How about Juan Montoya!!!

ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Mar 19, 2007, 08:18:

Montoya is a sad sack I was a fan of Formula One for years before I ever heard of Montoya. I don't follow CART, so I had no idea who he was until Williams F1 gave him a drive.

At first, I was excited and proud to see a Colombian in F1. Honestly, the guy has some real talent, but he did very little with it. What he did was do a great job at coming off as a volatile, unreliable asshole who had an excuse for everything that didn't go his way. It was alway "so and so made me drive off" or "something was wrong with the car". He never once owned up to the fact that he made driving mistakes.

The real reason he is in NASCAR is that no decent team in F1 would offer him a drive. He left a horrible impression in F1 and his questionable abilities were nowhere good enough to put up with his attitude. There is a great video of him freaking out when he bumped into a cameraman. It was his own fault, but he berrated the cameraman and made a scene while his wife tried in vain to calm him down. This is a perfect example of his "not my fault" attitude. In Colombia there is a saying that goes "Desde que se inventaron las escusas, nadie ha quedado mal." which means "Since excuses where invented, no one has looked bad."

I say good riddance. NASCAR can have him. I enjoyed watching his former McLaren teammate win the Australian GP yesterday while Montoya drives with a bunch of hillbillies that think he is just another Mexican.

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Simon says on Mar 19, 2007, 10:19:

ColombianoGringo,
Quit being ColombianoGringo,

Quit being so jealous of Montoya!

It's so sad to see so many colombians green with envy at the success of other colombians. Montoya is a force to be reckoned with and the NASCAR guys know it. Hopeully, he'll keep getting better and all NASCAR fans will have a new positive reference about Colombia.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Mar 19, 2007, 10:56:

I'm hardly jealous I am not the least bit jealous of Montoya and am very happy to see other Colombians find success in various fields. I guarantee you will not find me disparaging other successful Colombians out of any so called envy.

I am very proud to be Colombian and do my best to support Colombian athletes, artists, authors and others who are successful and help spread a positive impression of our people.

For example, the company I work for does a lot of work for Shakira. I think she is a gracious ambassador who leaves people with a positive impression of Colombia. She is not my favorite performer, but I respect her nonetheless. For those that might want to see some of the promotional media we have created for her, check out www.concerts.com.

However, Montoya is a boorish asshole who left a terrible impression and was an embarrassing representative of Colombia in Formula One circles. He never really accomplished much in F1, yet he talked shit about everyone from other drivers to his very own team and crew. Everyone in the sport was sick of him. He went to NASCAR because no team would offer him a drive. No one voluntarily goes from the pinnacle of motorsports to a redneck left turn competition. Give him some time and he will prove to be an embarrassment in NASCAR as well. My secretary, who is a NASCAR fan, said she saw him bitching about Jeff Gordon just yesterday. So it begins.

Compare this to a seven time champion like Michael Schumacher who was mostly courteous and respectful when speaking about others. He owned up to his mistakes and shortcomings and gave credit to his team and to other drivers when it was deserved. I am also not a huge fan of Schumacher either, but I do respect him.

You are right about the envy that a lot of Colombians have about the success of others. It is quite sad, but I assure you that this has nothing to do with my being jealous of another Colombian. I feel the same way about Ralf Schumacher, Jacques Villenueve and others.

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southern151 says on Mar 19, 2007, 11:10:

Redneck and Hillbilly sport... That's funny! It does have a deal of southern(redneck) roots but has come leaps and bounds in the last decade. How many people attend your elite Cart and Formula 1 races? I do not know that answer but would be willing to guess not the turnout at a Nascar race. That redneck sport generates MILLIONS per year in revenue. I guess the hillbillies today are very rich. LOL

Is it hillbilly to you because they don't drink fine wine and have an English accent? Or is it because you see a lot(normally 200K or more) of people out there having a good time and supporting their favorite driver...and drinking a beer. LOL

As far as Montoya, I don't think he will do too well for too long there. One, he isn't from the US(there's the redneck part of Nascar for you) and his attitude is shit at best! Taking guys out, your own teammate and whining and bitching all the time will have him repeatedly in the wall.

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Mar 19, 2007, 11:23:

NASCAR Race Attendance Attendance figures at NASCAR races are impressive. However, Formula One has a worldwide following and is commonly regarded as the sport with the largest TV viewing audience in the entire world. Even so, I don't think popularity is a good measure of quality.

