Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Speed not interested in driving for Charlotte-based Formula One team

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor

Saturday, February 21, 2009

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FONTANA, Calif. – A new Formula One team based in the United States will announce its plans Tuesday, but no Sprint Cup drivers with connections to the series expect to be involved.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who has seven career Formula One victories, seemed surprised when asked about the pending announcement Friday at Auto Club Speedway in California.

“I didn’t even know there was supposed to be a team here,” Montoya said.

Scott Speed, who competed in Formula One in 2006 and 2007, laughed when asked if he was going back to that circuit.

“No, I don’t think so,” the Red Bull Racing driver said. “I’ve been there, done that.”

Maybe the only driver with significant open-wheel experience who could be persuaded to go to Formula One is AJ Allmendinger, who is without a full-time Sprint Cup ride.

Allmendinger said he is scheduled to run the first eight races this year, plus the July race in Daytona for Richard Petty Motorsports.

“It has intrigue for sure,” said Allmendinger, who won five Champ Car races before migrating to NASCAR. “Driving a race car, no matter what it is, has intrigue to me. That [car] is something that I haven’t driven before, so it’s intriguing, but it’s not my focus either.

“I really do love being here. I’ve had a lot of fun during the stressful times, especially this year with the group of guys that we’ve put together for the 44 [car] because it was last-minute deal, they are guys that want to be here. We’re having fun. Through all the stressful times that we had in Daytona, in between that, I was having a lot of fun, probably the most fun that I’ve had at a race track in long time. You don’t say, ‘No’ to anything, but that’s not my focus.”

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Comments

12 responses to "Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Speed not interested in driving for Charlotte-based Formula One team". Post a Comment.

1

Pat Draper said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 11:55 AM
I doubt if any of the 3 would be interested in going back to Formula One. I have heard JPM say a couple of times how much his wife liked the family end of nascar and she and the children are very happy there. AJ i doubt it if anyone watch him on Trackside last night he is staying no matter what. He loves everything about nascar and he's planning on sticking it out. Scott Speed also has said he likes Nascar and wants to stay in it. So we shall see what happens. JPM i'm sure of the other two ??????????
2

Keith Johnson said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 4:42 PM
They all say no now, wait till the money starts talking and we will see one of them take the deal.
3

peter peter said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Nascar is national sport..Formula 1 is international sport watched by whole world..We need to have great ambassador of our country in F1.. prove the world that Americans can drive.. Montoya? are you kidding? he wasn't even mention by USF1..and he failed in F1..Scott Speed didn't even score a point in 2 years in F1..We need to have really great talented driver there. Entire world will be watching us.
4

debra bates said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Scott Speed has no respect for the National Athem.You are suppose to stand and show respect when it sung or played,not act like a little kid. Somebody please tell him or show him how to act
5

Jozef Colomy said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Supposedly though they are looking for American drivers, American companies to sponsor the team, American technology behind the team etc. They want to vertically integrate the team with "American-ness", which is really cool. But it also means Montoya need not apply.
6

Bruce Lassiter said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Hey KYLE PETTY!..... (Are you reading this article?) You have said in previous news articles that you would like to get involved in another type, or "venue" of car racing. Why don't you have "your people" talk with this new team and see if they would be interested in hiring you on as their new driver? *(The Petty name might go a long way.....)
7

Bernadette Motherway said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Kyle Petty WOULD make a great ambassador for the F1 sport!!!!!
8

Werner Boehmert said:
Feb 21, 2009 at 7:25 PM
what a lame article...somewhere i saw that Danica Patrick's was to test for this ride...
9

Shorty Jr. said:
Feb 22, 2009 at 10:02 AM
JPM a failure in F1?I guess 7 wins including Indy in a sport where there's no passing isn't noteworthy.It's still garbage racing in my opinion.
10

Werner Boehmert said:
Feb 22, 2009 at 11:04 AM
hard to pass in F1 when you don't have a bumper...i like the strategies in F1...
11

Tim Hollister said:
Feb 22, 2009 at 11:44 AM
A few here in NASCAR to to go there....Sure!! I'd also say Michael and Kyle for sure should at least approach the people and let them know that they might be interested. Oh, yeah...and R.Gordon who would be a great addition there too!
12

Rex Lee said:
Feb 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Montoya I believe has a good future ahead of him in Nascar. Now that D.E.I. and Ganasi has merged they look like they might be compititive. Looking down the road it seems like he might have oportunities availible to him later on. The Cat can drive and things are shaking down in alot of different ways with the new teams and teams combining forces. He's a top teir driver, if he gets with a top teir team he will be a major factor.