Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
Tom wrote:Still Monty deserves credit, he may only have had to hold his foot down for 40 secs, but he still beat 30 other guys who only had to do the same thing.
As much as I like Montoya and it was a wonderful achievement, that only shows the level of the grid to be honest.
"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build good engines" Enzo Ferrari
zenvision wrote:... As much as I like Montoya and it was a wonderful achievement, that only shows the level of the grid to be honest.
Agreed. If you do well at ASCAR you get a NASCAR truck series gig. It is like starting F1 doing some tests on F3 races. I wonder if this is good for him...
Besides, at ASCAR you don't have the same hp than at NASCAR, there are no restrictor plates at play: it is mainly aero, engine, constructor and tires (mmm... that reminds me of something... formula something ).
Montoya agreeds with it. Quotations after qualifying:
"Qualifying here makes your life easy," the former Indianapolis 500 champion said. "It makes you look really good, because you were flat (out) the whole time. They told me come out of the pits and just floor it and run as high as you can. And when you've got to start the second lap, just aim at the apron and stay low.
Doing this race is a good way to get acclimated to the type of car, and the level of aggression of what to expect. Talladega, as far as driving skills, is virtually non-existant. You just drive around and jockey for draft and position. But the pit stops will be invaluable in learning how to do them.
Talladega is a HUGE oval, high banked turns, and you just put the pedal to the metal and drive around. The car setup is tuned for speed, not handling. Braking only occurs on pit stops, emergencies, and riding them lightly to keep proper distance with the car in front. Yup, you control speed with the brake.
When you compare a Formula One car to a NASCAR stock car, the difference is huge. The center of gravity is much higher, as well as the roll center. The inertia is tremendous, they are like fat pigs compared to the rapiers of Formula One.
Qualifying is all about the car and the engine. You are given two flying laps, the best time of any lap counts. The cars run one at a time. You exit the pits, and immediately go high near the outside concrete to run maximum distance and to give as wide a radius to the turn as possible to build up speed. Then only onthe last lap do you run close down low to minimize distance, and get the quickest time. And you have to be smooth. Hmm, JPM smooth? I have to see this... lol
Well, Montoya got a 3rd place on his first race. The quote of the race, by Pablo Montoya (I guess all the people talking about red-necks will love this one):
"This isn't so much different than the fans in Germany," Pablo said with a laugh. "The Germans drink a lot of beer, too."
There is no need for any more comments about the german refinement
Actually, I feel compelled to apologize to germans in this forum. I am sure Pablo was just making a joke, not like the comments Michael Schumacher and some other forum members had made about NASCAR.
Another interesting comment (ehem, forum members) about the NASCAR rednecks, by Montoya Sr.:
"They live for this," he said. "In F1 you have a lot of people who go to the races just to show themselves or have people look at them. Not too many have a good idea of what's going on.
"Here, you'll have [more than 150,000] people on Sunday and 90 percent of them know what it's all about."
Finally, the comment of the race by ESPN:
Montoya was running third at the time after starting second, and thought he had a chance to win had there been enough light to finish.
"I was having so much fun I didn't care,'' Montoya said as he crawled out of the car.
He led the first nine laps.
He was running eighth when the right-front side of his car was damaged on a Lap 35 wreck that forced him to pit four times for repairs. He restarted 31st and quickly moved through the field with the help of eventual second-place finisher Steve Wallace, the son of former Cup driver Rusty Wallace.
"That was good [expletive], man,'' Rusty Wallace told Montoya during the post-race interview."
I can tell you I had more fun with that race that with all the last year's F1 races. You should have seen the man moving from 31st to 3rd... pure poetry.
Ciro Pabón wrote:I can tell you I had more fun with that race that with all the last year's F1 races. You should have seen the man moving from 31st to 3rd... pure poetry.
I was listening to the internet radio (no other way to follow the race here). It was a really strange experience. But I must admit it was fun and it was great. I'd love to be able to SEE it though.
“It’s frustrating, but we had the pace. It wasn’t bad luck. It was a reflection of our intensity of development.” - Ron Dennis
Well
I must say that it was a great race and the hype was real good. Monty showed really how good he is. Regardless that is is like F3 this was his first stock car race. His first.. He not only led for 10 laps, but went to the back of the pack twice and worked his way up to second to finish third.
Say what you will, but today Monty was monty. He was great
As someone who has watched a lot of stock car racing, it was an excellent show by Juan. He was patient all race, and never looked out of place. The only "mistake" I observed was when he was hit (absolutely no fault of his own) he pitted immediately, and was penalized for it. NASCAR has strange customs and rules, and if you pit before the pits are open, you get sent to the rar of the longest line on a restart. If he forgot, it was still the correct thing to do. The track is 2.66 miles around, and if he had a flat tire or serious damage, doing those extra laps may have caused permanent damage.
Thus, early in the race he was right at the back of the entire gaggle of cars. He slowly and methodically worked his way through the field. He ran the high line, he ran the low line, and was even right smack dab in the middle , literally surrounded on all sides, at 190 MPH.
He never jumped around, and to be honest, seeemd unspectacular. But then again, going 190 surrounded by 30 other cars, you don't make sudden moves.
But as the race developed into the final stages, he was right there, top five. He teamed up with another driver, showed patience and earned respect, and did what he said he was going to do, namely stick to the rear of that car and push him right to the front. Lo and behold, it came to pass, and for many laps Juan not only ran a very respectable second, he adjusted his line and blocked the car(s) behind. In oval racing like this, sticking to the very bottom is the only strategy. The lead car stayed ob the bottom, and when cars behind seemed ready to move up to the second lane in an attempt to pass, he slid up just a half car, and held them off.
Eventually, frank Kimmel, one of the most experienced and competent drivers there, found help and took the high line around the leaders to settle into first.
Soon after, there was a huge, stock car style accident, the sun was setting, and the race officials stopped the race and awarded the win to Kimmel. There was never the usual last ten lap melee for the win, so we will never know what may have transpired in the heat of combat.
Juan got third, and definitely scored a 9.5 out of 10 in my book.
Well done Juan, excellent.
You sure an ARCA car makes that much? With restrictor plates, a Cup car makes less than that, about 575-600. Without them a Cup car can pull over 800, which would put them at about 250 MPH on a big oval. Thats why they have restrictors. And why everyone runs 190, and why it's kind of boring, and why Opie Waltrip told Dave Despain last year that with a few pointers and a pat on the back anyone can run 'Dega.
Remember, too, that JPM won the Indy 500 and drove alot of ovals and a championship before he joined The Circus. He's not new to this sort of racing, just the car. And he has extreme talent.
If Jacques Villenueve joins Roush in the 6 car next year as is rumored, it will be fun to watch NASCAR again. Although I still watch it every weekend anyway. I'm a Ryan Newman fan. GO 12!!!
The Cup cars are restricted at Daytona and Talladega. Oddly, the fastest track on their calender is Atlanta. Because no one else runs restrictors at Talladega, most series like Busch and ARCA can run faster than Cup.
Driving skills are not required much at Talladega, for Montoya is was a learning experience on close pack racing. In his Champ car days, he ran a lot of ovals, so he is not a rookie on oval racing. But in NASCAR, they run so much closer, unlike Champ Car.
Heck, Montoya even did some bump drafting.......good for him. I wonder what racing sim he practiced that on.....
It is like starting F1 doing some tests on F3 races. I wonder if this is good for him...
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