Juan Pablo Montoya on Colombia
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Driver Juan Pablo Montoya, of …
AP - Jul 8, 1:30 pm EDT NASCAR Gallery CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Juan Pablo Montoya supported owner Chip Ganassi’s decision to shutter Dario Franchitti’s race team, believing it was for the betterment of the organization.
“I think the big picture people need to understand is we did this to make ourselves better,� Montoya said. “Short-term, people might think the team is crazy. But if we didn’t do this, we were never going to get any better.�
Ganassi pulled the plug on the No. 40 team last week because he’d been unable to secure sponsorship for Franchitti, who was struggling through his first season in NASCAR. The 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion missed five races with a broken ankle, failed to qualify for two others and was 41st in the standings when Ganassi pulled the plug.
Because he was funding the car out of his own pocket, Ganassi said he had to stop running the team or risk damaging Montoya and teammate Reed Sorenson’s seasons. Montoya is 21st in the standings and Sorenson is 32nd.
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Had he continued running the No. 40, Montoya said he worried about the long-term affects it would have on Ganassi’s entire NASCAR operation.
“It’s rough because, the way I looked at it, was keep it running and two years down the line shut down the whole team,� Montoya said. “Or do something about it now and make sure we’re running better. I am sure once we start running good again, he’ll find money to run a third car.
“But today, we’re not running the way we need to be running and it never helped running a car with no sponsorship.�
As long as Franchitti was outside the top-35—the point where cars are not ensured a spot in the field—Montoya felt Ganassi would not be able to land a sponsor.
“They were never 100 percent certain the car was going to make the race, so I think that was really hard,� Montoya said. “There’s always the question of how much longer can you actually go before you make the decision, and I think Chip did the best he could to try to run that car all year.
“But they wouldn’t be able to find a full-time sponsor for that car, that was the thing that did it in.�
Montoya isn’t sure what Franchitti will do next. He tried to call his teammate once last week, leaving him a voice mail, but had not spoken to Franchitti since the decision. Franchitti and Ganassi are supposed to talk this week about his future with the organization, and Franchitti was previously scheduled to drive this weekend’s Nationwide Series race in Chicago.
“It’s all about what Dario wants to do from here,� Montoya said. “Does he want to keep going? Does he want to race some Nationwide and try to get into Cup again? Those are all questions he has to answer.�
In the meantime, Montoya is hopeful the team morale will improve. Because 71 people lost their jobs in the closure, Montoya said it’s been an emotional time.
“I think right now everybody is frustrated because they had to let go of a lot of really good people,� he said. “But you have to look at the bigger picture, and right now the bigger picture is if we aren’t running better, the whole team would be in trouble. It’s hard on Dario on everybody, but it’s business.�
Montoya’s Q&A with AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer:
Juan Pablo Montoya, of Colombi…
AP - Jul 8, 1:28 pm EDT
Q: You intentionally spun Kyle Busch two weeks ago in New Hampshire. What was the reaction to that?
JPM: Well, you know, when you do stuff like that you never think about if people are going to like you are not. It’s the heat of the moment, he hit me, I hit him back harder. That’s what went down. The weird thing is people were really happy about it. I was surprised by that, but people were really happy and excited about it. I haven’t seen Kyle yet. I saw his spotter (Jeff Dickerson) and we were talking about it and laughing about it, and we were cool. So I am sure Kyle is cool, too.
Q: In NASCAR, when things like that happen, the culture is for drivers to call each other and talk it out and make it up. You have not talked to Kyle —
JPM: Am I supposed to call him?
Q: I don’t know.
JPM: Well I don’t know either.
Q: In any other series, is that the way it works?
JPM: In any other series I’ve been in, you don’t talk to anybody else. And you set me up with that question. But the difference here is you’ve got to be beside him and race beside him all the time and you’ve got to respect that. But I felt he broke that with me, and I retaliated.
Q: In hindsight, would you do it again?
JPM: Yeah.
Q: OK. Was the penalty fair?
JPM: I said yes. NASCAR told me we are going to give you a two-lap penalty for what you did and I thought it was completely fair. I know what I did was wrong, but I had to defend myself.
