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September 23, 2009
Juan Pablo's complaint, and other musings
By DAVID GREEN
Ironic, isn't it, that little ABC Sports featurette with Juan Pablo Montoya praising Mark Martin for helping him get competitive in Cup cars, and then suggesting that Martin "screwed me" after the finish of the Sylvania 300 Sunday.
You'd think Martin threw a cinder block out the window of his car in front of Montoya's, the way the Colombian has pouted about that incident.
I give Montoya credit for not causing a wreck. But he didn't refrain from roughing up the leader out of the goodness of his heart; he was surprised.
The natural instinct in such a situation is to go as hard as you can and hope, if your cars are nearly equal, that the other guy makes just a tiny mistake or has a tiny bit more wheelspin under acceleration than you do, something to give you the edge to make the pass or, if you're the leader, to stay in front.
It takes discipline, in the heat of a late-laps duel, to temper that instinct and to drive that corner to your best advantage rather than merely trying to go as fast as you can go. You also run the risk of the other guy taking you out if he's not paying attention, or of making a banzai move (kind of like Carl Edwards tried at California) and executing the pavement equivalent of a slide job on you.
Martin did absolutely nothing wrong. He did something Montoya wasn't expecting. That's what old pros do.
For better or worse, the Chase is with us. Some things to be thankful for:
...that Fox Sports is not doing the coverage. I had a nightmare last night that the Dover race was about to begin and DW was screaming, "BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY! LET'S GO CHASIN', BOYS!" Scary stuff. Woke up in a cold sweat.
...that NASCAR turned thumbs down on a suggestion from Bruton Smith that we use four-abreast formations for restarts instead of the mundane two-wide. Hey, just because it was a hit at zMax Dragway...
...that Flavio Briatore is not a NASCAR participant.
Dover predictions, anyone? I have a feeling a non-chaser is going to steal the thunder at the Monster Mile. Kyle Busch, maybe? Clint Bowyer?
September 23, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
hummmm heyyy green way you use the term of colombian ,. next time use termsa as driver of the 42 car , or juan his name ,. dont be a racist ... cuz you never done nothing un nascar just to be a loser driver !!! gracias :=)
Posted by: georgie diaz | Sep 23, 2009 9:56:06 AM
I usually go to both Dover races but have to miss Sunday for a family function. Having seen the 48 car drive through the field in the closing stages of the last race there, I would not bet against him.
And Flavio is no longer in F1 so who knows where he might wind up!!!!
Posted by: Peter | Sep 23, 2009 12:26:43 PM
Wll David, all I can say to JP is thats racin'...sometimes the fastest car doesn't win, deal with it, get over it, Yhat's racin'
As far as being patient in a situation like that, I'd have a hard time NOT rattlin' his cage...I'm happy Juan used common sense instead of his bumper
And "georgia diaz" How is it racist to call him a Columbian? Would it be racist if I where in Columbia and called an American?...Not a shot
Posted by: Fan #5 | Sep 23, 2009 6:50:51 PM
georgie diaz ,
I'm sure he has been called worse since he began his NASCAR career. I wonder what Scott Pruett called him when the cameras and microphones were gone.
Posted by: 68 camaro ss | Sep 23, 2009 8:37:11 PM
Montoya was certainly quoted as saying that Martin screwed him, but he was also quoted as saying that he would have done the exact same thing. I tend to think he's upset at the fact that he lost, but not really angry about HOW he lost. He got beat by the best, and did no harm to himself in the process.
Juan Pablo is rapidly maturing as a stock car driver. No matter what he does from here on out, to be in the chase in his third year is a terrific accomplishment.
Posted by: Doug in CA | Sep 23, 2009 8:48:37 PM
georgie: At first reading, I took your comment as tongue-in-cheek, as a light-hearted jab at the ridiculous political correctness that plagues our society nowadays. On further review, I'm not sure whether you were joking or not. At any rate, my comments about Juan Pablo were about the man, regardless of his ethnicity. To describe him as a Colombian is accurate, as he was born there. (Hey, at least give me credit for spelling the country's name correctly!)
Peter: The 48 is a good pick, for sure. As for Flav, I'm giving that thought further review, as well; it might be fun to have him in NASCAR.
