Juan Pablo Montoya heads back to his wheel house in 2014
Last week, it was announced that Juan Pablo Montoya would head back Open Wheel racing, driving a third car for Penske Racing in 2014.
“I am really excited to join this legendary team beginning next year,” Montoya said. “I have had the opportunity to drive for some of the best racing teams in the world and I have always admired Roger Penske and his organization. I consider it an honor to be offered the opportunity to drive for Team Penske.”
Montoya has had success in open wheel in the past, winning races in Formula One and CART. He also has made one career IndyCar start, which was the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 – picking up the win.
Though with his success in open wheel, Montoya made the transition to NASCAR in 2006, ready to continue his winning ways. You could say that it didn’t work out as Montoya intended as in 244 career starts, he only has two wins – both coming on road courses. He has come close on the ovals, but has yet to find his way to victory lane.
That posed a problem as Montoya is known for winning. After all, he is the only driver to produce victories in the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Monaco Grand Prix. That’s why he stated when he was leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing that he wanted to be a winning car, no matter the series.
“Juan is a proven winner at all levels of motorsport,” said Roger Penske. “He has won a lot of races and championships and he has an extremely passionate fan base. We look forward to building on his successes together and we believe he will be a great addition to Team Penske.”
Penske Racing is a good place to start as they have won two IndyCar races this year and Helio Castroneves currently leads the points.
In a conversation with USA Today, team president Tim Cindric noted that the deal came together pretty quickly after a conversation at Michigan International Speedway. They sparked a conversation and shortly after it was announced that Montoya would be leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.
“There wasn’t a lot of discussion,” Cindric said. “It all came together pretty quick. It was as simple as, ‘What are you up to?’ I said, ‘We ought to put in you in the IndyCar Series.’ He said, ‘Let’s talk about it.’ A casual conversation turned into the real deal.”
The only question now will be how he will get along with his new teammates Castroneves and Will Power, and the affect he will have on the shop chemistry. Power and Castroneves have formed a unique bond between each other, knowing when to poke fun and how to work together. Will Montoya throw off that balance? Something to consider.
Also, Montoya hasn’t driven anything open-wheel since coming to NASCAR and the cars have changed so much since then. It’ll be a question as of how quickly he can adapt through the off-season testing that he will do and whether he will come out of the gate strong.
Sponsorship for the Columbian is the next step and as Cindric notes, they’re in a short time frame right now to put it together.
“It’s about Roger’s commitment to the sport and commitment to winning,” Cindric added. “You put the competitive pieces in play first. It’s one of the advantages we all have working for Roger. His commitment to winning comes before everything else.”
D.J. Kennington looks to bring home NCAT Championship this weekend
Following a top three finish at Barrie Speedway, D.J. Kennington extended his lead slightly in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series standings. Heading into the final event this weekend at Kawartha Speedway, the two-time series champion leads Scott Steckly by five points.
“In the big picture, we’re in good shape,” he commented after the race. “The Castrol Edge team is vying for the championship here and hopefully we get it finished up at Kawartha.”
From 2007 to 2009, Kennington came close each of those years – either finishing second or third. It was 2010 that he finally broke through and won the championship.
In 2010, Kennington won at both Riverside Speedway and Barrie Speedway to take a 40 point lead into Kawartha Speedway and seal the deal, 87 points ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick.
Kennington finished second to Steckly in 2011, before winning the championship once again in 2012. He had a mechanical problem at Barrie, though rebounded by winning both Riverside and Kawartha to win the title, 27 points ahead of Fitzpatrick.
This year, Kennington has had 10 top 10s in 11 races with his worst being a 16th in Quebec at St. Eustache. He also takes momentum with him to the final race at Kawartha Speedway, having scored a top five in each of the last four races, including a win at Trois-Rivieres.
To add to that, Kennington has had success at Kawartha in the past, winning three races and scoring five top fives in the past six years. He also has led 277 laps on the oval.
If Kennington is able to lock up the championship, he will become the all-time series championship leader having broken a tie with Steckly and Ranger. Each of the three drivers has a pair of championships in the seven years that the series has existed. Topping the all-time series win list with 19 wins, it would seem fitting that Kennington would hold the record.
When I asked Kennington a couple weeks ago at Barrie his thoughts going into Kawartha and his thoughts on the championship, he kept his answer simple and to the point.
“That’s what we’re going to do.”