Q: Did you see what Junior said about you?
JPM: No. What?
Q: He said, “Juan’s a little firecracker man. He’s a good guy, but you just don’t push his buttons. You’ve got to respect him on the racetrack.�
JPM: That’s cool. I’ve been very good this year. I haven’t wrecked anybody. And I’ve been wrecked by people and I haven’t touched anybody. And I think that day Kyle had a frustrating day, I had a frustrating day, and we finally had a good car, a fast car, and we were running 24th and 25th. It was one of the days that you just go `Oh My God.’
Q: Have you followed the release of hostage Ingrid Betancourt and the others last week from Colombian rebels?
JPM: Yeah, I did. What happened, I read about it a little bit, I heard about it from like 100 people. It’s cool. It really shows the country is getting a lot better. The country is a lot safer. You don’t see a lot of kidnapping anymore. This is good publicity for Colombia. It’s good to see.
Q: Betancourt was held seven years. Was this is a big deal in Colombia all this time?
JPM: Not in Colombia. Outside Colombia it was. I don’t know why. In France they always protested about her, but in Colombia, people talked about it but it wasn’t overwhelming. There are so many other people who have been kidnapped and are still being held.
Q: Do you ever fear being kidnapped?
JPM: No.
Q: What about your wife, family, kids?
JPM: No.
Q: What makes you feel so safe?
JPM: Because I think the country is safe enough to be there. It’s a great country and I think people who visit are always surprised at how good the country is. It’s no different than any other place, any other city, in the world. If you go to the wrong places, you are going to get in trouble. It’s the same thing in Colombia.
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By mariacvetanoski on Jul 14, 2008, 13:30 in Friendly Talkzone.
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Simon says on Jul 14, 2008, 17:01: "Q: What makes you feel so safe? "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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kernow62 says on Jul 14, 2008, 21:02: Doesn't he live outside of the country though?
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Mononoke28 says on Jul 15, 2008, 07:43: I can't stand that guy ever since he went off on a guy for slightly bumping him in the head that one time. After I saw that I thought "Picado!" Diana 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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MitchAlvarez says on Jul 15, 2008, 07:45: yea yea ........he's a jerk and a douche bag "Ingrid callate la jeta!! Stay in France" 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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pavo says on Jul 15, 2008, 07:47: I ran into JPM at Humero a while back. They had a portion of the restaurant roped off for him and bodyguards. Of course he doesn't worry about kidnapping. He has a small army around him when he comes to Colombia.
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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 15, 2008, 07:58: He does seem to be a complete ass and is definitely the master of excuses, but he did say some worthwhile things about Colombia. You can't really blame the guy for having bodyguards. Famous people use them all over the world.
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Mononoke28 says on Jul 15, 2008, 08:01: I also thought the same thing about Juanes. I know that he goes all over MedellÃn and Bogotá by himself and says it all the time. But what I don't get is that he says the same thing about his family and how safe he thinks the country is for his wife and daughters. Now, a few months ago I read an interview with his wife and she said she loves Miami because she doesn't have to have all those bodyguards around her like she does when she visits Colombia. Diana 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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dwmte7 says on Jul 15, 2008, 11:50: here in daytona--nascar heaven--he gets bad press...they say he's a guy with a whole lot of 'attitude' baggage. and yes, he lives somewhere in the u.s. last time i heard. dwmte 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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tasco66 says on Jul 15, 2008, 11:53: OK, now I can't resist posting this video: Bravo, Presidente Uribe for the perfect operation! 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 15, 2008, 11:55: He leaves a bad taste wherever he goes. Why do you think he had to go that NASCAR bullshit? He quickly wore out his welcome in F1. No one goes from the pinnacle of motorsport to the redneck races unless they have to.
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dwmte7 says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:21: poor little richboy elite...i don't care what country they're from...unfortunately in this case it's colombia. dwmte 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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dwmte7 says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:22: somebody's--one of them rednecks--is gonna put his ass in the dirt if he continues like this. dwmte 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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gamm2 says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:38: just watching the videos with no other background - it doesn't seem that bad to me... Im sure a great majority of the guys on this site would react exactly the same way...
