Ganassi's door remains open to Montoya

Posted on August 30, 2013 by

Ganassi doesn’t rule out potential future opportunities for long-time EGR driver

HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Larson may be taking over the No. 42 car beginning next season, but owner Chip Ganassi isn’t ruling out working with outgoing driver Juan Pablo Montoya again sometime in the future.

Montoya’s contract with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will not be renewed after this season, which means the end of a seven-year run with the Sprint Cup Series team for the former Indianapolis 500 champion and Formula One race winner. Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, EGR introduced current Nationwide Series driver Larson as the heir apparent to Montoya’s car beginning in 2014.

But Montoya is clearly still in Ganassi’s thoughts.

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“Sure,” the car owner said. “I wouldn’t say the door is closed. Certainly the door is not closed. Having said that, the door is never closed to people we’ve worked with in the past. I think I’ve shown that. Drivers have left us and come back, they’ve left us and been back. So it’s been all over the map. So no, the door is never closed.”

Jamie McMurray, who has re-signed to continue in EGR’s No. 1 car next season, is one example of a driver who left the organization and later returned. Montoya has also done the same, winning the Indy 500 for Ganassi’s open-wheel program before reuniting with the owner in NASCAR following a six-year F1 stint that netted seven grand prix victories.

In addition to the two Sprint Cup cars he co-owns with Teresa Earnhardt, Ganassi also fields three IndyCar entries and one Daytona Prototype in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Montoya has offered few hints as to his next destination, except to say he wants to drive a winning car and that his heart has always been in open-wheel racing.

“In terms of Juan, bringing him back to open-wheel racing, whatever, I think at this time let me say this: Juan has been a great asset to our team for many years. We’ve enjoyed a lot of success with him. He’s not only a driver of our team, he’s a great friend of mine,” Ganassi said.

“I think there are always opportunities in our team that seem to present themselves. You never know from time to time when those come along. With all the different cars we have, it does make for some great opportunities at different times. I’m certainly not counting him out of any opportunities or potential opportunities coming along.”

Following his third-place qualifying run Friday evening, Montoya said he had no news regarding his future. “When I know something, you’ll know something. I’m looking at everything, to be honest with you,” he said. And his relationship with Ganassi remains intact.

“The way I see it, when I talk with Chip, it’s friendship above everything else,” Montoya said. “We get on really well. He wants to go in a different direction, I understand.”

Atlanta’s qualifying session continued what’s become a strong swan song at EGR for Montoya, who finished third last weekend at Bristol and hasn’t placed worse than 11th the past three weeks. The Colombian is enjoying his most consistent stretch of the season even though he’s looking for a ride for next year.

“We’ve been running this well all year, now it’s just not falling apart,” he said. “I mean, were haven’t run out of gas, and we’ve been having good pit stops. Earlier in the year we were running this good, but we had like four races in a row when loose tires were happening and things were falling off the car. Now, it’s good. The last few weeks have been really solid.”

Whether or not Montoya drives for Ganassi in some capacity next season, the friendship between the two men remains — which is why, Ganassi said, breaking the news to Montoya about not renewing his contract was so painful. Montoya has won two Sprint Cup races on road courses at EGR, and made the Chase for the Sprint Cup once since joining the organization in 2007.

“He’s a good friend of mine, and we’re going to remain friends,” Ganassi said. “It was true, it was a tough decision. It was difficult to tell him that. It was not one of the more pleasant decisions of my life.”

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Posted on August 30, 2013 by

Racing prodigy, 21, to replace Montoya in No. 42 Chevrolet

HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Larson is used to being the young guy.

He started racing sprint cars at 14, one of the youngest competitors in that discipline in his native state of California. He made the jump into NASCAR’s national division at 19. And Friday, the 21-year-old was named the next driver of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 car, which he’ll take over on a full-time basis next season after Juan Pablo Montoya moves on.

