 | | Juan Montoya's foray into NASCAR has brought a new audience to Chip Ganassi Racing's Web site. Credit: Getty Images |
By David Newton, NASCAR.com
October 30, 2006
04:30 PM EST (21:30 GMT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Usted no habla inglés? No problem. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has launched a fully-functional microsite in Spanish for fans that wish to follow Colombian-born Juan Montoya as he makes the transition from Formula One to NASCAR's Nextel Cup. The link can found at www.espanol.chipganassiracing.com. "Although the initial Spanish site will serve to accommodate the outpouring of Juan Pablo fans and media that have spiked our traffic number, we plan to continue to develop this medium for all our racing teams across the board," said Dan Griffis, CGR Teams, Inc. vice president of marketing. ESPN Deportes Radio, in conjunction with MRN, also announced plans to provide live Spanish-speaking updates from tracks where there is a heavily-populated Hispanic market. "I commend MRN and ESPN Deportes for bringing NASCAR to the Hispanic people,'' Sabates said. "It's about time we did that.'' Both ventures are another step as NASCAR taps into the Hispanic market that is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. Montoya's arrival into the sport has come with worldwide fanfare. The Ganaasi website has had hits from more than 100 countries since it was announced in July that the former Indianapolis 500 winner would replace Casey Mears in the No. 42 Cup car in 2007. Media representatives from several countries outside the U.S. that don't normally cover the sport were on hand when Montoya made his stock car debut in an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway in early October. There were numerous Colombian flags flying in Memphis, Tenn., this past weekend as Montoya finished 11th in his Busch Series debut. Montoya is expected to enter the final three Busch Series races this season at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami, with his Nextel Cup debut expected at the season-finale at Homestead. Sabates expects the Spanish-speaking community to become a big part of the sport that he has been a part of for 20 years. "When [Montoya] ran the Formula One race in Indianapolis there were probably more Colombians and Latinos there than Americans,'' he said. "I expect to see that to continue to grow. I really think he will bring a lot of the Spanish market to NASCAR.'' Sabates said the Hispanic community has been clamoring for a driver to follow in Cup. "Well, yeah,'' he said. "We like our own people. ... It's a huge benefit for NASCAR. It benefits everybody in NASCAR. Not only us, but MRN, ESPN.Deportes and everybody involved in the sport.'' | 
