Monday, June 25, 2007

Juan-Pablo Montoya: The Real Deal, or does he need to win on an oval in Nextel Cup?

Ganassi Racing's Montoya made his American racing bones in the former CART series, where the series raced on a mix of ovals, road courses and street courses, so the win at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point was not a total surprise. He also has an oval win in the Indianapolis 500--a race of some repute. Now he could back that up this week with a win at New Hampshire International Speedway, and we can crown him NASCAR Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year.
The Lash of NASCAR Justice--Hendrick Racing humbled?
The penalties for "messing around" with the car of tomorrow are severe--if you've listened to the fans calling the Sirius Radio talk shows--you'd think you were listening to talk about a capital murder case, for goodness' sake. The series is not as much about pure sport as it is entertainment. Once it got TV money...that premise went out the door. Anything to do with entertainment must sustain some drama...and the rule-bending has been in the auto racing news cycle for the past 72 hours...and will take on a life of its own. Take it as entertainment and enjoy the drama--because it has NO effect on how you live your life.