in his
NASCAR career, thus far, when he thoroughly dominated the race. Not only did he
kick the rest of the field’s asses, he also kicked the track’s ass. The
Colombian native led a race high 116 of 160 laps and he was going to lead a lot
more. Nobody could beat Montoya that day, except for depending on how you saw
it: himself or NASCAR. On a late pit stop Montoya was penalized for speeding on
pit road. Montoya was adamant that he didn’t speed, as all drivers always are. However,
I actually believed him then and still believe him today. I know he still
believes himself today, too. The penalty caused him to fall back in the running
order and he drove his ass off to one of the most dominant 11th
place finishes in NASCAR history and by far the most dominant I’ve ever seen.
Jimmie Johnson would win the race.
The next season, in 2010, it looked like Montoya was going
to put that misfortune to rest with another dominant performance. Again it
looked like he couldn’t be beaten. Unfortunately this time his crew chief Brian
Pattie didn’t do him any favors. After leading 86 of 160 laps, again a race
best, Montoya made a late pit stop in which Pattie called for four tires. Many
other drivers took two tires instead and this placed Montoya in the middle of
the pack where he would get caught up in a wreck and finish 32nd. His
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray would go on to win the race.
Two years in a row Juan Pablo Montoya had both the
competition and the track licked. He had nothing to show for it.
Last season Montoya started toward the front, but didn’t
have a good race finishing in the 28th position. Even though it’s
arguably his best track in the sport, his only top 10 finish was his second
place as a rookie.
Montoya is frankly struggling pretty badly this season. In
19 races he only has a measly two Top 10s and his average finish is 20th.
His year started with him crashing into a jet dryer at Daytona in maybe the
oddest accident in NASCAR history and it hasn’t gotten much better from there.
However, as we embark on the Brickyard this weekend I just
know that Montoya’s going to dig down deep and find a little something extra
that he hasn’t had all season. It just remains to be seen if he has a capable
car underneath him.
Yes, this magnificent two and a half mile cathedral of
racing with its famed yard of bricks owes Montoya one. It owes him big.
Hopefully it pays out on Sunday afternoon; I know Montoya’s damn sure going to
do his best to collect.
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