#5: Many of us would've had a hard time keeping our cars under us and NOT sliding up into the 5, or perhaps spinning out trying to avoid him. Montoya is an excellent driver.
68: I can't help but wonder how JPM would have reacted had he and Pruett switched roles in that incident in Mexico City.
Doug: I've been highly impressed with Juan Pablo's talent ever since he was racing in CART. Unlike most road-racing or open-wheel guys, he has all but mastered NASCAR racing. He's very good on just about every track. He's a genuine threat to win the Cup championship. I think he tends to be a little immature in his reactions to things sometimes.
I was waiting to interview him when Greg Ray bumped him off the pole at Indy in 2000, and maybe I'm allowing myself to be unduly influenced by what I thought at the time was pretty ungracious behavior by JPM in that situation. Of course, that was nine years ago. But his "Mark screwed me" comment reminded me of that day at Indy.
My judgment is probably unfair. I should add that Montoya and Jeff Gordon were both delightful to observe and interview when they did the F1-NASCAR "car swap" promotion at Indy. I haven't spent all that much time with either guy, but I can't imagine either of them having a more purely enjoyable time than they had that day. It was pretty cool for those of us who were lucky enough to be there, as well.
Posted by: David Green | Sep 24, 2009 9:50:58 AM
Back on the open-wheeler issue: I tend to think that anyone who has made it to the top levels of some form of racing, be it CART or IRL or F1 or sprints, could make it in another form IF, and it's a HUGE "IF," he or she was given time, sponsorship, good equipment, patience, and just a dash of humility. They need to understand that in the first year or two you want nothing more than to finish races and learn the craft. Periodically, I have asked if there has been any word out of the 42 camp about next year. I think this is the last year of Montoya's contract. I don't think he has anything to prove, but if he sticks around, then I'm really impressed. Kudos to Red Bull for resigning Speed. It's been a rotten year, but what did you expect? How can he get better if he only stays for a year? Same with Hornish, whose results have steadily improved.
Posted by: Doug in CA | Sep 24, 2009 11:35:00 AM
Doug: A very good assessment. There may be some guys who are outstanding in one or the other form who would never excel in another, but I think it's largely keyed to their desires, not their talents. Richard Petty, for example, never had any interest in Indy cars; Troy Ruttman tried F1 back in the '50s, but did not find it appealing. Your "IF" qualification says it all. In the right circumstances, given enough time (by him or herself as well as by others) and given the humility and desire, I agree wholeheartedly that a driver is a driver is a driver. (For what it's worth, Mario Andretti agreed with us when I made a similar pitch to him about success in various forms of racing several years ago.)
Posted by: David Green | Sep 24, 2009 11:57:08 AM
Georgie: A friend of mine just pointed out to me that a reference in your post ("...cuz you never done nothing un nascar just to be a loser driver !!!") suggests that you think I'm the 1994 NASCAR Busch Series champion David Green of Owensboro, Ky. Sorry, but I'm the David Green of Benton, Ky. The other David and I have been out of touch for awhile, but we were good friends when I was covering NASCAR full-time. If David's career makes him a "loser," I sure wish I could be one, too. But that's off the subject.
You suggest that you think I'm a racist. Your post is very hard for me to understand, but I don't presume that's because you may be of Hispanic or any other particular ethnicity. I chalk it up to eroding grammar skills overall and to my own failure to carefully read what you wrote.
Things are not always what they appear to be, huh? Perhaps people who are prone to knee-jerk reactions regarding perceived racism ought to remember that.
Please don't take that as a mean-spirited jab; it's intended as an honest, positive suggestion that we all ought to refrain from making assumptions about motivation. Communication among human beings is difficult enough without muddying the waters by attempting to read between the lines. By digging a little deeper, we may confirm our suspicions (and know we're not making an unfounded assumption), or we may find out that no racial slur was intended and we had no reason to be offended in the first place. Who knows, we may even end up liking the person we first thought was a bad guy.
Posted by: David Green | Sep 24, 2009 12:03:40 PM
David,
Your way too sensitive. Taco was on my fantasy team for last sunday, and no one called me a racist. You have been a racer. So maybe that was a compliment.
Maybe raceologist would be better?
Posted by: Larry | Sep 24, 2009 7:26:42 PM
David,
I'm sure if Pruett would have wrecked JPM for the win. They would not have been playing patty cake like he was with Harvick.