It’s the biggest leap yet for a driver who has excelled at every other step in his career, consistently showing off a talent level that belies his age. He’ll try to do that again next season, on the heels of a debate over whether Larson is ready for NASCAR’s premier circuit despite having just 29 national starts to his name entering this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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“I’d like to prove the people that don’t think I’m ready for it wrong, and the guys who think I am ready, let them pump their chests out a little bit,” said Larson, clad in a new red Target polo shirt. “But as long as I’m running top 15, I’m happy. I don’t know if the fans and the media people think that’s good enough, but I think that’s about where I’ll set my goals for next year. I’ve never let the pressure get to me, of running well or anything like that. I’ve always kind of sat back and raced and did the best I could. I think that’s paid off for me in all the years I’ve been racing.”

Montoya revealed two weeks ago that he would not return to the No. 42 car next season, ending a run of seven years with EGR. For principal owner Chip Ganassi, the next move was a natural one. Although he spoke with other Sprint Cup drivers, he offered the ride only to Larson, an EGR developmental driver currently competing full-time in the Nationwide Series for Turner Scott Motorsports.

It’s something of a controversial decision, given that a year ago Larson was preparing for just his second start in the Camping World Truck Series. The former dirt track phenom stands eighth in Nationwide points, with a best finish of second, and is perhaps best known for being involved in a horrific Daytona crash in which his car spun up into the catch fence. He’s yet to complete a full season in any national NASCAR series, and now he’s ticketed for the sport’s big league.

“We do feel that we need to continue Kyle Larson’s growth, and putting him in a Cup car was the very next step,” Ganassi said. “We’re sure there are going to be growing pains. We think he’s ready. And some of those growing pains will come whenever his first year in the series is. So I think it’s a good opportunity. My expectations and advice to him would be to keep the car on the track and run laps.”

Larson believes he’s ready.

“I feel like I can go out there and contend,” he said. “I’ve raced with some Cup guys in the Nationwide Series this year, learned a lot from them. Raced them hard, beat some of them. So I think I can do it. Chip obviously thinks I can do it. So that’s all that really matters to me.”

Ganassi said he aims to get Larson some Sprint Cup starts this season, perhaps in a No. 51 car now owned by Turner Scott co-owner Harry Scott Jr. Discussions toward that end are taking place, Ganassi said, though nothing has been finalized. It appears unlikely that Montoya would step out of the No. 42 before the end of the year. “That’s not our M.O., to push anybody out of any seats,” Ganassi added.

Larson will also run much of the Nationwide slate again next season, likely with Turner Scott, although Ganassi had not yet formalized his schedule. Ganassi added there were no plans at the moment to change any other personnel on the No. 42 team, and that Jamie McMurray had been re-signed to continue in the organization’s No. 1 car.

Running a full Sprint Cup schedule in addition to most of the Nationwide slate means Larson will cut down on his sprint car races for 2014. Larson estimates he’s running between 55 and 60 of those events this year, and will aim for about 10 next season. “I’m ready to slow down a little bit,” Larson said.

Next year, the No. 42 car will be his priority. Ganassi said he didn’t make the move out of fear of losing Larson to another team, given that the driver remained under contract to EGR. The owner also said it was a racing decision, and not a sponsor-driven one. Like many in the garage, Ganassi is a big believer in Larson’s pure driving ability, which first captured his attention during the Nationwide opener at Daytona earlier this year.

“I remember watching him in the race after hearing how special this kid is, how special he is,” Ganassi said. “He was kind of running around the Nationwide race, 14th or 12th or something, and I was like, ‘What the hell is so special about this kid?’ But sure enough, at the finish line, he was right there. He was here and there at the finish line, I should say. Be that as it may, that to me was special. I’ve seen that five or six or eight times now, where he gives the impression he’s dilly-dallying in the middle of the pack not paying attention, but always at the end he always seems to be where it matters to be. That says something to me.”

He’s not alone.

“I think Kyle has definitely proven across the board that he can drive anything, anywhere, anytime,” said Ryan Newman, who like Larson comes from a dirt background. “And there are a few drivers out there that can do that. And when I say a few, I mean there’s 20 or 30 that are that good. But I think … in the end, we all know Kyle has a lot of talent.”