NASCAR is not as "bass-ackwards" as it once was, but is certainly dominated by a very "country" vibe. It has certainly advanced from a technological standpoint, but is still a far cry from the performance, handling and over all "cutting edge" design used in modern F1 cars. My point was not to disparage NASCAR, but to simply point out that Montoya had no options in F1 and was faced with the choice of driving in a "lesser" level of motorsport.

However, I think we both agree that he has an awful attitude and will quickly wear out his welcome in NASCAR.

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podborski says on Mar 19, 2007, 12:43:

Montoya is a jerk according to the colombiana visiting me. Apparently some 10 yr old girl in Cartagena rushed up to him to get an autograph and he shoved her away?

I was talking about what an idiot Maradona is, yet lots of people act like he´s a god.

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Simon says on Mar 19, 2007, 14:29:

Did she also tell you the ten-year old was brandishing a knife?

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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raulinho says on Mar 19, 2007, 15:27:

There is only one. His name is Fernando Alonso..Montoya has some talent but no brain.

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CaptainHowdy says on Mar 19, 2007, 17:35:

F1 is the pinnacle of motor sports? Now, THAT's going out on a limb with that claim. I watched an F1 race once, and it just didn't have the same excitement and competition that NASCAR has. The F1 cars go faster but that alone doesn't make it exciting. Competition makes it exciting and NASCAR has non-stop competition. The pit stops in F1 are slow and uneventful. Pit stops in NASCAR are fast and furious and every 1/2 second counts. The cars have so much technology, they're easier to drive. I'm thinking mainly traction control. The F1 races have far less passing than NASCAR, and isn't passing someone and trying to win the point of racing? Now, before you get your panties all in a wad, let me repeat, I've really only forced myself to sit through one full race. I've seen bits and pieces of others and they just don't hold the same excitement as NASCAR.
NASCAR used to be a very redneck, hillbilly, and moonshine driver sport. It has made major strides in the field of "mainstreaming" the sport. Which of the companies would you classify as "redneck" or "hillbilly" companies? DuPont? Home Depot? Lowe's? Kelloggs? Coke? GM Goodwrench? Kodak? DiTech? Valvoline? FedEx? UPS? Budweiser? (Ok, scratch Budweiser!!! LOL) These companies have poured more than 10 million dollars into NASCAR for years. Do you think these are redneck companies or that their CEO's/CFO's are rednecks? These companies have one goal with their advertising dollar: to make money! They must see a huge market base to invest that kind of time and money into a sport. NASCAR is more "mainstream" than "redneck" these days. And, I must add, the racing is far better than any other series. And, until I see differently, I welcome Juan Montoya to NASCAR, for whatever reason he came to NASCAR. And, for what it's worth, Sam Hornish, Jr was driving in the BUSCH series race on Saturday. Is he on his way of being run out of F1, also or did he just want to experience the thrill of racing in NASCAR. He certainly didn't come drive because it's a step down from F1 or because he's a "redneck."
All in all, I guess some will like the excitement and thrill of NASCAR and some will like F1. We don't have to like the same thing but we don't have to be rude, either....

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

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Azul says on Mar 19, 2007, 17:44:

It's only going out on a limb for people in the US Formula One is the pinnacle for most of the world.

las cosas caen por su propio peso

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aztec says on Mar 20, 2007, 05:02:

Good ol' Boys Good ol' wheels for Darius Weems
Another thought
Story updated at 8:55 PM on Tuesday, March 20, 2007

So it turns out the NASCAR family is, in fact, just a bunch of good ol' boys - in the best possible sense of that term.

Through the goodness of NASCAR Nextel Cup sponsor Dodge, Athens' own Darius Weems - a wheelchair-bound 17-year-old boy dealing with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder - has a new handicapped-accessible Dodge Sprinter full-size van. Mobility Transportation equipped the new Dodge Sprinter with the accessibility equipment, and Delta Air Lines is providing transportation for a volunteer to pick up the van in Michigan.

News of the donation came just as Weems' mother was worrying about how to replace the aging conversion van she had been using to get her son from place to place. That van broke down Wednesday night.

In addition to the generous donation from Dodge, the Victory Junction Gang Camp - founded by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie, to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical problems or serious illnesses - made arrangements for Darius to attend Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Pattie Petty said she was particularly moved by the award-winning documentary "Darius Goes West," which chronicles a trip Darius made with a group of college students across the country in a recreational vehicle.

