The speculation regarding JPM continues to swirl as his two teams -
McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates - work out the details of his release: when and where he will be able to get into a stock car. For now it appears Montoya is on a variation of Gardening Leave. Stay tuned.
In other, slightly related,
F1 news: Open Wheel driver, PATRICK CARPENTIER, was in Loudon Saturday for the New Hampshire International Speedway round of NASCAR Nextel Cup. Carpentier and ROBERT DESROSIERS of Mecachrome International held a brief, impromptu Press Conference. Carpentier made no secret of his mission - to talk with Busch teams regarding future options. Desrosiers, who may or may not be Carpentier's agent, works with Mecachrome International. Desrosiers said that the French-based company was switching from
Formula One to NASCAR, where it is already supplying engine parts. He also indicated Mecachrome might be interested in sponsoring a Busch race in Montreal at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit.
Carpentier last raced with EDDIE CHEEVER in Indy Racing League in 2005 and with Cheever at the Rolex 24 Hours of
Daytona. Cheever has only one car this year in IRL and he's the driver. Carpentier also raced twice with A1GP for Team Canada. The personable French Canadian had a long career with CART with five victories in eight years, after a good run with
Toyota Atlantics.
Unlike his former fellow CART driver, JPM, Carpentier has no illusions about jumping straight into Nextel Cup. He wants to move very slowly, trying CASCAR (Canadian stock cars), ARCA and Busch.
Another foreign driver who is moving slowly and surely in NASCAR is Aussie MARCOS AMBROSE, who tested and prepared for more than a year before starting his run of selected races in the Craftsman Truck Series. He is thirtieth in the standings out of 66 drivers, with 11 starts in a 14-race season. Rookie Ambrose has had one pole, one top five and one top ten finish and two DNF's.
It would appear that we are witnessing the birth of NASCAR's Globalisation.