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romy says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:44: The guy is an uneducated fool that knows how to drive a car... sure Colombian pride comes out to see him do well, but anything he says is not worth my time of day.
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Cerealkiller says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:49: Elite boy? JPM is anything but...his wife, on the other hand, is...but that's as close as "rich elite boy" gets. Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:50: I posted that video a while back as well. If anything, it was JPM's fault. How could the cameraman be expected to see him. Even so, he apologized to JPM and even that didn't help. His wife sounded very embarrassed and frustrated.
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MitchAlvarez says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:51: natural reaction is to fuck up the camera man. i give him credit for holding back at least...... "Ingrid callate la jeta!! Stay in France" 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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dwmte7 says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:51: CK i watched a documentary of pablo on tv a couple of years ago. it showed him growing up in fancy gocarts, highly supported by anything but poor folks. sorry. dwmte 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 15, 2008, 12:55: That may be the natural reaction for an asshole like JPM. A sensible person would watch were he's going, notice a crowd of press and walk around. On a personal level, he is an embarrassment to Colombia and on a professional level, he couldn't hack it in F1. NASCAR is a joke and he still can't hack it. Screw that self-important midget.
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romy says on Jul 15, 2008, 13:01: Don't know JPMs bio? don't really care to... but Carting is a very expensive sport until you get sponsored, so it was either TOTAL (as in they didn't eat) devotion from his dad, or they had the means.
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Cerealkiller says on Jul 15, 2008, 13:04: I never said he was poor. There is a large middle class in Colombia and I don't know what elite means to many americans who go to Colombia but in Colombia elite = 1% of the population and everyone knows who they are...rest of affluent Colombia can live comfortably but they are certainly no elite. Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 15, 2008, 13:05: I think his dad was a racer as well. I don't thing they were rich because they supposedly used to fly to US training and races in the back of a refrigerated flower cargo plane.
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romy says on Jul 15, 2008, 13:11: don't know why I can't post what I had to say, regardless I mostly agree
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Cerealkiller says on Jul 15, 2008, 13:16: I don't really care for the guy, he seems a bit pedantic, but everything he has he earned with hard work and sacrifice. He might be a complete ass but his Smile foundation has done a lot for poor children in Colombia. My point is at least he's got something to brag about... Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Mononoke28 says on Jul 15, 2008, 13:24: Well, yes he's a good driver. But no, he's not the great driver he thinks he is. He was always behind Michael Schumacher and his jealousy was palpable. Then he gets an offer to race in NASCAR and he can't stand out. It was a lose, lose situation for him. Diana 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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lampltr says on Jul 15, 2008, 18:13: CG, JP has always been with the team (USA & Europe) and never left....before McLaren Mercedes split, who was the big player...owner Chip Ganassi negotiated with Chrysler who in turn convinced Mercedes to let him go early and return to the states to continue on with Ganassi/Sebats (Spelling), racing where he had previously won championships. In addition, Juan never liked the F1 scene as many were cold towards one another and a few other reasons. Most importantly was his family in Miami and a long term contract back with his main team. 1st year back and he wins the championship, great strategy I believe on behalf of Ganassi. He may not be well liked by some but I have always felt the opposite personally (Yes did meet and speak with him in the team paddocks between practice sessions here in Europe). He also does much with the less fortunate especially in the KART scene.
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MaFe says on Jul 15, 2008, 18:20: I met him in Monte Carlo a few years ago, he was actually very nice and noticed us because of the Colombian flag. I liked what he said about Colombia... "All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 15, 2008, 18:26: When you say Mclaren Mercedes split, I assume you mean when JPM left McLaren. I'm sure he tried to spin it to make it sound like his choice, but let's be honest. He really had no good options after burning his bridges at Williams and McLaren. When faced with the option of racing for a back marker, the NASCAR deal looked sweet, plus the money was good. The thing that bugged me about the guy was his constant stream of excuses. I remember him bitching that his own team had sabotaged his car. Good riddance. I'm glad that hothead is no longer in F1. I am glad that he does some charity work, but that is another issue.
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