In addition to the Dodge and Victory Junction Gang Camp donations, NASCAR Nextel Cup racing sponsor Sprint Nextel made arrangements for Darius to attend the drivers' meeting prior to the race, and to watch the race from the company's luxury suite high atop the stands.

NASCAR fans have long known of the generosity of the sports' drivers, sponsors and sanctioning body. The extension of that generosity to an ailing 17-year-old is no surprise to those fans, and it's safe to say the NASCAR family's largesse to Darius Weems has created some new stock car racing fans in this part of the country.


Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 032007

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gringolondinense says on Mar 20, 2007, 05:19:

Hillbilly NASCAR.... yep..all the drivers come from redneck-central Alabama. If you tell anyone there you dont like NASCAR they will call the boyz in and get y'all.

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goin_south says on Mar 20, 2007, 06:00:

Hey, what's all the talk of Montoya? Now... yesterday I read about the standings in the paper (I don't know nothing about this stuff, and wouldn't waste a moment watching it on the tube), but Montoya is not even in the Top Ten in whatever they call Nascar Standings. Right? or, did I dys-read something?

Why Not Colombia?..........Stay Tuned, for more.... utterly worthless, self-indulgent gobbets of nonsense.

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aztec says on Mar 20, 2007, 08:39:

Montoya lets NASCAR know his name http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=37&url_article_id=25939&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Mar 20, 2007, 09:11:

Capt. There is no doubt that NASCAR is popular in the US and generates a lot of ad income, attendance and TV viewership. However, it is a considered a curiosity at best in the rest of the world. F1 has the largest television audience of any sporting events outside of the World Cup.

Formula One is simply the premiere series in motorsport. The best drivers in the world fight for a limited amount of spots. The driving is much more technical and precise than NASCAR. Road racing requires more precision, fitness and talent than your average NASCAR left turn marathon. I realize that NASCAR has a limited amount of road tracks, but the emphasis is on ovals.

The cars are not even comparable as far as technology. I looked up some stats about stock cars. They use large engines(5.5 + liters) to generate in the neighborhood of 750 HP. Formula One engines are restricted to half that size and produce about the same horsepower. Newer F1 gearboxes are made entirely of carbon fiber along with suspensions and even the body of the cars.

NASCAR has come a long way since the days of converted family cars, but it is still years behind F1 in technological innovation. The budgets for a team to place two cars on the grid can be upwards of several hundred million dollars a year. Most teams have incredibly advanced production facilities that even include their own wind tunnels.

I could go on, but I need to go.

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Simon says on Mar 20, 2007, 09:28:

I remember David Letterman one asked Juan Pablo Montoya on his show what was the difference between F1 and NASCAR and Montoya responded it was about the same as driving a Ferrari and a big pick-up truck. This was a couple of years back when Montoya was still in F1 of course.

"DON'T FOK WITH COLOMBIA!!"-----Simon

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CaptainHowdy says on Mar 20, 2007, 13:02:

Elitist vs. down-to-earth You make it sound as if F1 is for the superior minded, elitist, holier-than-thou person where as NASCAR is for the more common, down-to-earth person. Personally, I cannot relate to Ferraris, Renaults, Porsches, and all the other elitist make of cars. I drive a Chevy 1500 and I'm cool with that. I think we can all relate to NASCAR vs the elitist F1. As for me, I'm a very simple kind of guy. You guys can fight over status symbol, the rat race, keeping up with the Jones', brand names, and all this current events crap. My idea of the "road of life" is cruising down the access road in a '57 Chevy truck, window rolled down, arm on the door, chewing on a piece of hay. Life doesn't get any better than this....

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

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CaptainHowdy says on Mar 20, 2007, 15:58:

I don't care which way they turn as long as it's exciting and there is lots of passing, several lead changes, and you don't know who's going to win by lap 10...

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

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southern151 says on Mar 20, 2007, 16:00:

There are right hand turns... ...When they leave the pit stall. LOL Pretty exciting to watch that area especially under yellow when you have 20 or more cars all coming and leaving at the same time!

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elmodefoque says on Mar 22, 2007, 06:17:

Don’t know what some of you guys are talking about, I bumped into Montoya yesterday after work and he was quite gracious and very friendly. He told me he raced/exhibition in Cartagena about 3 years ago, I did not know that? It was done for charity.
NASCAR is promoting in Times Square, a couple blocks from where I work.
Not too many in NYC know who the fuk he is.

I'll get there, when I get there!

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southern151 says on Mar 23, 2007, 11:53:

Elmo has more celebrity encounters than the red carpet... at the Oscars!

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