Print

Mail

wiki links

Montoya blasts back at Schumi's NASCAR cynicism

Michael Schumacher apparently can't understand why Juan Pablo Montoya would leave Formula One for NASCAR.

Montoya, for his part, doesn't seem to care what the seven-time world champion thinks.

"Schumacher in America is nobody," said Montoya, who's steadily building on an already strong US fan base.

Montoya, preparing his new Dodge Charger this week for the Daytona 500, was responding to comments Schumacher made last weekend.

"Personally, I wouldn't do it," Schumacher told the New York Times. "What do you do in NASCAR? What is exciting there? I can't see that, running around on ovals."

Although Montoya said he thinks Schumacher could make the transition, he said he's learned firsthand that stock cars are much harder than his former F1 foes believe.

"People don't understand what a big challenge this style of racing is," Montoya said.

`Heart Attack'

"Michael Schumacher, just take him to Homestead [Florida] and tell him to stay half a second off the pace. He would have a heart attack," he added.

Montoya is proving to be a fast study, pacing Tuesday morning's test session with a fast lap at 296.979kph. David Stremme, his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, was second at 296.826kph.

The two held their own in the afternoon drafting session, with Montoya running 15th and Stremme 18th.

Confident

The confident Colombian, who won a CART championship and the Indianapolis 500 before moving to F1, said he believes experience would give him the edge on Schumacher should the two ever compete in NASCAR.

"It would be a hard transition [for Schumacher] for sure," he said. "It's not an easy transition. I had the advantage that I raced two years of ovals and did a little bit of stock cars with little ones when I started my career. All that really helps."
This story has been viewed 1465 times.