Yahoo Autos Juan Pablo Montoya Prepares for NASCAR Start After a Decade Away
As Juan Pablo Montoya prepares to return to NASCAR for a one-off race this weekend at Watkins Glen, he's adamant about taking the race seriously. Montoya last raced in a NASCAR Cup car a decade ago; while he has no plans of affecting any series regular race, he plans to race the drivers how they race him.
"I don’t want to get in a pissing contest with anyone," Montoya addressed the media. "If I get to you and I’m quicker than you, I’m going to try and pass you. If you’re quicker than me and you get there, there’s no reason; the race is long enough. Wait for the adjustment and make the car better. If you make someone’s life miserable early in the race, they are going to return the favor later. I know that I’m doing one-off; I’ll be respectful of everyone who is respectful of me. It’s not that hard."
After Friday's practice, Montoya was pleased with the changes made in the Cup car, especially the new sequential gearbox.
"I love the sequential gearbox," Montoya said. "I think that’s amazing. That’s a big change; it’s pretty cool that you are using all the gear. You know, when you see road course racing, a lot of times, you use two or three gears. Here, you are really going through all the gears. I think that’s really cool. I think that’s really awesome that you got to use the gears and understand the short shift and the blips and everything. For me personally, I grew up with that, so I feel at home with it."
Montoya will have a lot of work to do in Sunday's race after qualifying 34th in the field of 38 drivers, but his track familiarity and road course success can help propel him forward in his Trackhouse Racing start. His poor qualifying attempt came as a surprise after he ran in the top-15 during practice,.657 seconds behind the leader.
Montoya's temporary teammate Ross Chastain secured a pole for Trackhouse racing. Chastain narrowly missed the playoffs this season after failing to secure a win in the regular season and has had a hard time on the road course.
It’s so much work, Kim," Chastain told NBC's Kim Coon after securing the pole. "Turning right seems so simple, but gosh, it’s just been such a challenge for me. I went to Skip Barber Driving School to learn how to turn right; I’ve leaned on Scott Wise and Scott Speed so much.
It wasn’t any one thing it was so many years of trying to learn how to do this. For our Busch Light Chevy, this is just a career moment, a lifetime achievement to go faster than everyone.
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