Posted by: 68 camaro ss | Sep 25, 2009 5:51:11 PM
In light of his full comments about Mark Martin, I think everyone should cut Montoya some slack. English is his 2nd language and he speaks far, far better English than I do any other language. I'm not sure whether it was Montoya or who made the comment, but "snookered" was probably a better term.
Based on the mediocre overall job ESPN has done, I sure wish FOX was doing the last 10 races. If nothing else, the FOX guys call the race on the track, not what the folks in the truck throw up on the screen.
Posted by: Richard in N.C. | Sep 25, 2009 10:34:45 PM
Richard, I disagree strongly. I think ESPN is doing a pretty good job. I have come to realize that the best TV folk are the ones we tend NOT to talk about. There's always a lot of talk about DW and Larry Mac and Rusty, but it is a rare day indeed that anyone mentions Wally Dallenbach, regardless of whether it's a favorable mention or a negative one. Personally, I think Jarrett is doing a fine job, as is Andy Petree. Rusty is calming down, but the breakout of the year for me is Brad Daugherty.
As for my former favorite, Kyle Petty, he is getting a bit of Rusty disease - a need to talk a lot. He can still be terrific, but eliminate 30% of the words.
Posted by: Doug in CA | Sep 26, 2009 1:20:23 AM
Larry: I think the fact that I didn't even pick up on the racist thing the first time I read Georgie's post suggests that I'm not thin-skinned about this matter. I'm just not intuitively into that kind of thing. I'm not sure who you mean by "Taco." Is that Montoya?
Apparently Georgie is not reading the follow-up posts or he/she has chosen not to respond.
Posted by: David Green | Sep 26, 2009 11:25:05 AM
68: So, you think if Pruett had taken JPM out, he would have had a fight on his hands, or you don't think Pruett would have taken him out in the first place?
Richard: I began my post by noting the irony of the taped video clip and Montoya's post-race comments and spent the next few paragraphs analyzing what happened on the track. In responses to others' comments, I attempted to put my remarks in context by summarizing my opinion that Montoya is immensely talented but often does not show much grace under pressure.
I haven't heard or read a lot of "bashing" of JPM. The combination of headline and the first couple of paragraphs of Jim Utter's story ("Johnson best as some get testy about tires") suggests that the piece is critical of Montoya, but when you read further, you find that's actually not the case. It's Denny Hamlin who is "getting testy" while Montoya is on the outside front row for tomorrow's race.
(Can't let this go without castigating Utter and the editors for a grammatical error when he writes, "...the tire that was tested by he and Busch..." C'mon, guys -- it's "HIM and Busch"! It's a subjective pronoun, not an objective one. Stop taking your language cues from all those broadcasters who wouldn't know an objective pronoun from an illustrious potentate.)
Posted by: David Green | Sep 26, 2009 11:43:47 AM
Doug: I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Wally Dallenbach. He's one of the few who gets the "less is more" notion. Just about all sports broadcasting these days is, to me, way over the top and sensational.
But then, I was conditioned early on by the likes of Red Barber, Curt Gowdy, Lindsey Nelson, Jim McKay, Cawood Ledford, Sid Collins and other broadcasters who (on the air, anyway) downplayed their own status and talked about the events they were broadcasting. The events are plenty sensational for me without audio or visual hype. Most production nowadays gets in the way of my enjoyment of the television coverage rather than enhancing it.
Posted by: David Green | Sep 26, 2009 11:55:05 AM
David, Yes, Taco was for Montoya. A friend put that term with him early and it just stuck. But, as far a these racers go it was simply a term of endearment. ha.
Being a Penske fan, I am hard-wired toward rooting against Juan. First, put off years ago when he referred to Indy, as "just another race". Didn't drink the milk.
Tortured with constant J U A N P A B L O M O N T O Y A from our commentators. Why not, Juan Montoya? Or, is it not a middle name? It could be my poor understanding of grammar.
That said, I did have him on my team based on his driving ability. When he first started, I thought "just wait, til' Bristol". He did very well, and then I realized he could drive these cars. He may be accomplishing "more", with less than anyone in the chase.
Also, should he win.. I got dibs
on JPM, WhamPum.
Posted by: Larry | Sep 27, 2009 10:48:56 AM
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