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I saw on Speed yesterday that F1 star JPM is going to drive for Chip Ganassi in NASCAR next year!!!! As we all know JPM currently drives for the Mercedes - McLaren F1 team and drove for Ganassi's CART team winning the Indy 500 in 2000.

It should be interesting to see how the Good Ole Boys of NASCAR accept him.

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

And on the heels of JPM maybe another open wheel driver. TJ Patrick is in talks with a couple of NASCAR teams about Danica possibly moving too!

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http://www.greywinds.com

Maybe NASCAR will suit JPM better than F1. You can run over people in a NASCAR race, but that is frowned upon in F1 for obvious reasons. Ask Kimi how much he likes JPM as a teammate

I don't think the "Ice Man" cares who his team mate is as long as he's ahead of him. As far as team mates running into each other there are alot of them that have done that. Barrichello has run into Schumacher, Weber into DC.etc.etc its what happens in turn one.

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2004 C5(415whp,390ft/lbs),
1997C5,1997Trans Am, 1986 C4,
1990 Miata, 1976 MGB,1997 Protege, 1989 MR2

He'd better start practicing soon in the tintops; it's not like he has an F1 ride this weekend.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

He was a bit perturbed about it after the USGP, but didn't go postal about it. I guess he figured JPM would be gone soon. Montoya has a habit of banzai passing that either makes him look like a superman, or like a wildman

JPM is in the same boat that Boris Said is in. They ain't good old boys from the South or from any other form of redneck roundy round. None of the other drivers are going to help them.

Maybe they should team up together. Then get Danica to join in with them. That would be an interesting mix ...

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http://www.greywinds.com

What's wrong with being a Redneck?

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Rubbin' is Racin'

Are you still stuck in the seventies, Graham? I think that all of that waxing has affected your brain.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Wes
True some of those guys are northerners or from the land of fruits and nuts. (said in your best Alabama drawl) But at least they are all 'MERICUNS.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

There's nothing wrong with being a redneck. But if JPM thinks for 1 minute those good ole' boys are going to play nice or help him he's in for a bigger surprise. He'll end up a backmarker just like Said is in NASCAR.

I can appreciate why these people want to run NASCAR. There's big money in it. But it is a good old boy club.

Long after the 70's...

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http://www.greywinds.com

lets see, Montoya on the John Boy & Billy Show some Monday morning. i believe the loyal listening audience would enmasse stop their pickup trucks on the side of the road, remove their 12 gauges from the gun rack, and blast the radio out the damn dash.

Nascar is nothing more than marketing these days ( damn shame i might add ) but i don't believe this is such a wise marketing idear. i figure they are going for the Latino audience with this move. or maybe even something more ridiculous, like the F1 crowd?

he will be lucky to not get fired before midseason. unless of course he owns half the team, but the sponsors won't hang on forever.

some people will buy anything if you tell them long enough that it is for them. Montoy-er is gonna be a hard sell.

and off on a tangent: Nascar has ruined stock car racing!!!!

i remember standing on top of a UHaul truck in the Daytona infield watching Bill Elliot spank the field @ over 200 mph. he was pulling away in turn three thru four. spectacular.

last week or so the media hype ( nascar company line BS ) was professing the inability of the sport to ever lose the restrictor plate. 'cars will fly off the track' ''dogs and cats mating" "fire and brimstone" such a shame to ruin a perfectly good small market sport. i can't hardly stand to follow it anymore.

Is this condescension more towards NASCAR or JBABBS?



NASCAR has as many engineering hours put into it as F1, and more so that pretty much any other racing series out there. Why bother pursuing the F1 crowd that are content to wear their red tifosi shirts and watch parade laps rather than an actual race?



If they stuck around for Casey Mears, they'll stick around for JPM. Montoya will be there for a while, because he gets "it".



Naah.



And now the technology has advanced, cars are safer, fans are safer, and the racing is better.



