Juan Pablo Montoya has never driven in NASCAR competition. Credit: Autostock

Ganassi tabs Montoya to drive No. 42 in '07

JOLIET, Ill. -- In one of the most surprising driver announcements in recent memory, Chip Ganassi on Sunday named Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya to drive his No. 42 Dodge in 2007.

Montoya, 30, has no NASCAR experience. Ganassi signed Montoya to a multi-year deal, which makes him the first F1 regular to make the move to Nextel Cup. Montoya has been an F1 regular since 2001.

	Credit: AP
	Inside the Numbers Juan Pablo Montoya in F1 Year Starts W T5 T10 2001 17 1 5 6 2002 17 0 12 12 2003 16 2 10 12 2004 18 1 10 13 2005 17 3 7 10 2006 10 0 4 5 Totals 95 7 48 58

"Chip told me, 'You need to convince me that you need to do this,'" said Montoya. "'It is a matter of three years down the road, will you be excited doing what you're doing?'. I will be a lot happier here."

The No. 42 Dodge was considered by some in the Cup garage to be the best available car for 2007. Casey Mears announced last month that he was leaving Ganassi to drive the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Not long after Mears' defection, Montoya called Ganassi and asked for the job -- and Ganassi gave it to him. Just like that.

"It took us an hour to go through everything," said Montoya. "It was that simple. It is hard to turn it down."

Ganassi knows that Montoya will face a steep learning curve, but he also said that he expects Montoya to succeed at NASCAR's top level.

"I have seen this guy adapt to car like no driver like I have ever seen," Ganassi said. "No question, he can adapt to a Cup car. He will be doing Cup and Busch. I know my team is up for it. Is it not going to be a walk in the park."

Montoya is in the midst of the F1 season, which does not end until Oct. 22. After that is complete, Montoya will immediately begin testing for next season.

Because Montoya has no stock car experience, he will have to undergo a rigid program designed to get him approved by NASCAR for the 2007 Daytona 500.

"It is going to be a lot tougher than you think," Montoya said. "I am glad to be here. I had a couple of options in F1, but coming here and knowing I am going to be a rookie again, to be here in America is exciting. I couldn't turn this down. I couldn't throw it away."

Ganassi said that he has a structured plan to get Montoya cleared to race.

INDY SHUFFLE Nearly three years ago, Juan Pablo Montoya traded rides with Jeff Gordon for a day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  •   Complete story,  click here

"We looked at the F1 schedule and we are working closely to get everyone involved," said Ganassi. "When the F1 season ends, we can squeeze a couple of things in. It is going to be a busy winter."

Montoya won the 2000 Indy 500 while driving for Ganassi, but Ganassi said that Montoya won't be doing the Indy-Charlotte double.

Still, Ganassi said that his team was ecstatic about the hiring.

"Everyone was surprised and yet, they were pleasantly surprised," said Ganassi. "Obviously, our team has had its up and downs, and we were sort of concerned about what type of driver was going to be available."