Montoya getting to know his new co-workers
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) ? Juan Pablo Montoya spent several days this week with his new employers as Chip Ganassi Racing prepares the Formula One star for his transition to NASCAR.
Despite the cultural differences and Montoya’s limited knowledge of stock cars, crew chief Donnie Wingo quickly learned that racing is a universal language.
?I think people like (Montoya) might have a little different lingo,? Wingo said Saturday at Pocono Raceway. ?Once we get all that squared away, we’ll be OK.?
Montoya will replace Casey Mears in the No. 42 Dodge next season.
It’s not clear when Montoya will make his stock car debut. Although he was released from his F1 seat after signing with Ganassi, McLaren hasn’t given him permission to start his NASCAR career.
If he gets the release, he could be in ARCA, Busch or even a Nextel Cup event very soon. Otherwise, he’ll have to wait until the F1 season ends on Oct. 22 to begin testing.
Either way, Wingo is already putting together a plan and wants to test Montoya in Lakeland, Fla., Kentucky and Nashville as soon as he gets the green light.
?Then toward the end of the year, maybe run a few races – Busch races, ARCA races and maybe if he’s ready he could run the Cup race at Homestead,? Wingo said. ?Just talking with him about it, he doesn’t want to run any races until he’s ready. I think that’s smart.
?You can lay out a schedule for a guy to run a bunch of races, but I don’t know how much you learn just racing. If we can go test with him some and get him used to the changes you make on the car and let him know in his mind when he gets in a race, he’ll know what the adjustments will do.?
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GORDON’S CRASH: Jeff Gordon was cruising along at 190 mph along the frontstretch at Pocono Raceway when he suddenly realized his brakes were out.
That moment six weeks ago was one of the most frightening in Gordon’s career.
The brake failure led to an extremely hard crash into the wall, which Gordon walked away from unscathed.
?I had such a long time without being able to get the car slowed down that, you know, the fear that’s inside, how hard it’s going to hit, is probably worse than when it actually happens,? Gordon said. ?It was very scary.?
Gordon said he felt ?a little fuzzy? after the accident that sent the No. 24 Chevrolet into the wall and tore up a chunk of the SAFER barrier.
?That’s by far the worst day as a crew chief,? Steve Letarte said. ?You just kind of sit there on the radio and wait to hear him say something. At the same time, the whole thing made us feel really good about the equipment we are building in that he was able to walk away from that.?