Jimmie Johnson speculated earlier this season that Larson could thrive in a Sprint Cup car, given that he comes from sprint cars that boast horsepower on a similar level. Larson he felt comfortable in a premier-series vehicle during a test earlier this year at Rockingham, N.C.

“With my sprint car background, they’re 1,400-pound cars with 900-horsepower engines. So I’m used to having way too much horsepower,” said Larson, who won a Truck Series race at Rockingham last year. “So I think it will translate well in the Cup cars. … I think that’s where I struggle a little bit in the Nationwide stuff, I probably don’t really understand momentum quite as good as Kyle (Busch) or somebody. So I think the Cup stuff will be a little bit better for me. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.”

Newman said Larson’s biggest challenge could lie outside of the car.

“I think the biggest challenge he’s going to have ahead of him is not what happens outside of this room, but what happens inside of this room, and the media part of it, the publicity part of it,” the 17-time Sprint Cup race winner said in the Atlanta media center. “The potential pressure if you let it get to you is more of a challenge, I think, then sitting in the seat behind the wheel and doing your job as a driver.”

Larson said he’s learned to not let outside factors affect him. “As long as I’m out there living up to my expectations or Chip’s expectations, that’s all that matters,” he said. As far as the car owner is concerned, there was no other choice but this “kid” who impressed almost every time he took to the track.

“There’s an opportunity here, and he’s a great driver, and he’s obviously the No. 1 pick as said by many other people besides myself,” Ganassi said. “Nobody deserves a shot more than he does.”

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Posted on August 30, 2013 by

Roush Fenway Racing will start two in front row as Edwards qualifies second

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HAMPTON, Ga.– Poised to make his 30^th start in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finally has his name in the record book.

Taking full advantage of a late draw, and running the bottom of the track where he had practiced, Stenhouse blitzed Friday’s time trials at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a pole-winning speed of 189.688 mph.

Navigating the 1.54-mile intermediate track in 29.227 seconds, Stenhouse knocked Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards (189.021 mph) off the provisional pole for Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), the 25th Cup race of the season and the next to last before the Chase field is set.

Juan Pablo Montoya qualified third at 188.539 mph, followed by Denny Hamlin (188.533 mph) and Jeff Gordon (188.053).

The Coors Light pole award was the first for Stenhouse, who has yet to record a top 10 in a Sprint Cup race. It was also something of a surprise for the driver of the No. 17 Ford, who was 23^rd fastest in Friday’s practice and picked up more than four miles per hour over his fastest practice time.

"It’s finally good to get something accomplished this year," said Stenhouse, who is battling girlfriend Danica Patrick for rookie-of-the-year honors in the Cup series. "We have not gotten much accomplished of what we thought we should of the goals that we were setting out to get.

"I felt really good about our race car. We ran a lap at the end of practice on new tires, and looking at the guys that also made runs right there at the end (of practice), we stacked up right there with them… The draw was a huge benefit to us, and it’s good to finally get something accomplished. It was a lot of fun today, and hopefully we can run strong in the race."

Edwards was the 31^st driver to make a qualifying attempt, and the driver of the No. 99 Ford ran the top of the track on his money lap, convinced that was the fastest way around. But Stenhouse, on the advice of team owner Jack Roush, stayed on the bottom lane, and that line paid off handsomely.

"I ran the top, and I thought the top was the deal–that was it," Edwards said. "And Jack said (to Stenhouse) to run the bottom. They joked around on TV and asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘He should run the bottom.’ I thought there’s no way he’ll beat us if he runs the bottom.

"And there he did it… I give Ricky a lot of credit for not changing his line after seeing how fast we were on top. That’s really tough to stick to your guns and stick to what you know. He did a great job."

Of the drivers fighting for the final spots in the Chase, Jeff Gordon qualified fifth, Martin Truex Jr. sixth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. eighth, Joey Logano 11^th, Ryan Newman 17^th, Kasey Kahne 18^th, Brad Keselowski 23^rd, Greg Biffle 24^th and Kurt Busch 32^nd.

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