And now it's a large market sport, second only to the NFL in attendance and television viewership. In 08, you'll see a different aerodynamic profile that will obviate the restrictor plates, and you'll see the great racing that you do in the truck series.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

First let me say that in general I am not a NASCAR fan. Mostly due to the limited technical aspect of NASCAR (pushrods and carburetors?) and the hypocrisy of the "stock car" billing. However I have always wanted to attend a race or two to enjoy the spectacle as I know that being at most races are fun regardless of who is racing and what types of cars are running and it appears that if anything NASCAR knows how to put on a show!

I am not surprised that JPM is going to give NASCAR a try. I suspect that there are more than a few professional drivers in the world of formula and sports car racing that watch NASCAR and envy the close racing even if it means turning a blind eye to the less than pure technical aspect of the sport. Especially those who have already “been there and done that”, but still see NASCAR as unconquered territory. But there are not many who are willing to publicly make the jump. We will see if JPM knocks a few of the loose ones from the same tree he was living in.

NASCAR as an organization is loving this and this is exactly what they want. While he is not “MERICUN” like most, as Steve, Wes and others points out, this is not your fathers NASCAR. It may have it’s roots in the south, but it is big business and like any business they are looking to expand. Increasing the ethnic and gender diversity is what NASCAR wants from a marketing perspective. Even if this expansion is a controversial thing in the fans eyes. I am not talking about moving from a nearly 100% American driver contingent to something like Champ Car where it is hard to find a North American driver (which I am sure Champ Car hates), but a handful of new drivers that are either female or from another market (South America) is going to potentially bring in a new set of sponsorship that is just not happening today. And for the NASCAR conspiracy theorists out there (Need a yellow to bunch everyone up? I see some invisible debris on the track!) maybe NASCAR is going to “make the call” and let JPM win a few early on to keep interest up!

Regarding the other drivers and acceptance of “outsiders”. Sure, it is going to be tough. It is going to be very tough. Maybe JPM is going to go down in flames, but I don’t think he will. IMHO his success in NASCAR is more in his hands than you guys think. While not all of the drivers are from the deep south, there still is very much a network of guys who worked their way up from dirt tracks all across the US and didn’t spend time in Formula Fords as kids. I think that Graham is right that it is a different crowd of driver. However I would bet that the number of guys driving today that spent time in Karts as kids and maybe even have some road course experience before they hit NASCAR is huge today compared to probably 10-15 years ago. So while it is going to be a long road, they will make inroads. Maybe Boris Said, JPM and whoever else might makes the jump (Danica Patrick??) can all become drafting buddies!

I know one thing for sure. I am going to be watching a few NASCAR races next year that otherwise I wouldn’t have watched. Score one for NASCAR.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

"yellow flag" back in 85 we called it a "Bill France caution". the phone call went out to the team that was middling at best " tell your boy to wreck, its good for the sport. i'll owe ya one"

sure that theory is bullshit. but i find todays mega world sport boring at best. and yes Wes, it is safer and i applaud that aspect of the restructuring.

oh and BTW Wes, JB&B are not my cup of tea as they are corporate schills for the right wing and as such i fail to find much of their programming entertaining. good loord, some of their tirades during the Clinton administration were borderline fanatical.

and finally Wes, i call bullshit on your idea that the racing is better. the racing is not racing it is science. it is no different than F1 where exotic setups and massive amounts of time and money are spent to negate driver input or error.
gone are the days when the "slingshot move" meant anything meaningful. gone are the days when competitors beat the hell out of each other thru the final three turns to the finish line.

sadly, if it were to return to true stock car racing, they would be running front wheel drive six cylinders. it's all about the fans these days. or better put, all about the marketing to the fans.

and Richard, while i have not been to a track since 1992 to watch a race, i have to say after a couple of hours it gets a little boring without a drink or two. FYI.

Ernie Irvan won the Firecracker 400 that year. which by '92 they were calling it the Pepsi 400. race started at 10:30 in the morning. nothing like picking up your buddies at 8 in the morning and heading to the track with a cold case of Buds rolling. misspent youth is the best.