From the Marbles - NASCAR

From the Marbles

Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:16 am EDT

Wreck of the week: Thanks for playing, Juan Pablo

By Jay Busbee

One of the feelgood stories of the early Chase was the fine run of Juan Pablo Montoya, the first-ever foreign-born driver to make the Chase. Four races, four top-five finishes. And then came Charlotte, where it all kinda fell apart ...

Tough news for Montoya, who has consistently had the most enjoyable radio broadcasts to listen to every race. (Not safe for work or kids, of course.) But his fine run through the first part of the Chase portends well for his future. From what he's learned this year, we could have a Chase perennial right here in front of us.

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27 Comments

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  1. Carol
    1. Posted by Carol Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:03 am EDT

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    One hardly expects a guy to win the Championship the first time he makes the Chase. JPM has been steadily improving in Nascar, and he still has a chance to finish in the top of the class. We'll see him hoisting the Cup in due time!
  2. kinggeorge
    2. Posted by kinggeorge Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:19 am EDT

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    Blue wasn't Juan's best color.
  3. MarkN
    3. Posted by MarkN Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:37 am EDT

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    Carol it's happened before
  4. Go CU Tigers
    4. Posted by Go CU Tigers Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:42 am EDT

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    I'm afraid as long as Jimmie Johnson and this Chase gimic is around, nobody else is taking home the big trophy. I'd say that with the same guy winning four years in a row in the most boring way possible, it's time for NASCAR to go back to the old points system, but at this point there's no going back, NASCAR is done. A second-tier sport at best.
  5. packerd_00
    5. Posted by packerd_00 Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:51 am EDT

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    Carol-Why not.
  6. Carol
    6. Posted by Carol Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:21 pm EDT

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    Well MarkN I guess you could say Kurt Busch did it in 04, since that was the first year of the Chase.
    But, Pack; a guy like Montoya who has begun racing in Sprint Cup fairly recently and had to learn a new discipline, I was tickled that he made the Chase but I don't think he's ready to win it. And I don't think Earnhardt/Ganassi has the best equipment.
  7. packerd_00
    7. Posted by packerd_00 Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:46 pm EDT

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    Carol-I think he expected to win it all this year or atleast take it to the final race,the way his career has gone in other forms off racing,first year in the chase or not.
  8. Willy Doer
    8. Posted by Willy Doer Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:18 pm EDT

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    Good to see JPM do well i guess. Nice to see a fresh face up near the top.
  9. Dani
    9. Posted by Dani Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:26 pm EDT

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    I think it would be wild if JPM took the title (it could happen) or even come in 2nd. Talk about a shocker!!!
  10. MarkN
    10. Posted by MarkN Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:30 pm EDT

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    Packerd Carl thought he was going to win it all this year also, that's why they are there to win they all think they can win not just JPM.I remember you putting JPM down last year he has improved a ton this year along with his team.
  11. Carol
    11. Posted by Carol Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:33 pm EDT

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    Oh Pack, I def think you're right about what HE expected! Not as easy as he thought it would be, lol!
  12. Fred M
    12. Posted by Fred M Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:01 pm EDT

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    As soon as that team gets JPM the right equipment, he'll win many races and championships.
  13. W-mann
    13. Posted by W-mann Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:40 pm EDT

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    That's how you get some exciting racing. Since everyone has to drive the same car template now, just make the cars have quarterpanels like that. With everybody wrestling their cars like crazy, you'll get plenty of good racing and big wrecks and no one will even have to throw a fraudulent debris caution.
  14. Mitchell
    14. Posted by Mitchell Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:27 pm EDT

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    Nascar is rig. it not even a sport anymore
  15. Mitchell
    15. Posted by Mitchell Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:28 pm EDT

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    Nascar is rig. it not even a sport anymore
  16. Oliver Klosov
    16. Posted by Oliver Klosov Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:51 pm EDT

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    Thanks for posting that twice, Mitch... proves you are a true numb-skull, and meant to be a numb-skull.... wtf is rig? you mean "rigged"??? Is you last name Busby, by any chance??
    BTW - JPM has about as much chance of winning the championship as Kyle Petty... zippy....
  17. boydabivens@...
    17. Posted by boydabivens@... Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:11 am EDT

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    As my old friend Turp said in 1991, NASCAR racing is rigged. It `s boring. They are not stopping cheating. I would rather cut grass than watch.
    It`s is all about making the Francis family and Bruton Smith richer. They don`t give a hoot about the fans or the minor players. Hendricks must own a big chunck of NASCAR stock.
    It has become a huge circus and has certainly has pulled the wool over the true racing fans eyes. You`all ought to go to your local tracks, dirt or asphalt, and watch some real racing in the lower classes.
    When a driver gets out there and half-laps the field time and again, and N has to call a "debris" caution to bunch up the field, you should know that something is not kosher. They ought to change their name to National Association of Stupid Customers Again Ripped-off.
  18. Ernest
    18. Posted by Ernest Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:44 am EDT

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    Brian Pattie hung him out to dry, following the contact with Bowyer & Martin. In hindsight they should've
    pitted, Pattie insisted Juan Pablo stay out and wait for a caution, that never came, that gamble rarely pays
    off. Pattie got greedy and it cost his driver a chance to stay on the lead lap.
  19. el duro
    19. Posted by el duro Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:21 am EDT

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    Again.........JPM's team need to work on pit crew.
  20. Willy Doer
    20. Posted by Willy Doer Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:46 am EDT

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    Greed takes over everything leaving the product to suffer. Better to take a cheap turd and wrap it in a shiny package for an 80% profit margin, than to actually do your homework and make a better product in EVERY corporations eyes....I don't beleive this sport is fixed, but they definately try to manipulate it. To fix a sport you have to have control of the participants....to manipulate a sport, you simply have to be able to make the rules.
  21. packerd_00
    21. Posted by packerd_00 Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:18 pm EDT

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    MarkN-Yeah I whats your good damn point, I was saying to Carol that Juan wasnt running like a fresh faced rookie chase contender he was racing like a veteran. It couldnt have went the other way with Juan no other Open Wheel driver came through did they.
  22. packerd_00
    22. Posted by packerd_00 Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:18 pm EDT

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    MarkN-Yeah I did whats your [profane] point, I was saying to Carol that Juan wasnt running like a fresh faced rookie chase contender he was racing like a veteran. It couldnt have went the other way with Juan no other Open Wheel driver came through did they.
  23. packerd_00
    23. Posted by packerd_00 Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:32 pm EDT

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    Carol-No I didnt think so either, same deal with Denny if you dont expect you wont be disappointed.
  24. Carol
    24. Posted by Carol Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:41 pm EDT

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    Not as much as JPM did, Pack, but I think Marcos Ambrose will turn out well. He's been in Nascar less time than JPM, but is currently running 17th in the standings.

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